What to look for in a GPS System
A GPS receiver tracks the location of satellites in space and picks up coded information to find their exact position. Once the GPS unit has locked onto the satellites to calculate your whereabouts, the information is stored in the memory and you can start navigating. This is useful for runners as it allows you to check where you are, navigate to a specific location or know how fast you're going. Until recently we relied on pedometers – which measured measure distance by stride length – this was less than perfect because most of us shorten our stride uphill and as we tire, so pedometer results tended to be unreliable. A GPS unit measures your performance from exact location to exact location which means it can calculate the distance you've run and give you an average speed reading.
Some GPS also have heart rate and calorie monitors which allow you to check your health as well as your distance travelled and others can download map data from CD-ROMs or mapping software.
Again the important things are that you should be able to operate the unit easily and wear it comfortably. With some GPS readability is not good – if you have to keep stopping to check your position on a tiny and almost illegible map, your training will not improve! When trying out a GPS in the shop, look at it in bright sunlight which can make the screen hard to read, as well as checking the strength of the backlight for night runs or poor weather conditions. Some GPS are heavy, be sure that the added weight on your wrist isn’t going to affect your running style. Finally, make sure you can understand how to operate the unit – if you can’t work out how to get it to show you the route home when you’re lost, then you’ve wasted your money!
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