Mo' Runnin' Less Problems

By Guest Blogger Mo Goldman

Hi I’m Mo and I’m a pronator! 

  

Actually, my old nickname in elementary school was “slow Mo”.  Growing up I was never a fan of running.  Maybe it was because I grew up in the sweltering heat of Tucson, Arizona.  Maybe it was because running always appeared so boring and unappealing (apologies to the running community).  Regardless of the reason, I really didn’t hit my stride until January 2015.  Since that time I have taken off and haven’t looked back.

It was November 1, 2014 and I was waking up from a night of binging on my kids’ Halloween candy.  For Halloween I thought it would be funny to be “Flo the Progressive Girl”, but instead I would be “Mo the Progressive Girl”.  Here is a pic:

 And here is a pic of me as “Flo the Regressive Girl” on November 1:

On that day I looked at myself and thought, “I’m one ugly lady!”  Tipping the scales at 215 lbs I had an epiphany and vowed to become more fit on that day and experience a significant lifestyle change.  Just turning 40 I realized I needed to be a better example to my three kids.  I was already fortunate to be receiving some excellent personal training two days a week at BodyBasics.  I then began more intensive aerobic workouts and a healthier eating regimen.  By mid-January I had already dropped nearly 30 lbs.

January 17, 2015, I turned to my wife and said “I’m going to try running” and I figured a nice motivator would be to train for a marathon.  So, just for fun I entered the lottery for the 2015 New York City Marathon.  Then I went out to try and run a mile.  At the end of that run I was beyond winded.  Exhausted.  I was tremendously sore the next morning.  I questioned whether I could run for long distances.  A close friend suggested reading Christopher McDougall’s book “Born to Run” and I found that to be highly motivating.  After reading this book I decided not to stop but to take things slowly.

In March I found out that I was selected to run in the NYC marathon.  This race will symbolically take place on November 1, 2015, which is the one-year anniversary of my lifestyle change.  Thus far I have been able to run in the San Diego Rock ‘n’ Roll Half-Marathon and complete it in less than 2 hours.  It was an exhilarating experience.

            I found out about Tucson Runners Project through Doug Klein in June and it has been a great way to learn about proper training, remain updated about running events in and around Tucson, and meet some great people.  I look forward to continuing my running beyond the marathon and joining TRP for early morning weekend runs and other gatherings.

            I have now lost nearly 60 lbs and it feels great!  I can run much longer distances and even maintain conversations while running.  These are things I never could imagine doing 10 months ago.  Most importantly, my children have taken note of my health and it has had a positive impact:

Cheating and Running

There's no doubt that some runners make the mistake of believing that it's worth cheating. The reality is that the only thing that matters in running is whether you run to the best of your ability, under whatever circumstances exist on race day.  Nobody will ever have a better life by cheating, period. Even if you win gold at the Olympics, never get caught, and are showered with fortune and fame, the cost of cheating will outweigh the benefit.

I’m sure almost everyone would make similar statements to those above – even those who cheat.  The sad truth is that the sport of running, like any other sport and even life in general, includes plenty of examples of participants who try to gain an advantage in an illegal, unethical, or unfair way.  It seems that we are currently under a new wave of accusations and discoveries, and it’s not good for any of us.

Recently, the online forum letsrun.com challenged a man whois under suspicion for cheating related to his qualifying for, and running, the Boston Marathon.  The challenge offers him a sizeable payment if he can run a certain race time in order to “prove” that he is capable of producing the race time that he claimed to have run.  It’s not clear whether he cheated or not, but the mere fact that he is being accused so publicly is demonstrative of the shift in focus on cheating to the sport of running, which many have long believed to be “cleaner” than other sports such as bodybuilding or cycling.

On a professional level, there are many accusations regarding drug cheating among the elite runners.  The ongoing US Anti-Doping Agency’s investigation into possible drugcheating by athletes in Alberto Salazar’s Nike Oregon Project may very well open the floodgate to widespread doping disclosures.  The problem exists in big ways.  3-time Boston Marathon winner Rita Jeptoo tested positive for EPO and faces a ban.  There have been huge doping scandals such as the incredible doping-and-bribery story of 3-time Chicago Marathon winner Liliya Shobukhova.  The list of elite cheaters is far too long to put in this blog.

And it’s not just potential professionals that choose to cheat.  A very famous case was that of an apparently pathological runner, Kip Litton, who seemed to have a system to win marathons by skipping most of the actual running:

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/08/06/marathon-man

You may be reading this and thinking, “this cheating stuff is disturbing but it’s not happening on the local level that I participate in”.  Unfortunately that’s probably not true, and cheating very likely has affected you.  Remember Rita Jeptoo?  She won the San Diego Rock’n’Roll Half-Marathon last year, and since she is in Shokofeh Motlagh’s age group, Shokofeh was pushed down a place in the standings – by a drug cheat.

One of the most prominent Tucson-based drug cheat stories may surprise you – this runner held the state record for several distances, including the 8-mile record which he set at the Saguaro National Park Labor Day Race.  Read about it at

http://www.runnersworld.com/elite-runners/the-confessions-of-eddy-hellebuyck

There are other Tucson cheat stories, some that are most certainly true and others based on sour grapes.  Race Directors sometimes ban runners that they believe have short-cutted the course.  I’ve personally heard runners brag about taking steroid and asthma medications leading up to a big race.  I have even heard one runner admit to having another runner race a marathon, wearing their timing chip, in order to register a Boston-qualifying marathon time.  (This runner believed she could never meet the qualifying standards, but did not think it fair that Boston has those standards, so she self-justified this cheating action as a way to gain entry to a race that she felt entitled to participate in).

Obviously some runners think that cheating is worth it.  The elites do it to make a large payday, but most of us don’t make a single penny no matter how fast we run.  But apparently the glory of winning an age-group prize, or being listed on the race results above others is enough of an incentive for some.  In today’s very public social-media society, it may be that runners are taking increased risks because they want more accolades (the “like” button on FaceBook is a very powerful motivator!)

I’m not an expert in psychology so I’ll avoid discussing in depth about why people decide to cheat.  For most of us, it’s best to just establish boundaries in our behavior and set some “rules” to abide by.  I’d suggest that these rules might include the following:

• Run the correct course.  No shortcuts!
• Don't use performance enhancing drugs, or get a prescription you don't really need
• Don't claim PR'S when the course is short.  I recommend claiming PR’s only on USATFCertified Courses (many of Tucson’s races are not certified).  Your GPS should be fairly close to the proper distance!
• Don't block the competition, and start in the appropriate wave in larger races.
• Race with a timing chip only if it's your own and never ask someone else to run a "qualifier" for you.

There are of course many legitimate and appropriate ways to enhance your performance.  For example, a lighter pair of running shoes, having a loved one hand you a gel along the course, taking vitamins, etc., are all acceptable.  It’s really not hard - use your conscience.  If something you are doing feels sneaky, it’s probably wrong.

It's all pretty simple but our sport and the competitive environment can make it so very tempting to search for an edge.  I’ll leave you with this final thought:  Every time you run, the most important competitor is yourself – and cheating against yourself clearly will not get you anywhere!

Serial Racing and Multi-Day Challenges

The dog days of summer are here and sometimes the daily training runs can become a bit dull.  What can you do to get a little motivation?  One thing that can help keep you going is to make some plans to enter race events in the upcoming (and cooler) fall months.  It’s exciting to click the “Register” button and make the commitment!  In fact, it’s several months away, and surely you will be feeling much stronger and faster by then…so you decide to click “Register” a bunch of times!

Many of us go through those grand runner highs – not the ones we get from the actual run, but the kind that happen when we find ourselves caught up in a registration frenzy.  The smartest race directors have figured out that marketing to an optimistic runner is profitable, so many of them have developed an offering of race series, multi-distance challenges, and multi-day events.

But is it really just marketing hype?  Suppose you are an athletic purist, searching for that perfect combination of peaking and recovery – is serial racing a good thing, or bad?

This is a controversial topic so I’ll just share my own experience and opinions, and you can make your own judgment.  To get straight to the bottom line, I’ll say that when done at the right time, racing in multiple events over a very short time frame can produce spectacular results.  Why?  Because if you are trained and ready for one race, then chances are reasonably good that with a short recovery you can handle another.  Don’t believe me?  Then let me point to just a few high-profile examples:

• ·         Lasse Viren won Gold in the 1972 and 1976 Olympics in both the 5k and 10k
• ·         Keninesa Bekile won Gold in the 2008 Olympics 5k and 10k, and Silver (5k) and Gold (10k) in 2004 Olympics
• ·         Mo Farah won double Gold in the 2012 Olympic 5k and 10k.  In fact, 7 Olympians have managed to do this feat!
• ·         Michael Wardian has multiple back-to-back Saturday/Sunday marathon wins,

OK, so you’re not Mo Farah.  Neither am I.  But my own experiences also point to potentially good results from serial racing.  My first marathon in which I reached a long-standing time goal of sub-3 hours came at an unexpected time – in the 6 weeks prior, I had run 6 full marathons, 1 half, a 10k, and a 4 miler – and 2 weeks later, I ran another sub-3.  Conventional wisdom would say that is way too much racing with no recovery, yet I was making performance improvements throughout.  

Racing frequently is not necessarily dangerous and won’t automatically compromise your performace!  At the beginning of that 6 week period, I ran a multi-day series called the “New Year’s Double”.  The NYD was a super-fun, challenging event that I will always fondly remember.  And yes, the bling included a special plate to affix both days’ marathon medals to – racing bling is a fun way to provide a quick memory jog when you hang it on your wall!

There are many, many opportunities to be a serial racer.  Some of the best will offer you additional perks, such as a medal or jacket, to reward your effort.  In addition to the previously mentioned New Year’s Double, here are a few of my favorites:

• ·         The Rock’n’Roll race events have several series.  “Heavy Medals” reward participation in multiple events during a single calendar year.
• ·         The Southern Arizona Roadrunners has a “TripleCrown” series that rewards participants who run in 3 events during the year.  They also have a “Grand Prix” series that rewards racers for running in at least 6 events.
• ·         The Carlsbad 5000 has a special registration option that allows you to race in 4 consecutive 5k events – on the same day!  It’s called “The All-Day 20k” and finishers receive a special medal.
• ·         It’s becoming quite common for marathons to also host a 5k event the day prior to the big race.  Although many feel that a fast 5k the day prior can hinder marathon performance, I’ve found them to be fun and a nice chance to warm up the legs.  (Plus you get extra bling!)
• ·         Some marathons partner with other events to create a multi-city series.  For example, The San Francisco Marathon has multiple challenges including the CaliforniaDreamin’ medal (run both SFM and Surf City), the SF/Berkely Challenge, etc.  Three of the races in Southern California (Surf City, OC, and Long Beach) offer the Beach Cities Challenge medal for completing all 3 events.
• ·         Some marathons offer benefits for runners who return multiple years.  The Surf CityMarathon, for example, has a “Longboard Legacy Club” for runners who race at least 3 years in a row.
• ·         Our own Tucson Marathon has taken the series challenge concept to a new level with several different options, including the Wildcat Challenge, Fiesta Challenge, and Saguaro Challenge.

Let’s take it from a less technical, more subjective perspective.  Most of us are not running for our paychecks.  We do it for fun!  Maybe we’re also trying to improve our health or fitness, but there are many ways to accomplish that.  We run because running is enjoyable, and we enter events because they are fun!  So…if you’re running a race on Saturday to have fun, why not do another one on Sunday?  Double your fun!

One last thing.  After you've gone wild registering for all those fall races, be sure to let your friends know on the TRP site and update the TRP Racing Calendar spreadsheet.  We're all in this together!

Why Do Runners Run?

By Shokofeh Motlagh

Why do runners run? This is a question I have often asked myself. Running is not a comfortable sport.  I start to question myself each time I have a bloody blister or lose another toenail.  Or when we’re running Wednesday morning track intervals and push the speed work to a sense of lack of oxygen and nausea. When you do 24 by 200s or 16 by 400s and you’re pushing the speed until that very last bit. Lungs and legs are on fire. Yet you finish with that dorky satisfied half grin knowing you have achieved something real.  There’s further questioning of my sanity when I’m out on a long run and reach that barrier where I’m utterly exhausted and feel I have absolutely nothing to give. My legs start to feel like lead and I’m mentally fried and can’t seem to take another step. Somehow, somewhere we runners push through and finish that long run. Sometimes we don’t even comprehend where that last little bit of energy or power came from.

So if there’s so much pain involved, why would anyone take on such a sport? Why would anyone wake up at 4am day after day to face cold or heat, rain or snow just to endure pain? It doesn’t make sense does it?

I always knew I was different. However, I think the event that made me realize there was no going back to “normal” was my 51km Full Moon Extraterrestrial race. Once I give you the details of this race and the state I was in to run this race, you’ll know exactly what I mean.  Let me first explain to you that “runners” are not usually illogical people. They know what is “right” and what would be considered to be “not healthy” behaviors. To make it clear, we are not idiots. In fact, our IQs are rather high. When injured, we research the symptoms, etiology and treatment to every ounce of detail. Despite having intellect and being rather knowledgeable, runners are not good at following advice. The little voice that tells us “No, I don’t think that is a good idea” is quite often ignored.  Words that are often used to describe runners are Type A, OCD, stubborn.  In my opinion, these are rather harsh labels.

Back to this 51km which at the time seemed like a brilliant idea. This race was not planned by any means.  Keith and I ran the Eugene Marathon at the end of July 2014 and had a great trip. Eugene Marathon was my fourth full marathon of 2014 and I completed that race in 3:25 and considering the heat in the last half of the race, I was pleased with the outcome.

Eugene Marathon is usually held in the month of May but because the race director wanted it held in unison with the IAAF World Junior Track & Field Championship, they decided to change it to July in 2014. This meant suboptimal conditions for the marathon and dealing with heat and humidity. After many complaints and medical emergencies, they decided to change it back to May in 2015. It’s a beautiful course and very well organized in track town and I highly recommend this marathon to all runners.  You get to finish your marathon by running half a lap on Hayward Field (the track for the Olympic trials) and all the spectators are sitting up in the bleachers cheering for you. It was an amazing experience!

Little did I know that we would sign up and run my first ultra, a very challenging 51km course exactly two weeks after Eugene.  I guess you can say it was a spur of the moment decision by me and Keith.  I had always wanted to run an ultra and had looked into various ultra road races (there really aren’t that many road races) but I had not planned on running this particular one and definitely not so soon. I also didn’t know that I would be very ill leading up to the race with a high fever and chills. I guess you can’t plan for everything. We flew to Vegas on the Friday evening after a full day of work and our flight was delayed by four hours. Sitting in the cold Tucson airport until 10 pm with a fever was not my idea of fun to be honest. Once we arrived in Vegas, we checked in the hotel and passed right out. The next day, Saturday, we were supposed to meet at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino by 8pm to check in for the race. I spent the entire morning in bed just trying to break my fever. I drank lots of fluids and took lots of Tylenol flu medication hoping it would help. Keith got me lunch and we just tried to relax as much as possible. From the Hard Rock we left around 10pm on buses that were to take us to the race starting line. Oh yes, did I mention the race start time was at midnight? Hence why the race is called Extraterrestrial Full Moon 51km.

We spent two hours on the bus as we drove into the desert in the dark. All attempts to take a nap on the bus failed.  At approximately midnight, the buses came to a halt in the middle of nowhere and we were told to get off the bus. We were with our friends Luis, Allie and Callie on this trip. Keith and I took our headlamps, gels, hand held water and we complied. We all gathered at a mailbox which was supposedly the starting line. The famous Black Mailbox they called it is in fact white. To this day, I do not understand the significance of the damn mailbox. As we all gathered around this mailbox, the race director instructed us to gather for a prerace photo. Then without a warning, she said “Ok GO!!”  So everyone started running on the extraterrestrial highway (Area 51) into the distance. We were so shocked. We figured to just follow the crowd. I also didn’t realize that the first 13 miles of this race was all significant uphill. The race started at 4523 feet and climbed to its peak of 5617 at mile 12.8. We ran 26 miles in a straight path on a canted highway with oncoming traffic shining their headlights at us. At the 26^th mile mark, there was a police car with a siren. We were supposed to turn around at the police car and run the additional 5.7 miles to reach the finish line at 31.7 miles.  Keith ran the entire race with me. It was a very difficult race for me. Partly because I had never run at midnight before. Partly because I was very ill. Partly because I hadn’t recovered fully from my recent marathon yet. There were so many reasons. I told myself that I would start very slow. I kept reminding myself I had a long way to go and if I wanted to be able to complete this race, I would have to be smart about it. We started climbing straight from mile 1 maintaining an 8:30 pace. At the time, I was having some knee trouble and it started to act up around mile 4. All I could think about was I had close to 28 miles to go with this knee pain. We kept trotting along. By mile 12, I was spent. We managed to maintain pace up to that point. I knew this wasn’t going to be a good day. I was sweating more than usual with chills. My knee was hurting. My hip from the cant in the road was now aching. I couldn’t eat anything because my stomach was not cooperating with me. I told Keith at mile 13 (at the top of the hill) that I needed to walk a few steps. After a few steps of gathering myself, we started up again. I forced myself to have a few powerade gummies. Our pace maintained in the 8:20-8:30s for a while and then slowed down a bit. My goal was to just finish at that point. I was not a happy camper. There was absolutely no “runners high” as they call it. There was no “yay this is so awesome!” I just wanted that darn finish line. We took a few more steps around mile 16-18. By mile 20, we were able to see the siren on the police car. Seeing the siren made me feel maybe my life was coming to an end. Maybe I had passed out and the ambulance was coming for me. But somehow the siren was getting further and further away. We foolishly thought we were close. Little did we know we had 6 more miles until the siren and turn around. The siren was so bright and the road was so dark and empty that you were able to see this red flashing light for 6 miles! This was by far the worst part of the race. I felt time had stopped. My garmin was not moving. How could this be? How this damn siren could seem so close but we never manage to reach it? How could my garmin be reading each tenth of a mile as if it was an eternity. I tried to just distract my thoughts during this part of the race. Tried to relax and not think of my pain or how awful I felt. Keith tried to make conversation and I just did not feel like talking. Poor guy! I can’t ever fully describe how awful this part of the race felt. Once we got to mile 26 and the siren, I had an orange slice and then we turned around and started running back. We knew we were in the “finishing” stretch. ONLY 5.7 miles to go! Once you’ve run a marathon distance already, another 10 km shouldn’t feel like a lot right? Umm, WRONG. We did quite a bit of walking the last several miles. I kept myself running and told myself I’d allow few steps of walking after each mile. It soon became a bit of walking on the half mile. The last mile I was able to pull the last bit of energy or whatever was left in me and make it to that finish line.

Finish time was 4:53 for 31.7 miles on a very difficult course, second overall female finisher. My prize was a rock. Yes you heard me, a rock. Keith got a rock too for finishing first in his age group. We boarded the bus at 4:53AM holding our rocks and ready for our two hour drive back to Las Vegas.  I can honestly say that this race experience will remain a part of me forever!

So back to the question, why do runners run when there’s so much misery and pain involved? I can only tell you why I started to run and why I continue to find beauty in this sport and the positive effects on my life. I am a full time orthodontist but my life consists of primarily work, sleep and running. Running is a huge part of my life. Endless hours are spent training and preparing. When runners aren’t running, well we’re talking about running. Talking training strategies, reading books on running, physical therapy, massages, recovery methods, cross training. You name it. Our lives are consumed by this fabulous sport.  Running has made me respect my body more. It has allowed me to see the human body as such a fierce machine. We have so much potential that’s just waiting to be unleashed. It’s amazing to see what used to seem difficult and almost impossible no longer feels that way. With the right fuel, the right training and support, we are capable of reaching goals we never thought possible.

We all face so many obstacles and struggles in life. We may be facing marital problems, health problems, addictions, family problems, financial difficulties or eating disorders just to name a few. We all face different struggles at various points in our lives. Running has helped me become a stronger individual. I am able to handle stress with a different attitude. Running has given me a much more positive outlook on life and enabled me to meet so many wonderful friends. My best friends in life are now all runners.  I always encourage my friends and family to put on a pair of running shoes and let this simple sport change your life. I know it was the best decision of my life by far!

My First (and Last) Trail Race

By Guest Blogger Jennie Sparrow

“What kind of gloves are those?”  I said this without even trying to hide my “what kind of idiot are you?” tone.  “You’d honestly be warmer wrapping a single layer of saran wrap around your hands; those are the thinnest things I’ve ever seen, “ I told her as we sat shivering.  We were in my friend Holly’s 20 year old BMW, a used car she’d had since we met at freshman orientation at Agnes Scott College in Atlanta.  We were awaiting the start of a trail half marathon in November in Athens, Georgia.  Unfortunately for us, it had been extremely cold and raining the entire week prior and we were in for a misty and cold running experience.  Holly explained to me that when she went to pick up her bib that morning, the chipper woman at registration asked, with the enthusiasm of a high school cheerleader, “Are you pre-registered?”  “’I wanted to tell her, ‘ Holly would later recount, ‘Would I BE here is I WASN’T?’ “ It was that cold and miserable. 

We looked at her gloves some more, with the curiosity of archeologists who had just stumbled on a rare find.   “I found them at my mom’s house last week.  I think I’ve had them for about 20 years, “ she said with a touch of pride.  As I thought about where I was 20 years ago, it came to me.  “BAND GLOVES!  Holly, are those the gloves you wore as a flag girl in marching band?”  She cracked a smile and yelled triumphantly, “YES!”  So here we were, sitting in a car and shivering, trying not the think about the fact that this was the most comfortable we would be in the next 3 hours, and all my friend had to keep her warm was band gloves.  It would be a long day.

About 6 weeks prior, I came across the advertisement for this race, an inaugural trail half marathon the weekend after Thanksgiving.  The registration fee was $25 and the race was 15 minutes from my house, a drive that involved exactly one turn.  Anyone who knows me knows that two words that describe me best are cheap and lazy.  The price and location were right, so I called my old college friend and encouraged her to drive down from Asheville, North Carolina, and do the race with me.  We were both recreational runners, but were running mainly shorter runs.  “We can do this, “ I told her with a confidence that bordered on arrogance.  “We’re running shorter runs now; we just need to build up to one long run of 10 miles in the next few weeks and we’ll be fine.”  This would be her first half marathon and my first trail race.   I thought back to my misplaced confidence as we were shivering in the car. 

Once we realized that the race was about to start with or without us, we got out of the car and headed to the starting line with the less than 100 other, obviously pre-registered, questionably sane people.  Will Chamberlain (not to be confused with Wilt, who was famous for other feats of endurance), the race director for all the races in the area, told us about the route.  As usual, I tuned out, because, let’s face it, unless you are planning on leading the race, you don’t really need to know where you are going.  And then he said what he said before every race, “Have a good race.  Have a safe race.”  And we were off.  (When Will died unexpectedly several years later, I would feel a sense of loss that took me by surprise.).

I gave Holly some last minute advice.  After all, it was her first half marathon.  As we headed into the woods and onto the single track trail, I had a terrible realization.  I.don’t.run.trails.  Somehow this fact had eluded me when I was filling out the registration form, doing my training exclusively on the roads, and even sitting in the car that morning.   I am horribly uncoordinated, not at all agile, and terrified of falling.  Not a good recipe for a trail runner.  I knew this would be a long day as I walked sideways down the first hill.  Holly, on the other hand, was not quite as fit as I was but a much better athlete.  She jogged along happily in front of me listening to her ipod.  She turned around and grinned, “Justin and I are bringing sexy back!”  I smiled back, “Good old JT!,” I said, trying to hide the fact that I was way out of my comfort zone. 

We froze, jogged, and occasionally walked sideways along that wet double loop for over 2 ½ hours.  We finished the race exhausted and beaten down, but in 3^rd and 4^th place in our age group!  If you ask us now, we may even admit that there were only 4 people in our age group.  I wish I had some sort of epiphany or life lesson to share, but I’m guessing you have to pay more than $25 to get one of those.   Although this was years ago and Holly and I are now thousands of miles apart, we still get a good laugh and will be forever bonded by that race that “seemed like a good idea at the time.”  On second thought, maybe I got my $25 worth after all.

GPS Watches: My How Far We've Come

(This Blog was originally published on The San Francisco Marathon website on 3/22/15)
By Keith Schlottman

Look around you at your next group run or race, and you will notice that nearly every runner is wearing a GPS watch or carrying a GPS-enabled smart phone.  As you run, you may be entertained (or annoyed) by a cacophony of musical beeps and digitized voices alerting the athletes about paces, distances, and even making motivational announcements.  Chances are, if you are a runner, you also bring a GPS along on your run.

Stephanie with her new GPS watch at a TRP group run

It wasn't so long ago that runners ran without GPS.  Although the US began development of the Global Positioning System in the 1970's, the first running watch with a GPS receiver did not hit the markets until 2003.  Prior to then, we used stopwatches to keep time but distances were generally just estimated from a map, or if you were an experienced runner, you might guess at your pace.  In 1984, Timex came out with an LCD watch targeting runners, and the Timex Ironman series dominated runners' wrists for the next couple of decades.

When Garmin released the first few GPS watches, they were bulky and anyone brave enough to wear one received a lot of smirks and oddball comments as fellow runners wondered why someone would use such a funny-looking watch.  I used a Garmin 201, which took up much of my forearm and created an odd feeling of weight imbalance on the run:

My trusty '201 was a bit large

The Garmin 201 also took about 5 minutes or more to acquire a signal, and the charging system was a bulky cable with an RS-232 connection.  But I loved it!  Garmin had an optional software system that you could download the run data to for analysis.  As a bona fide data junkie, this was treasure to me - the ability to examine split details, elevation gains, and distances at such a detailed level was simply fantastic.

Back then the GPS data was far less accurate.  The government actually had a program called Selective Availability which created an intentional error in GPS accuracy, based on the premise that only the military needed precision.  Some claimed that we didn't want the "bad guys" to be able to precisely target a missile strike using the GPS system.  This meant that my data often showed oddities, for example I might run a loop with the same start and finish point, yet the data would say I had climbed 300 feet and finished on the next street over!  Fortunately, in 2000 the SA system was abolished and our running watches are now much more accurate.

My Timex Ironman GPS collected plenty of data

Nevertheless, there is no way to make a GPS 100% accurate, and even with modern tools that attempt to correct for things such as ionospheric shifts and receiver quality, our current running watches will never give a perfect data set.  The error in GPS readings typically ranges around 1 - 2%, which means that when your GPS watch reads one mile, you might have actually gone as much as 50 - 100 feet shorter or farther.  Although current GPS watches often give distance readings to 3 decimal places, you should not treat them as perfect to that level of precision.  The same applies to elevation.  When you run the San Francisco Marathon in July, your GPS will do a fairly good job of showing you how flat the course actually is once you’re done – but it won’t be perfectly accurate.

When you race with your GPS, you will almost always find that your watch shows a different distance than the race's advertised distance.  For example, you might race a 5k, which technically should be about 3.10686 miles, but when you finish your watch displays a different reading.  Be careful about claiming "the course was long", or "the course was short", based on only your GPS.  If the race manager uses their own GPS to measure out the course, you can be certain the distance is off.  But if they obtain USATF Course Certification (and the best races always are Certified distances), the measurement process is different.  In fact USATF regulations prohibit course certification based on GPS.

My latest GPS watch is a Garmin FR620.  It's far lighter and thinner than my previous watches, and has modern features like a touchscreen, Bluetooth and Wifi connectivity - a super toy for a nerd!  But despite the impressive specs, it's still not perfect.  Sometimes the readings are misleading.  The photo below shows a mile split from a track workout in Flagstaff last year, but it does not represent my true mile time - what the watch does not show is that this is a combination of 200 meter speed intervals.

Reviewing mile splits on GPS watches is so easy

There are other limitations as well, including the occasional failure of signal acquisition.  Last year I completed the Boston Marathon only to discover my GPS said I had run only 17 miles - it lost satellite signals partway through the race, and never recovered.  And most runners with GPS have experienced a dead battery more than once.  This is especially true with smart phones, which can fairly rapidly lose power when running continuous GPS.

So they are not perfect, but GPS can be both fun and useful as a training aid.  They can encourage you to run farther - I recall that my first GPS caused me to realize that my regular 3-mile route was actually only 2.8, so I lengthened it.  They can provide a long-term data set to help you understand and objectively observe trends, including mileage as well as pace trends.  The software tools available now are extremely powerful.  Online logging systems like Garmin Connect, Strava, Training Peaks, etc. allow you to analyze the data in ways that would make a mathematician proud.

There are many GPS watch options currently available

There are a few runners out there who will encourage you to “ditch the GPS” and “run naked”, under the theory that the data will spoil your enjoyment of the run.  It’s also possible that excessive monitoring of splits during a run can cause you to actually run slower overall times.  But the GPS is here to stay and it is only going to get better.  In the near future you’re likely to see smaller and more accurate devices, or even perhaps heads-up displays of your data in your sunglasses.  Maybe you’ll be able to monitor teammates’ positions during a race in real time, or have the device alert you when a bathroom or water fountain is coming up.  There are plenty of opportunities for technology advancement in GPS.  The true joy of running comes from the sport itself, and the GPS data is just an additional way to enjoy this wonderful sport.

Keith Schlottman is a 2015 San Francisco Marathon Ambassador who lives in Tucson, Arizona.  He looks forward to testing his GPS accuracy for the 4^th time on the SFM course this year.  If you’d like to join him, use discount code TSFM2015KEITH to save $25!  Keith co-leads the Tucson Runners Project, a free running group for runners of all abilities, with his fiancé.