Running with gadgets – RunKeeper, iRun and more…

I did only start running when I realised that there are tech toys to help me doing so. I started in 2007 using Nike+iPod – but only started running more regular when I found out about the beauty of GPS based route trackers and installed RunKeeper on my iPhone in 2009 and now you can see most of my runs in public on their site. As there is a huge growth for these tools and many of my friends join the running sport and let me and the world know about it using RunKeeper aswell, I am sure there is more behind it and we’ll see a whole new generation of runners to join this sport, based on a paradigm shift that’s accelerating growth for social media tools that are surrounding us every day.

For every global trend there’s always at least one example of someone who overdoes it. For some million of runners who get hooked onto RunKeeper to keep track of their own performance there is one ‘crazy guy’ who puts it to extremes:

Enter Joseph Tame and his iRun. He makes his running success or failure 100% transparent to his internet followers with a setup that he describes himself:

“It features four iPhones on rotatable mounts, an iPad, an Android handset, three mobile wifi routers, a wind turbine (ok, so it’s a kid’s fan that turns around…), a 4-in-one atmospheric monitor, a heart monitor, a plastic doughnut and of course the very important satellite dish for high-speed data connectivity (cunningly crafted from a bird-feeding dish).

This technology will allow me to broadcast live video on two cameras (using either skype or FaceTime to a local studio for re-broadcast), send live location/pace/heart rate data via Runkeeper on the iPhone, transmit temperature, COx/humidity/noise levels via a custom-made Android app – and do all of this while looking incredibly cool.”