My Athlete GPS Tracker

scottwstewart

Back in November when I was following the IMAZ race day forum, I noticed that a couple of athletes were using a My Athlete GPS tracker, which showed where the athletes were throughout the day on a map.  It turns out that I have some family who won't be able to make it to Coeur d'Alene to watch me do IMCDA and I thought it would be cool to do something like this.  The athlete tracker that WTC does is cool, but it only gives a few updates spaced hours apart.  It would be great to let my family know where I am at any point in time.

So for those of you who have used this, how well does it work?  Is it complicated?  I noticed on their website that they are at select races.  Are they at all Ironman races?  Is there a similar product that maybe works better?  Thanks in advance for the input!

Michele Cellai

Scott- I have never personally used it, but have tracked ENers during IM races when they were using it. If family is onsite, it's great for knowing where you are and guestimating when you might arrive wherever they happen to be watching. Remote following it was fun and prevents folks from having to send updates other than how the athlete looks/ feels.

Use for family- if they use the internet, then it is not complicated. I tracked an athlete at Kona and just being able to know he was moving made a difference. They are at Ironman and I have seen them advertise at local races as well. So it's something they can do anywhere.

My understanding: You sign up weeks in advance for the service. They mail you the device. You carry the unit on you. Return it after the race is over.

I know that doesn't answer everything, but I hope it helps.

TerryO

I used it at Long Course Nationals and IMAZ this year. You can order it anytime. If they aren't at the race, they mail it to you for a nominal fee with free return postage. Each unit has it's own web address to track it specifically. You put it on your race number belt, turn it on before you get in the water, and put it on in T1. My family loved it. It's got plenty of battery time for an IM. I highly recommend it.

scottwstewart

 Great, thank you both for the info.  I'm thinking this would be something that my family would love.  It will probably also help keep my mom from getting so worried .

J.T. Thompson

Thanks for the thread - sounds pretty cool and also doing IMCDA, with lots of people not coming - this might be a cool way for them to track that I'm actually still moving and not doing this...

penlynwilson

I want this for John during IMTX this year. I think it will reduce the stress of "where is he? did I miss him?" I have heard good things from others who have used it to track athletes.

Michele Cellai

And I Wish I had been using it at IMWI 2010. I was feeling sick and borrowed a cell phone to call DH, asked him to buy me Tums. I told him wear to meet me, but he had trouble. We eventually met up and it worked out. If I had been carrying this, he would have had an easier time.

jetskr

I went with a DIY version of this for IMAZ in 2009 and it worked out really well.  Just signed up for Google Lattitude (scary location tracking Google Map service) and loaded the Google Map application on my Blackberry.  Set the Blackberry not to alert me for anything, or make any type of noise, and broadcast my location every few seconds.  The slipped the phone which was in a baggie into a jearsy pocket in T1 and away I went.

For $30 the Athlete Tracker might be a more elegant solution but my family and friends had no problems locating me on the course in AZ or at home.

Matt Samojeden

Scott,
I used one in Kona it worked as advertised. They say it is water proof but did not trust that it would not get lost in the full contact swim event. So I put it on my race number belt and turned it on the before the race. I put it on in T1. It allowed my wife who was watching on the course to know when I would be coming through so she could try to catch some pics. I had multiple friends track me back in the states. I was happy with it and will use it again.

On the other side of the coin, I tracked 3 EN athletes at IMAZ from the comfort of my chair and watch ironman live in a second window on the PC. It works.