I. Overview

Welcome to ActiveTraks, your personal activity tracker. ActiveTraks is designed to help you keep track of and report on your running / walking / hiking activities occurring:

• at a particular location (course, route, trail, etc.),
• for a set distance (miles or kilometers), and
• for a set length of time (hours, minutes, seconds).

Each time you perform an activity (like going for a jog, a walk, or a hike) you use Log Your Activities to log the activity event.  This allows you to enter and save the following information about the event:

• WHO performed the activity,
• WHAT type of activity was performed,
• WHERE the activity took place,
• HOW long the activity took, and
• WHY, or other miscellaneous notes pertaining to the event.

WHO Performed the Activity

ActiveTraks keeps track of your activity information using the user name you logged on with.  Your information can never be seen by anyone else and likewise, you will never be able to see anybody else's information.  There is nothing special you need to do to indicate WHO you are.  ActiveTraks takes care of this for you.

WHAT Type of Activity Was Performed - Activity Types

When logging your activity events, you choose an Activity Type for the event as a way of grouping the event together with other similar types of events for reporting purposes. For example, Training Runs, Road Races, Speedwork, and Hill Repeats could be types of running activities. Likewise, Power Walks or Leisure Walks could be types of Walking activities.

WHERE the Activity Took Place -Activity Locations

When keeping a log of your activities you probably note where the activity took place (a running course, walking route, hiking trail, etc.) and how far you went.  Like most people, you have your favorite or frequently used locations where you run the same courses, walk the same routes, or hike the same trails over and over again.  Rather than having to redundantly enter the details of where your activity took place everytime you log your activity, ActiveTraks allows you to save your favorite courses/routes/hikes.  You provide a name for each favorite/frequently used location, enter a description and length (miles or kilometers), and from then on you simply need to choose the name from a list when logging your activities.

There are also times you do a "one-time" run/walk/hike at some location (such as if you are on vacation).  When logging these activities you may want to simply indicate how far you went and how long it took you.  ActiveTraks allows you to do this as well at the time you log your activity.

HOW Long the Activity Took - Duration

ActiveTraks allows you to indicate how many hours, minutes, and/or seconds you spent on the activity.  The system checks your typing to make sure valid entries are made.  For instance, you are not allowed to enter a value in the Seconds field that is 60 or greater.

WHY or Other Miscellaneous Notes - Notes

In addition to the information noted above, ActiveTraks allows you to enter unlimited notes about the activity event.  These notes can be used for anything from why you did this activity to who you were with, what the weather was like, how you felt, etc.

II.  Logging Your First Activity

To log your very first activity, perform the following steps:

1. Determine the name of the type of activity (walk, training run, hike, etc.) you are going to log and add this new Activity Type.
2. Determine the name of the location (a walking route, running course, hiking trail, etc.) where the activity occurred and add this new Activity Location.
3. Choose Log Your Activities to select the activity type and location, and to enter the date, duration and notes pertaining to this activity.

III.  Logging Subsequent Activities

Multiple activities may be logged and saved while you are on the Log Your Activities screen.  Additional Activity Types may be added by choosing the Activity Types link located at the top of each page in the Running/Walking/Hiking module.  Likewise, choosing the Activity Locations link allows you to add new locations.

IV.  Viewing the Activity Log

To view a list of your activities, choose the View Activity Log option of the Reports link located at the top of each page in the Running/Walking/Hiking module.  Besides displaying the list, clicking on an activity in the list allows you to update or delete the activity.  This is especially useful if you want to add additional notes relative to the activity.

V.  Reports - Slicing and Dicing Your Activity Information

Logging your activities on paper is rewarding because you can see how often you performed your activities.  However, trying to determine totals and averages by weeks, months, or years requires lots of time-consuming calculator work.  That's where the Reports feature of ActiveTraks really shines through.  Choosing the Reports link located at the top of each page in the Running/Walking/Hiking module provides you with a list of different reports to choose from.  At this time, the most commonly desired reporting information is provided.  Additional reporting features will be available in the near future.