Innovations That Revolutionized Running
Six innovations that changed the sport of running and how they might evolve
The act of running has not changed in millennia; you put one foot in front of another with a period of time when both feet are off the ground. However, innovations over the past 30 years have allowed runners to get more out of their running. Following are six major innovations that revolutionized running and will continue to do so in the future.
Global Positioning System (GPS)
Today, we don’t think twice about using our smartphone or our vehicle GPS to determine our location or to direct us to the start line of a race. Before the advent of the GPS, I would drive and look at the odometer to determine the length of a course. Sometimes, I tried to use a map. Mostly, I simply ran at an estimated pace and estimated the distance traveled; that was not very accurate. Today, I rely on my smartwatch with GPS to indicate the distance covered during my runs. Not that the GPS is perfect. With an older GPS watch, the distance indicated after a certified marathon was 41.1 km, short by more than a kilometer. In my last marathon, the newer version of the watch was off by less than 400 meters.
In the future, I can see the day when the GPS functionality will mesh with other…
