Fitbit helps thousands during summer racing season

This post was originally published on the Fitbit press site. It has been adapted from its original format.

As the popularity of organized runs continues to grow, Fitbit, the leader in the connected health and fitness market, is increasing its efforts to help consumers reach their fitness goals through new partnerships with The San Francisco Marathon and Destination Races. With industry-leading devices, impactful data and virtual coaching, Fitbit helps users prepare for and reach their performance goals at any level, from completing a first 5K run to setting a personal record for a half or full marathon.

“By supporting events like The San Francisco Marathon and Destination Races, Fitbit is helping provide positive experiences for runners of all levels to train and reach their goals,” said Tim Rosa, VP Global Marketing, Fitbit. “We want to enable people to train smarter by providing them with the tools to take their training to a new level, such as logging workouts and monitoring heart rate. We’re excited to see runners of all levels go farther and faster this race season with the help of Fitbit.”

Connect with Fitbit at Upcoming Race Events

As the first official fitness tracker of The San Francisco Marathon, one of the largest marathon events in the U.S., and Destination Races, the nation’s pioneer and premiere wine country half-marathon series, Fitbit will help runners of all levels maximize their training and stay on track toward their goals leading up to and throughout race weekend. Fitbit brand ambassador and ultra-marathoner Dean Karnazes has also provided customized training tips at Fitbit.com to help runners prepare for race day.

“Whether you are running your first race, or 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 consecutive days, preparing for a race begins long before race day,” said Karnazes. “Setting a fitness goal is a great first step, but understanding your goal and what you need to do to achieve that goal is the key. Fitbit’s activity trackers and tools give runners the data they need to make the smart decisions that are going to take their bodies to the finish line.”

For participants of the eight Destination Races events across North America, Fitbit has provided downloadable training schedules from Karnazes to help runners meet their race day goals. The next Destination Races event, Napa-to-Sonoma, will take place on Sunday, July 19, and will feature Fitbit brand ambassadors Ryan and Sara Hall, two of America’s premier distance runners, who will provide a little extra motivation to runners making their way to the finish line.

Fitbit will also serve as the presenting partner of The San Francisco Marathon 5K and The San Francisco Marathon Race Weekend App. For the first time, the Race Weekend App will give runners access to real-time race data that is synced with their Fitbit step count, delivered along-side motivational tips from Karnazes. The app will also help spectators keep track of their friends and family with maps and live runner tracking and live race leaderboards. To help runners keep their muscles loose and energized for the race, Karnazes will host a free “Shake Out Your Steps Run” on Saturday, July 25 from The San Francisco Marathon Health and Fitness Expo. The 38th annual marathon event will take place the following day on Sunday, July 26.

Train More Effectively with the Fitbit Platform

The Fitbit platform combines connected health and fitness devices with software and services, including an online dashboard and mobile apps, data analytics, motivational and social tools, personalized insights and virtual coaching through customized fitness plans and interactive workouts. Knowing one size does not fit all in health and fitness, our wide variety of connected health and fitness devices enable tracking fitness at every level – everyday, active and performance.

When combined with easy to access to software and services, the Fitbit platform enables people to be more active, exercise more, sleep better and manage their weight – all key components when training for a race or marathon. Here’s how it works:

Activity Tracker Features

• Fitbit Devices: Offer a range of six different wearable health and fitness devices that span multiple styles, form factors and price points that fit seamlessly into people’s daily lives and activities. All of the devices automatically track daily steps, calories burned, distance traveled, floors climbed and active minutes
• GPS Tracking on Fitbit Surge: Delivers real-time distance and pace, along with elevation summary on the wrist, allowing runners to track progress and identify and hit target goals; following runs users can review route, pace and split times on the Fitbit mobile app or online dashboard to analyze and optimize performance over time – because for some races, seconds matter
• PurePulse Heart Rate Tracking: Enables users using Fitbit Charge HR or Fitbit Surge to establish resting heart rate and monitor intensity to stay within optimal ranges during various stages of a run – all without an uncomfortable chest strap
• Exercise Mode on Fitbit Charge HR and Multi-Sport on Fitbit Surge: Uniquely records various workouts in addition to running – yoga, cycling, weight-lifting – delivering key stats, workout intensity and calories burned for a full picture of a user’s training in preparation for the big race
• Automatic Sleep Detection: Monitors how long and how well users sleep, illustrating where adjustments in lifestyle might be necessary during training

Mobile & Social Tools

• FitStar: Offers virtual coaching through streaming video workouts anytime, anywhere to build strength, gain flexibility and maintain endurance. To help runners elevate their training and avoid injury, FitStar created two handcrafted workouts inspired by The San Francisco Marathon: the “Race Day Ready” Freestyle session in the FitStar Personal Trainer App and “Flexible Finish” in the FitStar Yoga App.
• Nutrition and Hydration Tracking: Logs food and water intake right on the Fitbit app, no matter where they are, to help users monitor calories in vs. calories out to deliver the right amount of fuel to their bodies while in training and leading up to race day
• Motivation: Social connectivity with friends and family on the Fitbit app allows users to train, motivate, and challenge each other to reach that next training milestone

For more information on Fitbit products and services, please visit http://www.fitbit.com/.