This last weekend was the Contour Utah Valley Marathon, which offers one of the fastest Boston qualifier courses in the nation. This is a great spring race with many course options (Full marathon, half marathon and 10K). So, there is something for everyone, and it is in the amazing setting of Utah!
The race director contacted RaceJoy and asked that the course maps be loaded into the RaceJoy system so that participants could opt in for RaceJoy’s 99 cents live GPS tracking and GPS-based progress alerts at every mile on the course. We had a great turnout and supporting friends and family were able to track participants throughout the canyons and valleys, all while sending motivating cheers throughout race day.
We are always in search of those who might be out on the course for a longer period of time. This helps us determine battery usage in a real world setting where different factors, like poor cell conditions, may impact the phone’s battery. The race director warned us that there may be spotty cell areas – which varied by cell providers. RaceJoy works fine going in and out of poor cell areas and will pick the person back up once a cell connection is re-established (participants just need to Start tracking where there is a cell connection). However, a phone’s battery will drain at a faster pace when going through poor cell conditions as it re-attempts to make a connection. So, this was a great opportunity for us to monitor battery usage. We tracked several participants and were able to track for 6.5 hours. That is pretty impressive given that typical training apps only last about 3 hours!
Check out the Utah Valley Marathon for next year – especially if you are looking to qualify for Boston. We love the races in Utah! There is nothing like being surrounded by powerful, majestic mountains to propel you through race day.
Are you one of the last people on the course? We want you! If you are someone who is one of the last people on the course, let us know! We will be your personal fan club and will send you cheers through out the race. Send us an email at info@racejoy.com.