USUALSUSPECTS
The group chat built for running crews.
Runs with RSVPs, race cards, race day, and polls, in the chat your crew already has. Free.
iPhone via TestFlight while the App Store release is in review · Android and desktop use the web app
Why crews leave the group chat
Group chats are built for talking. Running crews need three things the chat keeps losing.
Every one of these is a card in the chat. Tap once, and the whole crew sees the answer.
Runs that don't get lost
Every run is a card with a date, a spot, and RSVPs, never a message that scrolled away. The next one is always at the top when you open the app, and one tap says you're in.
Chat that keeps the plan
Photos, GIFs, replies, reactions, and @mentions, with the week's runs and races pinned above the conversation. Runs, races, and polls land in the chat as cards the crew answers in one tap. Search finds the carpool plan from three weeks ago.
Race cards on real paper
Paste a link or describe the race and the card fills itself in. Trail races come as topo postcards, road races as bibs. See who's registered, who's training, and who's considering, with a countdown on every card.
Your crew is on the course with you
Tap Start Race Day and the card becomes a race-morning companion: elapsed time, fuel reminders that buzz in your vest, and the notes you wrote when you could still think. The crew gets a cheer button, and every cheer lands on your screen mid-race. Afterward, your result and photos become the report.
Buzzes for what matters
Pick a level per crew: everything, only runs, races and mentions, or only the people you star. Quiet hours hold the rest until morning, and race day always comes through. The bell collects mentions, replies, and reactions to your messages so nothing aimed at you gets buried.
Run it like a crew
Open join or approval required. Co-admins so you're not the only one who can post the run. Invite people by link, by QR code, or right in the app if they're already here. Report, block, and remove are one tap away, and stay with the crew's admins.
Move your crew in ten minutes
For the person who posts the Saturday run.
- Get it. iPhone app, or the web app on anything else. Sign in with your email, no password.
- Create the crew. A name, a line about who you are, and your area so people can find you.
- Share the join link. Paste it in the old chat with one line: "We're moving here." Tapping it lands people in the crew, even before they have the app.
- Post the next run. It's the first thing people see and it's why they stay.
- Pin the join link in the new chat for the stragglers. Most crews are fully moved within a week.
Questions
Is it free?
Yes. Crews, runs, races, race day, polls, photos, all of it. No ads.
Who can read our chats?
Only the people in the crew. Nobody at Usual Suspects reads messages, and admins see who's active and how much, never what anyone said. Nothing is sold or shared. Delete your account any time and everything goes with it.
Android and desktop?
Today, both use the web app at app.usualsuspects.app, same account and same crews. A native Android app is next.
What happens to our old group chat?
Nothing. Keep it open while people move over. Most crews find the last few come across the first time they miss a run.
Can I run more than one crew?
Yes. Be in as many crews as you like, with a notification level for each. Races can be shared to more than one crew and keep one roster and one thread.
AND THE REST
- Direct messages and huddles, small side chats inside a crew
- Saved spots: the trailhead lot, the park, with directions
- Find public crews near you by area and vibe
- A public page for your crew, if you want one
- Photos gallery for everything the crew has posted
- Race reports with photos, one per finisher
- Bucket-list races with no date yet
- "Seen by" under your last message and a line where you left off
- The app notices "anyone running Saturday 7am?" and offers to put it on the board
- Edit or unsend within 15 minutes
- Live presence and typing
- Unread count on the app icon
ROUND UP YOUR SUSPECTS
Real crews in Colorado are already on it. Move yours this week.