“Veronica and I are trying this new fad, I believe it’s jogging or yogging. It might be a soft ‘J’. I’m not sure but apparently you just run for an extended period of time. It’s supposed to be wild!” –Ron Burgundy, Anchorman (2004)

Launching an app on your own is a bit like running a marathon. Just ask Peter Pelberg and Will Locke, creators of the social running app Yog. (Yes, the name is based off of that classic “Anchorman” quote.)

“I had just moved to New York City,” remembers Pelberg, 23. “I had no one to exercise with, but I didn’t want to join a gym. So I figured running was the best way to keep in shape.” After looking into a number of running apps like Nike+ and RunKeeper, he found that, as phenomenal as they were at keeping track of empirical data like output, distance, and calories burned, the apps did nothing for socializing the experience.

“The sociability of those apps are very post-mortem, like ‘I just did X, Y, and Z,’” says Pelberg. “I never felt any closer to the people I had been running with back in college in Atlanta. We wanted to change that model and create a new running experience rather than just a tool.”

Yog lets you schedule runs with your friends and other Yog contacts. That way, if you make a commitment to run with someone, you are more likely to stick to it. The app also keeps you in touch with runners via audio notifications that tell you when you are being surpassed and an avatar-based timeline that shows you how your progress compares to friends.

The app has been in development for the past eight months, with a small crew of four working late into the night (the Yog team members all hold day jobs). The first-time experience of building an app has left Pelberg feeling encouraged about the support system in the tech community.

“From my experience, people building things on the Internet are all crazy — crazy in the best way possible,” says Pelberg. “They recognize how much time and energy you are spending, so, when you reach out to them, they are willing to open up and help you succeed.”

“It’s a bit like that old Apple campaign,” he adds, “where the people that are crazy enough to think that they can bite off these big projects are ultimately the people will succeed. It’s an amazing energy that I love being around.”

getyog.com