Online Stalking....er Watching

My friend and race buddy went down to Walt Disney World to run in runDisney marathon.  I can't believe that she was able to complete the entire 26.2 mile distance.  I think it's an amazing achievement.  At this point in my running journey, mentally, I cannot imagine going that far.  I also never expected to run 13.1 a few times either a couple of years ago and I have.  My mentality of going that far is not quite there yet.......yet.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand.  So, my friend was up bright, well....dark and early to make it to the running corrals and be ready to go when the race started on Sunday morning.  Me?  I was still in bed, staying warm in the frigid climate of Michigan.  

I finally got up and immediately logged onto my computer.  She uses the Runtastic app and I can view her as she moves along the course.  Runtastic is one of several apps that allows friends and family a "live" view of someone's race or run.  The movement is almost in "real time" depending on the delay between the GPS and getting it back to the server and your computer.  

You can also "cheer" on your friend or family member by pressing designated buttons on the Runtastic website.  You have to become a member in order to "cheer" someone on.  There's clapping and chants, "GO GO GO" and even an air horn that will go off in their earphones as they run along.  It can be very motivational to know someone is cheering you on to the finish line.

After logging onto Runtastic, I logged onto Facebook.  And of course, there was my other running buddy and my friend's husband on there.  He was down there with her, but was able to keep tabs on where she was around the Disney property.  We would comment and send updates to each other as to where she was. I brought up the actual race course and told everyone what mile marker she was near or coming to.  

I thought it was great fun that we were all able to communicate with each other and "watch" her do this amazing thing.  We could cheer her one and my friend was a gold member on Runtastic could send her individualized messages which we did quite often.  Just made it more personal and hopefully we helped her finish.

I just find it amazing that we can do this now.  You can cheer on your friends from afar.  You don't have to use Runtastic, there are several apps that will allow you to cheer someone on.  You do have to know which app they are using before hand.  I just remember, and I'm not stealing from Jeff Foxworthy either, when I was growing up in my house we only got 4 TV stations, the 3 major networks and PBS.  I hated when the presidential nomination conventions were on.  That was 3 - 4 days of watching bug documentaries on PBS.  Not my idea of fun.

But now, we can watch our friends run/race across the country.  You can cheer them on almost better than if you were there.  You are able to watch them complete the entire course.  If you were there then you might be able to see them once or twice depending on how the course is set up.  Otherwise, you see them take off, maybe, and the hope to catch them crossing the finish line.  I just think of the movie Ocean's Eleven where the casino boss says, "someone is always watching."  Now, it seems more truer than ever, but in a good way.  

I had a blast watching my friend do something I can only dream of doing right now, with other friends and her family talking like we were there.  Something to consider if you can't cheer on a friend or family member and want to see how they're doing.  You don't have to always wait for the timing updates that the race may provide.  This future stuff is awesome!!!