Footnotes – Advice for Runners

Run, Then Play Your Route Back

by Running Wanda
I’ve tried out some impressive gadgets, but none have made me feel like a kid in a candy store and want to hit a trail as soon as possible, again and again, until now.
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Over the last while, I’ve been hearing a lot of rave reviews about Nokia’s Sports Tracker. Too curious not to try it out for myself, I got hold of a Nokia N79 and unwrapped the box, expecting to find nothing much more than just a phone. Christmas came early!

Once I spotted the Polar for Nokia transmitter, ear phones and handy arm pouch, I cottoned on that this was way more than just a fancy phone. Not to be deterred by techno difficulty (the instructions were Norwegian), I put in my sim card, got the software off the disc, downloaded the Nokia N79 Sports Tracker tutorial and started to play.

Ten points for ease. After watching the tutorial and following the phone’s own prompts, I had easily gotten through the synchronisation, was kitted out with the Polar transmitter around my chest, phone on my arm, and was powering my way around my first route.

While I was getting on with the business of exercising with the girls, Sports Tracker was recording my entire route, my heart rate, distance, time, speed and calories burnt. Much like book club, we would ordinarily talk about everything but the book, but that day, we were all mesmerized by what was happening on my phone.

What I loved about this unit was the pure surprise of one cool attribute after another.
• I’d already checked out a map on my phone to decide which route to take. Tick of approval.
• Once we’d begun our workout, the route began unfolding on the screen, with my speed, distance, heart rate and time taken so far. Giant tick of impressed approval.
• Then when I finished my workout, I signed into Nokia Sports Tracker online and uploaded my workout. The map was shown in different views, including terrain and detailed with road names. My approval level shot through the roof.
• With a little more play, I found that I could map routes online, measuring the distance out exactly for my next run, walk, cycle or drive. Happiness smacked a smile on my face.
• Groups can be created so if you want to keep track of each other in a running club or compete as friends on the opposite sides of a country, you can.

In two simple words (because I am too pleased with my new toy to add further comment)…
I’m hooked.

To see what you can do with Nokia Sports Tracker, watch this advertising video>>

If you have one and need help, watch the tutorial video>>

To win a Nokia N79 Sports Tracker just like mine, enter the Runner’s World Nokia competition>>

Since I’m not an instruction reading person myself, I’d love to hear from you to see what else Sports Tracker can do? Tell me about it here.

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Once you've completed registration, you will be able to: Rate Your Race: Runner's World invites you to become a Race Judge. All it takes is a few minutes to fill in a quick and simple Race Rankings Scorecard for a race that you have run. You will be asked to judge criteria such as water tables, route markings, marshalling, safety and value for money for a total score out of 100. Once you submit your scorecard, we'll work out the average score per race of all the scorecards, then rank the races from highest to lowest. Once we have 10 votes for a race, it will make it into our Race of the Year Rankings, which will be listed here as well as be published each month in Runner's World. Any race in South Africa run on or between 1 January and 31 December 2007 will qualify for the 2007 Runner's World Race Rankings. Race Reports: We would love to hear about your race experiences. Who knows, you might even get published! Personalised Race Calendar: All you need to plan your racing year ahead. Simply add events to your basket and we will do the rest. Get Published: You will be able to send us your motivational stories and images for possible inclusion on this website or even in the magazine. What are you waiting for? Have your say: You will be able to comment on all articles on the website. A great way to make your voice heard. For further information, contact Kari Peters at KPeters@touchline.co.za.




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