24 May 2006

A gimmick

They didn't have these kind of things when I used to do the occasional run. The Guardian reports:
"The latest must-have product for the digital generation, courtesy of Apple and Nike, is a pair of running shoes that uses your iPod to tell you how far you have run and how many calories you have burned.
The Nike+ system, which has taken 18 months to develop, uses a tiny transmitter fitted in the trainers to send information back to the music player with every step. Runners can find out how they are doing by hitting the centre button on their iPod Nano and listening to a spoken update of their progress. Should the hi-tech pavement-pounders start to flag, they can give themselves a quick boost by calling up a pre-chosen "power song" for that all-important motivational lift.
The sensor kit will cost £25 and will be available in the UK from July 13. The first training shoe it can be fitted into, the new Air Zoom Moire, will go on sale at the same time priced at £65. Six more styles will follow."

I would suggest that all this is unnecessary. From experience and habit, most runners know how far and how fast they have gone. Fiddling with an iPod is just a distraction.

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