Confused by technology!

[BarbieW]

So there I was planning to go for 7k this morning, as my last long run was 6.25 or 6.75 depending which app you looked at, but erring on the side of caution, as you do, i thought 7k would be a good one to aim for.

First thing that went wrong was I couldn’t hear the app voice so kept stopping to wiggle the lead or pause and resume, all to no avail. So plodded on in silence. Strava was clocking the distance right from the start, which it often doesn’t until I get out of the town centre, but today was a good signal for a change. Couldn’t see what mapmyrun was doing as haven’t sussed much on that one yet, but I think I set it going.

I had planned where to go on the basis of the 6.25 clocked by Strava last time, and I have a loop I can add if not quite enough when I’m nearly home. When I got to that point, Strava said I had done about 5.8 so I started the loop for an extra k. Then my phone told me it was low on battery power and I was petrified I would loose the run if it shut down altogether, so went into low battery mode, which meant I let the screen blank out.

When I finished the loop, the screen (still working thank goodness) showed me 7k so I headed home feeling smug. When I got home (and charged the phone, no data lost 😊 but headphones appear to be dead 😩) and looked at Mapmyrun, it said I had done 8.1k but Strava said 7.1

So now I am totally confused. The picture of the route is identical in both apps but the distance a whole k out. I know it was half a k different on my 6.25/6.75 run last week, but a whole kilometer? How can that be?

So I reckon I’m up to 8k now, (being a glass half full sort of person) or should I really take the average of the two, at 7.5k

Any ideas why it should be so different? What am I doing wrong?

[Hidden]

Time for a running watch! x

[SANDI_runs Graduate10]

I have the same issue with my fit bit watch and Nike run on my phone. I set them both off as I start my runs, but they always register different distances, the fitbit always being shorter. Someone said it was the GPS signal dropping out? I don't know. I'm not very technologically minded!

I always go with the distance on Nike run.

[telford_mike Graduate10]

I had no end of trouble with my phone, regardless of which app I was using. It always under-recorded my distance. As Hidden says, it's time to buy a Garmin - they work perfectly and are far better than any phone/app.

[UpTheStanley Graduate10]

I've no idea why different bits of tech should give you different answers, but there are a couple of ways of finding out how far you actually ran (assuming you know where you went ) …….

1. (No tech) Find a large scale street map and a bit of string. Put one end of the string at the start and work your way round the route pinching the string as you get to each corner. Once you get to the end, see how much string you've used, and convert that into real distance using the map scale …..

2. (Some tech) Open up Google Maps on a computer. Zoom in on your run area. Right click on your start point and select the "measure distance" option from the list that appears. Then do a series of left clicks along your route (up to you how many times you click, especially round corners - more clicks = more accuracy), and you'll get a lengthening line with distance markers every 500 metres, and the total distance to your last click. If you're running in the country, you may find it easier to use satellite view than the street map.

There you go ……. hours of fun

[DNB2512]

If you use the My Routes option off the Dashboard menu on the Strava website, you can click round the route and it will tell you the distance. This is not dependent on the vagaries of the GPS signal, so it should be more accurate.

[misspelling]

Hi there. I found phone apps very inaccurate. I now plot my route on 'Mapometer' on my pc. It's so easy to use and because you can select to 'follow roads' you don't have to keep clicking on your route to follow bends etc. Give it a go- I was really pleased when I discovered I had been running further than my phone app was telling me !!

[Dexy5 Graduate10]

I think the answer is to use mapmyrun or Strava , not both. I bought a garmin sports watch in the end and it’s made life much simpler.

[BarbieW Graduate10]

Thanks everyone. Good job Christmas is coming up.

Now, do I add to my list a piece of string or a new watch????? Or just the shoes I’d already got on there?

TOO difficult!