An exercise racing game/companion app powered by what you do in the real world.
⌚ APPLE WATCH REQUIRED
WHAT IS HEART POWERED RACING?
Heart Powered Racing is a racing game for iPhone and Apple Watch powered by what you do in the real world.
Go for a walk. Hit the gym. Run. Lift. Dance. Play with your kids. Whatever gets your heart going.
Your workout becomes your race through a colorful world filled with tracks, challenges, seasons, and plenty of reasons to come back.
WHY CHOOSE HEART POWERED RACING?
LIFE ISN’T FAIR.
Some people can run five miles.
Some can lift for an hour.
Someone else might get their heart going just walking around the block.
Those aren’t the same workout.
They don’t have to be.
Heart Powered Racing was built around a simple idea.
WE ALL HAVE A HEART.
We don’t care how you get yours going.
Walk. Run. Lift. Dance. Play with your kids. Do something completely unconventional.
Your race doesn’t have to look like anybody else’s.
IT JUST HAS TO BE YOURS.
That’s why Heart Powered Racing doesn’t tell you how to exercise.
We give you a starting line.
You decide how you cross it.
FEATURES
BUILT AROUND YOUR WORKOUT
❤️ HEART POWERED RACING
Your real workout powers your race. Get your heart going and watch it come to life in the game.
🟢 CLOSE YOUR RINGS
Your workout is recorded to Apple Health and contributes to your Activity Rings.
🏆 CHALLENGES & EVENTS
Take on new challenges, seasonal events, holidays, and special races throughout the year
📱 WATCH OR POCKET IT
Watch the race on your iPhone or lock your screen and throw it in your pocket or gym bag. Your workout keeps going.
⏯️ CONTROL IT FROM YOUR WRIST
Once you’re racing, pause or end your workout right from your Apple Watch.
🎵 YOUR MUSIC
Put on whatever gets you moving. Your workout deserves your soundtrack.
HOW TO PLAY
RACE YOUR WAY
YOUR HEART IS THE CONTROLLER
YOUR HEART POWERS THE RACE. YOUR WATCH KEEPS YOU IN CONTROL.
Heart Powered Racing uses your Apple Watch to track your heart rate while you work out.
Start your race on your iPhone and watch the action unfold, or lock your screen and toss your phone in your pocket or gym bag.
GOT FIVE MINUTES? GREAT. GOT AN HOUR? EVEN BETTER.
Heart Powered Racing isn’t only for the days you plan a big workout.
Maybe you’re hitting the gym.
Maybe you’re going for a run.
Maybe you’ve got ten minutes and just want to get your heart going.
OR MAYBE THE DOG JUST NEEDS A WALK.
Whatever today looks like, there’s a way to race.
⚡ QUICK RACE
Short on time?
Jump in, get your heart going, and get a race in when you can.
🏁 DISTANCE RACE
Have somewhere to go?
Pick your distance and race all the way to the finish.
A walk around the neighborhood absolutely counts.
⏱️ TIMED RACE
You tell us how much time you’ve got.
Set the clock and keep racing until time’s up.
❤️ ENDURANCE
No distance. No timer telling you when to stop.
Going for a long walk? Hitting the gym? Taking the dog out?
Start the race and end it when you’re ready.
🏆 CHALLENGES
Sometimes we’ll give you something to chase too.
Special challenges and events will pop up throughout the year, giving you another reason to get out there.
WHY I MADE HEART POWERED RACING
Heart Powered Racing started back in 2022 for a pretty simple reason.
I wanted to get in shape for my son.
I wanted to be healthier, have more energy, and be able to keep up with him as he grew up.
Then a bout of kidney disease and tongue cancer came along in 2023.
Getting in shape suddenly wasn’t just about being healthier. I needed my body to be strong enough to survive what was coming.
Games helped me through a lot of my cancer treatment. I’ve loved them my entire life, and to this day, the warmth of those old SNES and Genesis games, or Mega Drive for my friends outside North America, instantly puts a smile on my face.
And for some reason, when I thought about exercise, I kept remembering Wii Fit telling me:
“That’s overweight.”
Thanks, Nintendo.
The funny thing is, it worked and I loved every moment of it.
Turning exercise into a game motivated me in a way a normal fitness endeavor never could.
I’m also incredibly competitive so that helped.
I have always wanted to make software that was not only fun but impactful in a meaningful way.
I wanted something that looked like the games I grew up with. Something I could compete in. But after cancer the most important aspect came, I wanted to make a game that could make that competition fair.
Not everyone can exercise equally.
One person can run. Another can walk. Someone can lift weights, do yoga, ride a bike, or just find their own way to get moving.
It doesn’t matter how you do it.
But we all have a heart.
So that’s what I decided to race with.
The Apple Watch would be the controller.
Your heart is the accelerator.
You don’t have to exercise like anyone else.
You just have to get your heart going.
A little bit of my childhood, a little bit of my competitive side, a lot of what I learned fighting cancer, and a game I originally dreamed up because I wanted to be healthier for my son.
Somewhere in all of that,
HEART POWERED RACING WAS BORN.
I truly hope you all enjoy it.
Frank
The Elephant in the Room!
And how we fix it together.
LET’S TALK ABOUT THE ART.
All of the art currently in Heart Powered Racing was created with AI and is considered placeholder art.
And truthfully?
It really bothers me.
But I can assure you, this is temporary.
I’m a game designer, not an artist. That’s not an excuse, but I do want to explain why I made this decision.
I could have launched a Kickstarter, asked people to fund an idea, and hoped it worked. But I still would have needed an artist willing to work without knowing if I could ever properly pay them. If the funding fell through, they could have put months of their time and talent into something that went nowhere.
I didn’t want to do that to an artist.
So I decided to do it backwards, what I like to call a reverse Kickstarter.
I MADE THE GAME FIRST.
AI gave me a way to build the world with placeholder art, finish the game, and put something real in your hands instead of asking you to fund a promise.
But this isn’t the finish line.
The goal is for Heart Powered Racing’s success to fund real artists who can replace the AI artwork with something 100% human created.
I genuinely look forward to the day I can replace every one of these placeholders and proudly say: MADE BY HUMANS.
And even more importantly, I want to build the feature I’ve wanted more than anything:
CREATE YOUR OWN RACER.
I actually spent months trying to make this feature work with AI.
It never felt right.
Honestly, it looked terrible.
So I put it aside.
Because creating a character that actually feels like you needs something AI couldn’t give me. It needs a human artist.
That’s what I want Heart Powered Racing to become.
When you buy Heart Powered Racing, you’re not funding an idea that might exist someday.
You’re buying the game today and helping build what it can become tomorrow.
That’s the elephant in the room.
AND THAT’S HOW WE FIX IT TOGETHER.
Frank
FUTURE
Heart Powered Racing is just getting started. As the game grows, so will the world around it with more levels, multiplayer, human created art, custom racers, Android support, and plenty more to come.
Every racer who joins us helps move HPR a little further down that road.
FAQS
DO I NEED AN APPLE WATCH?
Yes. Heart Powered Racing reads your live heart rate from your Apple Watch to power your race, so a paired Apple Watch is required to play.
WHAT DO I NEED TO RUN IT?
An iPhone and a paired Apple Watch. Start your race on the iPhone; your Watch tracks your heart rate and gives you the controls.
DO I HAVE TO STARE AT MY PHONE THE WHOLE TIME?
Not at all. Watch every second if you want or lock your screen, drop your phone in your pocket or gym bag, and keep moving. The race keeps going, and you can pause or end it right from your wrist.
DOES A WALK REALLY COUNT?
Absolutely. Walk the neighborhood, take the dog out, hit the gym, dance in the kitchen. However you get your heart going, it becomes your race.
DO I HAVE TO BE FIT TO WIN?
No. You choose your effort: Light, Medium, or High. So a gentle session can win at Light while High is a real cardio test. Your race doesn't have to look like anyone else's.
IS THERE MUSIC IN THE GAME?
On purpose, no. Put on your own playlist, podcast, or pump-up album whatever gets you moving. Your workout deserves your soundtrack, and we stay out of its way.
IS MY HEALTH DATA PRIVATE?
Yes. Your heart rate and workout data stay on your device and in Apple Health. We don't collect it, sell it, or share it. See our [Privacy Policy] for the details.
DOES IT WORK WITH APPLE HEALTH AND MY RINGS?
Yes. Your finished workout is saved to Apple Health and counts toward your Activity Rings, just like any other workout.
IS THIS A MEDICAL OR FITNESS-TRACKING APP?
It's a game built around your workout a fun reason to move. It's not a medical device and shouldn't be used for medical decisions. Always check with your doctor before starting a new exercise routine.
CAN I RACE OTHER PEOPLE?
Live online lobbies aren't available at launch. For now you'll race our pilots, and take on Challenges and seasonal events throughout the year. More is on the way.
WHAT ARE THE SPECIAL EVENTS ABOUT?
Throughout the year, special events honor real awareness causes. Race in their honor, earn a keepsake trophy, and know every heartbeat counts — for everyone still fighting, everyone caring for them, and everyone we carry with us.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
Heart Powered Racing is a one-time purchase of $5.99: no ads, no subscriptions no in game purchases, just yours!
I FOUND A BUG / HAVE AN IDEA.
I’d love to hear it. Head to the [Contact page] and reach out this game grows with its players.
Trouble Shooting
Heart Powered Racing runs on your heartbeat, which means it leans on your Apple
Watch and Apple Health. Most hiccups come down to one of those. Here's how to sort
them out fast.
MY HEART RATE SHOWS "‑‑" OR WON'T MOVE.
This is the big one, and it's almost always the Watch link. Run down this list:
Wear it snug. A loose Apple Watch can't read your heart rate. Slide it up your wrist a little and make sure the back is flat against your skin.
Keep your phone close. Your iPhone and Watch talk to each other over a short range. Keep them together pocket, armband, or nearby.
Give it a few seconds. When a race starts, the Watch spins up a workout and heart rate begins to flow. It can take a moment on the first race.
Check Bluetooth & Wi‑Fi. If either your iPhone or Watch is in Airplane Mode (or has Bluetooth off), they can't connect. Turn them back on.
THE WATCH DIDN'T START A WORKOUT ON ITS OWN.
Heart Powered Racing launches the workout on your Watch for you. If it doesn't:
Make sure your Apple Watch is paired and on your wrist and unlocked.
Confirm the Heart Powered Racing app is installed on the Watch (open the Watch app on your iPhone → scroll to Heart Powered Racing → Install if it's not there).
As a backup, you can always start a workout yourself on the Watch (the built‑in Workout app — pick "Other" or "Outdoor Run") and we'll read your heart rate from Health within a few seconds.
IT'S ASKING FOR — OR MISSING — HEALTH ACCESS.
The game needs permission to read your heart rate and save your workout. To check or fix it:
Open the Health app → tap your profile picture → Privacy → Apps → Heart Powered Racing → turn everything on.
If you tapped "Don't Allow" by accident, this is where you switch it back.
MY WALK OR RUN ISN'T TRACKING DISTANCE.
Walks, Runs, and the Doggy Walk use your location for real distance and your route map.
Go to Settings → Heart Powered Racing → Location and set it to While Using the App (or Always).
Make sure Location Services is on overall (**Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services**).
I'M NOT GETTING THE RACE NOTIFICATIONS.
The halfway cheer and reminders are notifications. Turn them on at Settings → Heart Powered Racing → Notifications → Allow Notifications.
THE RACE STOPPED WHEN I LOCKED MY PHONE.
It shouldn't — locking your screen and pocketing the phone is the whole idea. If a race ended early:
Low Power Mode can throttle background activity. Try turning it off during a workout (**Settings → Battery**).
Make sure the game had a moment to start before you locked the screen.
MY WORKOUT DIDN'T SHOW UP IN APPLE HEALTH / DIDN'T CLOSE MY RINGS.
A race only saves when you finish or end it if the app was force‑closed mid‑race, that workout won't be recorded.
Double‑check that write access is on in Health (see the Health Access step above).
MY MUSIC GOT QUIET OR STOPPED.
Heart Powered Racing has no music of its own on purpose, and it never lowers yours. If your music dipped, it's usually another app or a call. Start your playlist or podcast, then start your race they'll play together at your volume.
STILL STUCK?
Restart the app first — and if that doesn't do it, a quick restart of your iPhone and Apple Watch clears up most stubborn connection issues.
Still not right? Head to our [Contact page] and tell us what's happening. We read every message.
