QOTD: Do You Prefer Running With or Without Gadgets?
I saw this interview on The Daily Show a few weeks ago, where Jon Stewart interviews Christopher McDougall, author of Born to Run a book about the Tarahumara Indians and their ability to run hundreds of kilometres using nothing but a pair of sandals. It’s a fascinating interview—you should definitely watch it—but it does lead to a very interesting question. Are all the gadgets we use for running—from the expensive shoes to the Nike+iPod system, pedometers and GPS trackers—really necessary?
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Christopher McDougall | ||||
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Or to put it more succinctly, do you use gadgets when running? Or are you old school Tarahumara style? If you do use gadgets, let us know what you run with in comments.
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Comments
Free pimp for Run Keeper on the iphone. It’s a brilliant program. I have a favourite path that I run every other day. Run keeper uses GPS to track your path and keeps a diary online. Also every 5 minutes it voices over your music and tells you where you’re up to. When you are running the same track, you work out whether you’re going too fast/slow early in the run. It’s also really encouraging to see your times coming down. My path takes me 23 minutes at the moment. The 20 minute warning is a huge incentive to give it a last 3 minute sprint. I honestly don’t think I’d run as often without music and I definitely wouldn’t push myself as hard as I do if i wasn’t trying to beat my time each time I run. Also use an arm band for my phone and keys and headphones designed for running.
I used to use a heart monitor for years, with certain easy training runs with the goal to keep my heart rate below a certain level.
I am now looking at getting a GPS version so I can determine my run rate, run against a virtual partner and download and compare my results.
It will assist in my training, as I find running with a running mate helps over running alone.
At the gym, nothing. But when running outside, iPhone running RunKeeper, amazing App.
My view on exercising is that if I’m capable of concentrating on music or anything else, I’m not pushing myself hard enough. So that’s a hell no on gadgetry.
Same here… iPhone with Runkeeper… I also listen to the Nike + mixes while running, using the 10k run at the moment, really good!
Are all the gadgets we use for running—from the expensive shoes to the Nike+iPod system, pedometers and GPS trackers—really necessary?
Nope, they’re not. However, often times – as other posters have already mentioned, they’re the difference between exercising and not exercising.
For me I love Run Keeper. It allows me to compete against myself and for the first time in 30 years, I’ve actually kept running for a few months and it’s because my competitive nature pushes me forward to always beat my previous best.
lol no way, i rekon its a bit of a joke relly. But hey if you like it theres no problem with that xD
I just think if your running you should concentrate on what your doing
No gadgetry for short runs or races but on longer runs I’ll take the sansa clip and my pmx80 headphones out. Brilliant combo!!!
Question for the other guys running with the iphones, aren’t they a tad big / annoying to run with and are they on an armband or stashed somewhere else?
On longer runs, I carry my iPhone in a small pouch on an Amphipod belt, along with a small water bottle, ID, gels, and my keys. I can tell it’s there, but it’s not a bother. I’m thinking of trying an arm band because I suspect that the pouch might be interfering with the iPhone’s GPS.
@dogcow, I think my arm band interferes with the GPS sometimes.
I am a trail running cyborg. Runkeeper for iPhone 3g, iPod shuffle for my Black Metal running music and it’s easy to control, sturdyand disposable, CamelBak hydration system, garmin forerunner50 heartrate monitor. I’m a stat junkie and the Rk user website rocks.
I love running and I love gadgets. I always run with my Polar watch heart rate monitor and have started running with my iPhone using the Runkeeper application. It is an awesome app for seeing how well my training is going. I had tried the Nike+ but think this app is much better.
Runkeeper with iPhone all the way , running and cycling – i love it!
For medium and long runs, I use an iPhone with RunKeeper. For quick runs at the track, I hardly want to carry anything, so I’ll just slip my car remote in my pocket and clip an iPod shuffle to my hat.
iPhone 3GS with Runkeeper Pro (yes in an arm band).
RK is great for tracking progress and improvements. The RK voice-over is perfect for timing intervals. Without these I would be my usual slack self but the automatic logging helps motivate me to not miss a run.