Access and use of running self-tracking data for public health

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Running is a popular activity to address physical and mental health. Indeed it is a recommended UK public health intervention through General Practitioners (GPs) prescribing running (McGuiness, 2019). To be fully inclusive in today's digital society, even everyone needs access to data to track their running and the relevant skills to use and share the data they generate in a safe, healthy way, whether tracking their progress, sharing data confidently and using it without obsession. This fellowship will promote inclusivity through raising awareness of my doctoral research amongst academic and non-academic audiences.The fellowship's first aim is to publish doctoral research findings in journals and presentations at conferences to the academic communities in science and technology studies (STS), library and information science (LIS) and archival science. The fellowship's second aim is to engage with running communities, UK health organisations and digital inclusion organisations that have an interest in the adoption of self-tracking data amongst runners or those that they are encouraging to start running to develop new research with them. This type of research design is known as co-production.The new research this fellowship aims to co-produce is understanding how those using running as a health intervention can adopt self-tracking technology and use the technologies and the resulting data safely and healthily. Through the beginning of co-production research, this fellowship will also establish a new network of academic organisations, health organisations, social and digital inclusion organisations and running communities that will provide the springboard for further research development beyond this fellowship.This fellowship's third aim is to disseminate both doctoral research and co-produced research through engaging those running using vodcasts to feature members of running communities. I will give talks to running communities and interactive exhibitions that will focus on the adoption of self-tracking technologies and data skills in running in a safe and healthy manner. Such public community engagement seeks not only to gauge reaction to results of doctoral and co-produced research but to also raise awareness and influence public perception about what constitutes safe uses and sharing of self-tracking data.The final aim of this fellowship is to continue my own personal development as a researcher to allow me to undertake ambitious, high impact research on inclusion in running that will strengthen my research career. I will attend training sessions and workshops led by academic experts, particularly the Sheffield Methods Institutie (SMI) and the Participatory Research Network at The University of Sheffield (PRN@TUos). My development as a researcher will in turn benefit the public through building a research agenda in understanding the issues concerning the safe adoption, use and sharing of self-tracking technology in running in the broader contexts of the growth of digital societies and improving public health.