What is Cinda? A guide to the running-shoe app
A guide to the running-shoe app, what it does and where to start.
Published
Cinda is a free web app for choosing running shoes and making more sense of the pairs you already own. Tell it about your running, the shoes you like and what you need next. It uses that context to recommend shoes from its catalogue, help you compare options and pick a pair from your rotation for today's run.
You can use Cinda with one pair or a cupboard full. There is no requirement to build a collection. A useful answer might be a new shoe to consider, a different job for a pair you already have, or reassurance that your current shoes cover your training.
This guide explains what you can do in Cinda, where to start and which parts need an account. It also covers theRelay, its UK marketplace for running shoes, and the public Hydrate and Cards tools.
Start with the question you actually have
You do not need to use every feature. If your current shoes work and you just want help choosing between them before a run, add those shoes first. If you need a replacement, start with your running and what you want the new pair to do.
| What you want to do | Where to start |
|---|---|
| Find your next running shoe | Build your runner profile, then ask Cinda for recommendations. |
| Choose a shoe for today's run | Add your owned shoes to Rotation, then use the run picker on Home. |
| Investigate a particular model | Search Discover, open the shoe details and compare your shortlist. |
| Buy or sell a pair with another runner | Browse theRelay. Sign in when you want to save a listing or contact someone. |
Give Cinda a useful picture of your running
The initial questions cover your experience, goals, usual mileage, training and surfaces. There are also questions about fit, running form and sensitive areas you choose to mention. If you do not know your arch type or how your foot lands, choose “Not sure”. Guessing gives Cinda a less useful starting point.
You can add more detail afterwards. The optional questionnaire covers things such as race times, running frequency, brands, budget, plate preferences and past shoes. Feel preferences let you describe the ride you enjoy, including cushioning, bounce, stability, rocker, ground feel, stack height and heel drop.
These details matter together. “I want a soft shoe” leaves a lot open. “I want something softer for easy runs, I have wide feet and I want to avoid carbon plates” gives Cinda a much clearer job.
Use What Cinda knows to inspect and edit your profile. You can also tell Cinda in chat when your training or preferences change. Check the saved details if an answer seems to be working from the wrong assumption, especially after a change of goal or weekly mileage.
Ask for recommendations, then work through the answer
Chat is useful when you know what the shoe needs to do but do not have a shortlist. You might ask for an everyday trainer, a replacement for a pair you dislike, or something for a specific race. Explain what is working now as well as what you want to change.
For example: “My current daily trainer is fine for short runs, but feels firm towards the end of a long run. What could I try instead?” This is an illustrative question, not a saved conversation. Adding the model, fit concerns and budget would make it more useful still.
Cinda recommends from its catalogue and explains the choices in the context of your profile. You can follow up, reject a suggestion, adjust the preferences for a search or ask how two shoes differ. The microphone lets you speak your question, with an option to stop and review the transcription before sending.
Recommendations are a starting point for a decision. Cinda cannot feel a shoe on your foot, and a good match on paper can still fit badly. Check the exact model and version, try the shoe where possible and check a retailer's returns policy. Prices in the catalogue are indicative RRPs, rather than a live search for the cheapest available pair.
Browse and compare in Discover
If you already have a model in mind, go to Discover. Search by brand or model, browse shoe categories, or narrow the catalogue using filters such as terrain, price band, width, stability, plate, heel drop, stack height and weight. There are also routes into newer releases and less familiar brands.
Opening a shoe gives you its catalogue details and Cinda's take. You can select up to five catalogue shoes for a comparison and take that shortlist into chat. This helps with a more specific question than “Which is best?”, such as which would make more sense alongside the shoes you already own.
The heart saves a shoe to Saved shoes on Home, whether you found it in Discover or through a recommendation. Saving keeps it on your shortlist. Once you own it, use Add to rotation to move it into your actual collection.
Shoe detail views also include runner reviews. Signed-in runners can leave a written review with a Love it, Neutral or Dislike verdict, using their first name or posting anonymously. A public review is separate from telling Cinda privately how a shoe feels to you.
Add the shoes you already run in
Your Rotation is the set of shoes you own and use. Search for each pair and choose the correct version, then record what you use it for, its mileage if you know it, and whether you like it. Specific feedback helps: a shoe that is comfortable but too dull for faster runs tells Cinda something different from a shoe that rubs your heel.
You can also import a shoe list from up to three screenshots at a time. Cinda reads the names, tries to match them to its catalogue and pulls in mileage where it is visible. You review the matches before adding them. This is useful for a gear list in another running app or a list you have kept yourself.
If a pair is missing from the catalogue, add it as a custom shoe. You can still keep it in your rotation and record its mileage, but Cinda does not invent specifications for it. Its ability to analyse or recommend that pair for a run is therefore limited.
You can edit shoes as their jobs change and retire a pair when you stop using it. Retired shoes sit separately from the active rotation, so keeping a record does not leave them among today's choices.
Understand what your rotation covers
Rotation analysis looks at your owned shoes against the running you have described. It considers coverage of your sessions, how the weekly load is spread and whether the jobs you give each shoe suit its capabilities. Accurate run assignments and mileage make the analysis more useful.
The result separates actions involving your current shoes from possible buying directions. A genuine gap is different from an improvement you might enjoy or a new direction to explore. A covered rotation can still have an optional suggestion; that is not a requirement to buy another pair.
An analysis does not automatically reassign your shoes, retire them or change your collection. You make those changes. Ask for a fresh analysis after a meaningful change to your shoes or training, and treat wear estimates as prompts to assess a pair rather than a fixed replacement date.
If you are unsure how many shoes you need in the first place, the running-shoe rotation guide works through that decision.
Pick a shoe for today's run
Once you have shoes in your rotation, Home offers Running today? Let's pick your shoe. Choose Recovery for easy running, or select Long, Workout, Race or Trail. The follow-up questions depend on the session: a long run can include faster sections, while a trail run asks about the ground.
You can add relevant details, such as wet roads, a specific workout or a pair you want to leave out. Cinda considers the shoes you own for that session, explains its picks and lets you confirm the shoe you intend to use.
For a simple example, imagine you own a comfortable daily trainer and a lighter workout shoe. An easy run and a session with fast repetitions give Cinda different jobs to judge. The point of adding the session is to make the choice about today's running rather than asking which shoe is best in general.
For a new trail purchase, there is also a dedicated trail-shoe finder. It asks about your trail needs before showing catalogue recommendations, rather than treating every off-road run as the same use.
Keep mileage current, or make a card from your run
Cinda's mileage tracking is manual. You can add miles after a run, confirm what you wore after using the picker and correct the total on a shoe. Mileage check-ins give you another opportunity to bring the figures up to date. Cinda does not automatically synchronise your activities from Strava or your watch.
There is a separate screenshot route for making a shareable image. Paste or upload screenshots of a completed run, check the extracted numbers and choose up to four supported shoe-related stats for the card. Some watch apps spread these across several screens, so you can supply up to three screenshots.
From Rotation, the card uses a catalogue shoe from your collection. Its optional Log this run switch can add the run's distance to that shoe when you complete the share. Check the shoe, distance and date, and leave the switch off if you have already recorded the run. Preparing an image on its own does not log mileage.
The public Cinda Cards tool lets you make an image without an account: add your run screenshots, select a catalogue shoe, choose and check the stats, then share or download the card. Using public Cards does not add a run to your Cinda rotation. Image export is available; it is not a video creator.
Use Hydrate after a run
Cinda Hydrate is a public tool for working out a post-run fluid and sodium replacement plan. You can estimate sweat loss from your run and conditions, use a before-and-after weigh-in or enter a sweat-loss figure you already know. It accounts for fluid you drank and sodium from gels, and can build the plan around your electrolyte product.
The result explains the basis of the calculation and what to drink afterwards. Sodium loss is estimated, including when you provide a weigh-in. You can use Hydrate without an account; signed-in use can save your usual preferences.
Hydrate provides rough guidance for healthy adult runners. Neither it nor Cinda's shoe recommendations diagnose an injury or replace advice from a clinician.
Buy or sell running shoes on theRelay
theRelay is Cinda's UK runner-to-runner marketplace. Browsing is public: you can search and filter listings, open the photos and check details such as size, condition, mileage, price and whether the seller offers posting or local collection.
Sign in to save a listing. To message a seller, you also need a first name, a verified UK mobile number and confirmation that you are 18 or over. You can buy without completing a runner profile. Selling requires that profile as well as phone verification and the age confirmation.
To sell, start a listing from the Selling view, choose a shoe from your rotation or enter the pair's details, then add its size, condition, mileage, price, photographs and handover options. Be clear about the actual pair for sale. Your first name and seller profile information are public on the listing; your verified phone number is not.
Buyer and seller use the message thread to discuss the pair and agree payment and delivery privately. Either can record a sale and its terms in the thread. Both must confirm those terms before it becomes a mutually confirmed sale and either person can leave a transaction review. Those reviews stay hidden until both are submitted or the 14-day review window closes.
Cinda does not take or protect payment, provide escrow or buyer protection, or arrange delivery. Phone verification confirms control of a number, rather than verifying someone's identity or authenticating the shoes. Read the theRelay terms before trading.
You can report a listing, runner, message, conversation or public seller review through its Report control. Settings includes reports and Relay support, including appeals. If you cannot sign in, email hello@cinda.app with the listing link or case reference.
Accounts, cost and your information
Cinda is free to use. The main app is for people aged 16 and over; theRelay trading and messaging are for adults aged 18 and over. You can start the runner questions and try the first conversation before signing in. The anonymous chat currently allows 20 messages, then asks you to sign in. Google sign-in and an emailed sign-in code are supported.
An account keeps your profile, chat, rotation and saved shoes available across devices. The main Home, Rotation and Discover tabs require sign-in and a runner profile. Hydrate, Cards and theRelay browsing are public. AI features have usage limits, and temporary service limits can also pause requests; free access does not mean unlimited requests.
Your conversations and relevant profile details are processed by Cinda's AI provider, OpenAI. Uploaded screenshots and voice notes are also processed to read the information or transcribe your words. Crop away anything you do not want processed before uploading a screenshot. Cinda's privacy policy explains the service providers, retention and your rights.
In Settings, you can clear chat history or delete your account. Clearing chat does not remove details already saved to your runner profile. Account deletion removes your core Cinda data, but shared theRelay conversations, sale records and some safety records can remain under the policy's rules. Read those details if you plan to use the marketplace.
A useful first visit
Start with your current running and the shoes you actually use. Add what you know, leave uncertain details as uncertain, then bring Cinda one concrete question. You might want a softer replacement, a shoe for Sunday's long run or a check on whether your existing rotation covers your training. That gives you something useful to judge from the first answer.