A New Running Aid....

After being scornful of GPS devices for runners for the last year or so, I finally broke down and bought one the other day. The idea of needing to know precisely where you are on the planet and how fast you are running and what your way back home is always seemed a little silly for a pastime as simple and basic as running. However, I do admit that sometimes it just helps to know how far you have gone - so you can turn around at the right time because, if you leave it to your own judgment, you will likely always turn around way too soon.


So I bought this nice little device – the Garmin Forerunner 201 and it is a truly amazing package. Just 3 in by 1.5 in, it fits nicely on your wrist and it gives you so much information – instantaneous pace, average pace, distance traveled, elapsed time, rest time (since it knows when you are not moving), even grade change - and it is accurate too! It even plots a little map of where you are relative to your start – enough to make sure you don’t get too lost on the way back.

I had so much fun with it, and, I confess, I am hooked. It will become as indispensable as the water bottle I carry I am sure (well almost anyway).