Chicago-area runner helping athletes of all levels train with "Run Better" app

CHICAGO (CBS) — It's an inspirational feeling that sweeps through the city every year watching over 40,000 runners take to the streets of Chicago to run the Chicago marathon.

A Chicago area runner is now helping others prepare and tackle that major feat.

Nicole Mann has always had a competitive spirit. 

"I actually started running in college," Mann said. I was playing field hockey, and we had to run a mile during our fall season, and I wanted to be the one who could run the mile the fastest," She said.

But it wasn't until nearly two decades later that Mann started running competitively.

"In 2007, I ran the Chicago half marathon in a time that I never thought I could run. And I thought, what could I do if I actually had some coaching?" Mann said.

Mann started training with Chris Werhman, a former elite runner himself and well-known running coach in Chicago. 

At the time she was 37 years old.

Her results were impressive, to say the least.

"Through one-on-one work and her dedication, she ended up running sub three hours in the marathon, which was a pretty phenomenal outcome, considering what her goals were initially, which were not to run that fast," X

But there were races that didn't go Mann's way. 

"I'm running the half marathon in Miami. Around mile 4, I realize that it's not a flat road. They sent us down a causeway, back up and down again, and it destroyed my goal paces and my goal time, and I thought there's gotta be another way to do this," She said.

Mann, her husband, and Werhman put their heads together and came up with the "Run Better" app, a way for runners of all abilities to train for specific courses - marathons, half marathons, 10Ks, 5Ks, and the running portion of triathlons. 

"The nice thing about this app is you can use it on any treadmill," She said. "You don't need a special treadmill, you don't have to plug it into anything. All you need is your phone. You open the app, you pick your course, you pick Big Sur and select and put your phone on your treadmill. Your phone will alert you to adjust your incline to mimic the course terrain. That's it."

The goal is simple, help runners realize their potential, maximize it and like her, accomplish things they never thought possible. 

"At 39, I didn't know how to swim. Six months later, I was doing an Iron Man," Mann said.  And I swore up and down for years that I would never do that. Never say never."

"Marathoning in particular, I don't know of anything more difficult," Werhman said. "Not only racing a marathon but training for a marathon. It takes significant time and energy and effort and dedication. If you can get through those things, there's really nothing stopping you from getting through anything you want to in life."

Mann said the confidence she built up in sports translated to other areas of her life, too.

"Every area of my life. As cliche as it sounds to say, running has really changed my life," She said. "It's opened so many more doors and it's really made me realize you never know what your potential may be."