If one more person complains... - Page 3 - Events

PhilPub

04/04/2012 at 17:01

Is he the bloke who plays the fiddle?

Toucs

04/04/2012 at 17:16

Perhaps he's the one to blame for putting a faulty tracker system in the sky?

I like my Garmin because it always says I've run longer than the actual event I've been in.......for half marathons and above at least half a mile. London Marathon two years ago it was just over 27 miles. I always think I get my money's worth though!

Bruce C

04/04/2012 at 17:42

So then what you're saying is that Garmins could be out by up to 5% ?

http://s4.runnersworld.co.uk/members/images/427252/gallery/garminsmall.jpg?width=350&height=116&mode=max

Helen Liz

04/04/2012 at 17:55

Wow!! Bruce, that's some speedy movement there. What were you doing? I assume not having a shower! Well, not unless the earth moved for you

No, we said that the manufacturer claims a tolerance of a few percent. If you have reason to believe that you've used it in accordance wth instructions and it is showing something more than that, you have a case that it's not fit for purpose. It's not an upper limit of tolerance, that's a different thing entirely.

And, while we're at it, and putting my scientist coat on, there is a tendancy to confuse accuracy and precision. They're not the same thing. It's is possible to be accurate and imprecise, as well as precise and inaccurate. The holy grail of measurement systems is accurate AND precise.

RicF

04/04/2012 at 18:18

And a Garmin GPS is thereby not the Holy Grail of measurement systems. It is however an excellent gadget. For something.

dhale750

10/04/2012 at 23:40

Happychap wrote (see)

In that case Dhale I must have deviated a helluva long way in VLM last year. The watch clocked 27.59. Running bench it would make you faster though as most measurers jones counters are attached to bikes <insert smily>

Plausible enough, especially in a race as crowded as VLM.

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2009/03/racing-line-understanding-how-courses.html

SwimsLikeAWalrus

11/04/2012 at 09:25

When I'm sat on my sofa with my Garmin in my hand displaying the map the marker moves all over the place. Mine and Wilkie's must be from the same batch!

Cheerful Dave pirate

pirate

11/04/2012 at 14:17

dhale750 wrote (see)

Happychap wrote (see)
In that case Dhale I must have deviated a helluva long way in VLM last year. The watch clocked 27.59. Running bench it would make you faster though as most measurers jones counters are attached to bikes <insert smily>
Plausible enough, especially in a race as crowded as VLM.
http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2009/03/racing-line-understanding-how-courses.html

Interesting article, but he never mentions that the GPS data points themselves have an in-built error, before any of the errors in interpolation (which he does mention at the end of the article, to be fair).

That course he uses has a lot more turns than the London course, and even taking every one of those turns on the outside of the bend he only gets an extra half mile.

If someone's getting an extra mile and a half at VLM, it's mostly down to GPS errors & lost signals rather than deviating from the blue line.

PhilPub

11/04/2012 at 14:24

I agree with Dave. You'd have to be running like a drunken idiot to add more than a mile to a marathon route. I'm sure I said it earlier (or it might have been in another thread, CNBA checking) but the Garmin invariably and systematically overestimates distance when running round a track and I don't remember weaving in and out of runners there, or diverting to take on water.

Cheerful Dave pirate

pirate

11/04/2012 at 15:09

You've not seen HC run then?

RicF

11/04/2012 at 15:48

How many would swear blind that the running track must be wrong because their Garmin says something different?

RicF

11/04/2012 at 19:10

To be honest, I really like the principle behind these devices, but having field tested a Garmin at least ten years ago against a Nike SDM, the Nike won hands down. The signals sent to the Garmin are simply not up to the job and to the nearest 10m is also nowhere good enough. When the signal is pinned down to the nearest 500mm, the signal transmitted at 50Hz plus, and strong enough to penetrate buildings and trees, then it might be worthwhile.

Happychap

12/04/2012 at 07:57

LOL CD

Actually because I literally started at the back last year and pretty much stayed there. I was able to follow the line more closely than ever before. And it was the longest distance the Garmin clocked over that course.

Screamapillar

12/04/2012 at 08:06

I think the bottom line is that if elite runners (whose livelihoods depend on their times) trust that course distances are correct then so should everyone else.

Edited: 12/04/2012 at 08:07

BirminghamOwl

13/04/2012 at 13:33

Sorry if this has been posted before.

Have a read of this article - http://www.goodrunguide.co.uk/MeasuringRoutes.asp

Great example of how inaccurate GPS can be just around a track.

Owl

Edited: 13/04/2012 at 13:46

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