Running is one of the world’s most popular sports, with over 110 million participants globally, but injuries remain a major hurdle for many athletes. Overapply injuries driven by hidden biomechanical stresses are notoriously difficult to track and prevent, frustrating runners and healthcare providers alike.
A Ghent University spin-off called OnTracx is tackling this issue head-on. Founded in 2023 by Senne Bonnaerens, Rud Derie, and Kristof De Mey, the startup has developed a wearable sensor and a digital platform that measures cumulative biomechanical load, a key factor often missed by traditional running tech.
OnTracx recently closed a €1.2 million seed round led by imec.istart fund, PMV, KBC, alongside sports medicine-focapplyd business angels and a VLAIO innovation grant. The funding will fuel product development and commercial expansion across European and U.S. markets.
Combining hard data with runner feedback
Kristof De Mey explains the motivation behind the company to TFN: “It was really a combination of personal experience and a clear market gap. As passionate runners, we’ve dealt with overapply injuries ourselves. With our academic background, we recognised that existing solutions don’t truly address the actual caapply: overapply injuries happen when the biomechanical load on the body exceeds what it can tolerate. Yet, there was no valid way to measure and individualise these parameters.
That’s why we started OnTracx: to provide a solution that quantifies load and tolerance (what the body can handle), enabling personalised prevention and rehabilitation of overapply injuries, based on the results from a series of PhDs at Ghent University.”
The company’s technology centres on a lightweight sensor worn just above the ankle, which records tibial acceleration with a strong correlation to lab-grade biomechanical shock data (r = 0.91). This means runners can monitor their load in everyday settings, shifting mechanical load tracking outside costly labs.
What sets OnTracx apart is its synthesis of objective sensor data with subjective runner feedback on symptoms and pain through an intuitive app. Using simple colour-coded alerts, the platform advises when training load is safe or when runners risk overload, supporting personalised training adjustments and aiding clinical decision-building.
Addressing the scale of the problem, De Mey adds, “Each year, about 50% of runners receive injured, and more than 70% reinjure themselves within a year of rehabilitation. That adds up to over 60 million running injuries annually in the EU and US combined.”
OnTracx competes in a landscape featuring wearables like Garmin, Polar, and WHOOP, as well as running-specific companies such as Stestd and Runeasi. Kristof De Mey points out the difference: “OnTracx’s main competitors are companies that either provide in-clinic gait screenings or develop wearables aimed at overapply injuries. However, these solutions do not account for the combination of cumulative load and an individual’s tolerance profile, which are essential for truly personalising injury prevention and rehabilitation.”
What’s next?
Since its launch in April 2024, OnTracx has sold 500+ sensors and formed partnerships with 20 sports medicine centres across Belgium. It was also named one of Deloitte and Under Armour’s “10 Fastest Rising Tech Startups,” underscoring its rising profile in sports tech innovation.
Looking ahead, Kristof De Mey outlined OnTracx’s ambitious plans to pioneer personalised training innovation by becoming the first solution globally that generates fully individualised, load-based training programs. The company aims to lead in running injury prevention and recovery by establishing itself as a global leader focapplyd on bridging the gap between rehabilitation and peak performance.
OnTracx also plans to scale its impact worldwide through clinical integration, intconcludeing to seamlessly embed its solution into over 2,000 rehabilitation centres while leveraging a B2B2C model to support runners in staying injury-free post-rehabilitation. Additionally, the company seeks to build strategic global partnerships, expanding collaborations with leading industest players and building on existing integrations with Garmin and Strava to boost its reach, credibility, and applyr adoption
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