Dash

Overview

Dash is a mobile running app built as an MVP to validate an idea developed for an entrepreneurship course. The app allows users to create custom running routes on a map and then run those routes while tracking performance data. The project was also an opportunity to deepen native iOS experience by building all map-related UI and GPS logic in Swift and bridging it into a React Native app using Expo native modules.

Problem & Solution

Many running apps focus on general activity tracking rather than route-specific performance.

Dash focuses on predefined routes: users draw tracks on a map and later run those same routes to measure and compare performance, laying the foundation for competitive and social features.

Key Features

• Create and save custom running routes on an interactive map
• Track runs using real-time GPS data
• Calculate basic performance stats from raw location data
• Leaderboards powered by scheduled background jobs
• Native map and GPS handling for accuracy and performance

Technical Highlights

• Built with React Native using Expo
• Implemented all map and GPS UI in Swift for native performance
• Created Expo native modules to bridge Swift functionality into JavaScript
• Used cron jobs to update leaderboards on a schedule
• Designed the app as an MVP with a clear path for future refinement

Challenges & Learnings

Learning Swift in a Production Context - Used native map and GPS features as an entry point into Swift, prioritizing performance-sensitive functionality where native code matters most.

GPS Data Handling - Started with raw GPS data for stat calculations, with plans to refine accuracy and smoothing in future iterations.

Product Decisions

• Focused on delivering a usable MVP quickly
• Chose native implementations for maps and GPS to avoid abstraction limitations
• Deferred advanced analytics until core functionality was validated
• Scoped features tightly to avoid overengineering