Running now has its own Mario Kart: race against your past self and collect coins
An engineer has transformed a pair of Ray-Ban Meta glasses into a platform capable of displaying a virtual rival and rewarding every effort in real time.
The line between sports and video games is becoming increasingly blurred. While years ago gamification turned apps like Strava into a constant competition for segments, records, and rankings—where your speed and distance traveled serve as the points in any game—now a developer has taken the idea a step further: transforming a real-life race into an experience reminiscent of Mario Kart, complete with coins, scores, and even a ghost rival to chase.
Behind the project is Stijn Spanhove, a software engineer at the digital studio In The Pocket, who shared on X how he managed to turn a conventional race into an interactive experience using Meta Ray-Ban glasses.
According to the developer himself, he created a web app for the glasses and uploaded a GPX file to it from a previous activity logged on Strava. Using that data, he added various video game-inspired mechanics to turn each workout into a challenge against oneself.
The most striking feature is the appearance of a virtual “ghost” that replays the route of a previous run. This allows the runner to see in real time where their past self would be and try to catch up to or surpass them during the run.
Beyond ‘Strava’
But the experience isn’t limited to competing against a previous record. Spanhove also incorporated a reward system that awards coins when the user manages to maintain the target pace. Additionally, certain sprint zones offer extra points for those who decide to increase the intensity and push themselves harder during the session.
The information is displayed directly on the lens of the Meta Ray-Ban glasses via a small ranking system that allows runners to see in real time whether they are improving or falling behind their previous time.
Beyond the novelty of the idea, the developer says the concept works surprisingly well from a motivational standpoint. “Seeing your ghost 20 m ahead is a way stronger nudge than any number on a watch,” he says.
A Step Beyond the Watch
This idea is particularly interesting at a time when sports watches and training apps offer an ever-increasing array of metrics, yet don’t always manage to translate that data into motivation. Spanhove’s approach shifts the focus: instead of displaying numbers, it turns progress into an immediate, visual experience.
The result is inevitably reminiscent of racing video games, where chasing a visible rival often creates a much more intense sense of competition than simply observing a time difference. In this case, the opponent isn’t another runner, but oneself.
For now, this is an experimental project developed by the engineer himself, but it serves to illustrate the direction in which augmented reality devices applied to sports might evolve. If the technology allows users to see goals, rewards, and performance metrics directly in their field of vision, training could become much more like a video game than a traditional running session.
And, judging by the buzz the idea has generated on social media, it seems that running after your own ghost is much more appealing than chasing a number on a watch screen.
Follow MeriStation USA on X (formerly known as Twitter). Your video game and entertainment website for all the news, updates, and breaking news from the world of video games, movies, series, manga, and anime. Previews, reviews, interviews, trailers, gameplay, podcasts and more! Follow us now!