As a national sponsor of the Girls on the Run SoleMates charity runner program, Garmin is partnering with this great organization to further their mission and share the stories of the women and men who are “running for a reason”. Runners can sign up for any event — runs, walks, bike rides or triathlons — and raise funds that will support their chosen council of Girls on the Run. Want your next race to help change lives? Find out more here. Today’s story comes from Marsha, who coaches Girls on the Run in North Carolina and is a SoleMates fundraiser. Marsha tells how she’s gained new perspective and motivation for her own life through Girls on the Run.
Girls on the Run and SoleMates were the catalysts to get me moving forward and in the right direction. It was a matter of life and death for me. With a family history of heart disease and diabetes, I didn’t have time to sit around and wait to get my life into gear. I had settled into a lazy lifestyle and doing “just enough” to get by in the self-care department. I was letting life pass me by and was not fully participating in the moments that matter the most. I desperately needed inspiration and motivation. All that changed when a friend asked me to help coach a new Girls on the Run team at our daughters’ school. I immediately said yes without considering my current physical and mental shape. Somehow, I had faith that GOTR would pull me out of the hole that I was in.
I found my spark after attending the coaches training and feeling the power that Girls on the Run has on the inner girl that we sometimes try to quiet by telling ourselves that we can’t do something. I felt empowered and ready to conquer the world and signed up to join SoleMates to help me set goals and take charge of my life while benefiting GOTR. Little did I know that it would only get better after our first GOTR season started. Every practice brings about a new awareness to my life and I feel a real connection with the lessons and the girls that I’m coaching. Girls on the Run and SoleMates have changed my life and I will continue to feel empowered and move forward through my journey in this life, fully participating in every moment. Thanks Girls on the Run and SoleMates!”
If you love Garmin's echo fishfinders, you'll definitely want to check out our Fish with a Pro sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip to Florida to spend a day on Lake Okeechobee fishing with Garmin pro, Scott Martin, on his tournament boat rigged with the latest and greatest in Garmin equipment! Our echo fishfinders feature the highest performance, power and pixels for your money - each echo model features Garmin's HD-ID target tracking technology which provides the clearest possible picture of what lies below; each offer smooth scaling with seamless screen transitions from shallow to deeper water; and each come with a trolling motor/transom transducer right out of the box! Not only can you enter to win a trip to fish with Scott on his home lake, but you'll also be entered for a chance to win your very own echo fishfinder and Garmin fishing gear, too. Enter for your chance to win today - Garmin's Fish with a Pro sweepstakes ends April 30, 2012!
Whether you are a Runner, Cyclist, Paddle-Boarder, Golfer or even Fisherman, Hunter or Pilot you most likely have a favorite piece of equipment or a good luck charm. We totally get it!! Many times it is that gadget that helps keep you on the right track to achieve your goals.
In the case of Sonya, a mother, die-hard runner and her running group's fashion guru, her can't live without item is a Forerunner 205. But not just any Forerunner 205, I might add. Sonya, who is known to her training partners and friends as outgoing and fun-loving shows her personality with her style!
Here is what Sonya had to say about her one of a kind Forerunner 205 and her first marathon in Miami, FL:
I love my Garmin 205!! It is my most treasured piece of equipment for my runs!! When or if it ever fails to work I may have a complete "come-apart"! I love running more than I have words to describe, but I have become the fashionista runner among my running group and just when they thought I could not make my outfits anymore spectacular - I did!
My "upgraded" (blinged out) device really captures everyone's attention, especially on a beautiful sunny day!!
This blinged out Garmin helped me reach my goal of under 4 1/2 hours in my inaugural marathon attempt this past weekend!! It looked awesome with my 1st-marathon-outfit! Here are some pics! Thanks again for such a great product for us runners!
P.S. Now my daughter and her friends want their car GPS Garmins "blinged" - Oh the madness!!!
If you have your own "Custom Garmin" story and would like us to feature it on the blog send us a note to garminblogs@garmin.com or share it with us on facebook and twitter.
Garmin’s one and only retail store - dedicated to the sales and service of Garmin GPS devices - received the honor of a Top 40 Shopping Destination and Concierge Favorite as voted by over 700 Chicago city and suburb concierges. This annual vote runs in conjunction with Concierge Day as proclaimed by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel on January 26. According to Concierge Preferred, the sponsor of the Favorites Award, almost five million referrals are made by Chicago’s 750-plus city and suburban concierges with over 1.1 shopping suggestions being made each year.
Store representatives attended the Concierge Day Awards Event on Thursday evening, where the Concierge announced their top five choices in each category. The Store’s thank you video to the concierges aired throughout the evening. The store was also featured in the official web article as a One of a Kind Find. Check out the article posted on Concierge Preferred’s web site.
Thank you to the Chicago Concierge Community for this great honor! We are proud to be a one-of-a-kind shopping destination in Chicago!
I love to see comments on the blog, and occasionally we even get a good question that we can spin into another post for others to learn from, as well. Recently we received a question about the operational difference between the GNS 530W and the GTN 750 with regard to loading approaches. In the 530W, when you select an approach, the GPS has you choose a transition. The transitions are a list of the first fix of all approach transition routes, plus a list of any Initial Approach Fixes (IAFs) on those transition routes that a pilot may choose to start from instead. “Vectors” is also an option as a transition, which basically tells the 530W that you are being vectored by Air Traffic Control (ATC) to the final approach segment of the approach. All intermediate and initial fixes are removed and the final segment becomes active. Garmin found that a large number of customers were choosing the Vectors option, so in the GTN 750 it is the default transition. To select a full approach with an IAF on the GTN you will touch the “Transition” field on the PROC – Approach page (depicted on page 6-11 in the Pilot’s Guide) and then touch the transition you would like to use for the approach from the list. Doing this will load the full approach with the points that are part of that route. It is often recommended to load the full approach in case ATC has you fly to an intermediate approach fix. This is something I recommend as well. Vectors can be activated later in the flight by going to the Procedures page and touching the button for “Activate Vectors To Final”. If you would like to practice using the GTN, download the free trainer and the Pilot’s Guide from Garmin’s website. Or download the GTN Trainer app for your iPad. Hopefully this answers the question and gives some insight to the operational differences, and keep those comments coming!
From the time the doors of the Orange County Convention Center opened it was a constant stream of traffic surrounding the Garmin Golf booth at this year's PGA Show. PGA professionals, golf course executives and retailers alike were amazed by the power and simplicity of our Golf offerings. The common statement was, "I just can't believe there are no fees, or no subscriptions for the course data"-- and they are right! None of our Golf lineup requires any fees nor subscriptions, including the new Approach G6 and the popular Approach S1 GPS golf-watch.
"We strive to make Garmin Golf products a compliment to player's games," said Bryan Yalowitz, Director of Sales for Garmin's outdoor segment. "For players looking for basic yardage information from their ball to the front, middle or back of the green, the S1 watch is the perfect tool! If you're a traveller and are looking for a more detailed product, the G6 comes pre-loaded with over 25k worldwide courses and provides enough info to think about calling it your caddy."
We are thrilled about all the buzz our new Golf products are receiving and are even more excited about what the future has in store for Garmin Golf! The PGA Show continues today in Orlando, so if you get a chance to check it out be sure to stop by our booth, #1627.
The Garmin marine team is in northwest this weekend for the start of the Seattle Boat Show, the largest boat show on the west coast. The booth is full of the latest and greatest in Garmin equipment, including the new GSD black-box sounders, GDL 40 cellular weather receiver and of course, Garmin's wide array of our popular touchscreen MFDs. From 7- to 15-inches, we've been doing demos for customers since the doors opened. With the BlueChart g2 Vision cards, we can easily show the features and benefits of Garmin's exclusive Auto Guidance technology, which searches through all relevant charts to create a route you can actually follow - one that avoids obstacles, shallow water, buoys and other obstructions.
And Garmin equipment isn't just in our booth - our plotters, radars, instruments and sensors can be found on a wide variety of boats around the convention center, too. From Wooldrige aluminum boats to Ranger Tug trawlers to Pursuit offshore sport cabins, Garmin can be found as installed and standard equipment around the show. Here's a look at the new Ranger Tugs R-31, a trailerable trawler equipped with a GPSMAP 5215 in the main cabin, a GPSMAP 5212 on the command bridge, and GMR 18 radome on the mast, just announced at this show.
If you're in Seattle for the show, make sure to stop by the Garmin booth, Concourse booth #2132, to check out what's new!
Starting tomorrow, thousands of Apple fans will check out the latest apps and accessories at Macworld | iWorld in San Francisco. Garmin offers a growing range of iOS apps spanning aviation, fitness, tracking, treasure hunting and turn-by-turn navigation that we will showcase at the show (booth #836). Among many other features, we will demo social search and check-in capabilities for the StreetPilot® onDemand navigation app as well as a new function for the Tracker™ app that allows users to share links to a live tracking map[1].
Here’s an overview of what you’ll be able to see if you’re there:
Check in with your navigation app: Among other new features,we will demosocial media capabilities for the StreetPilot onDemand app that integrate Wikipedia, Facebook and foursquare. Users can easily display locations from these networks on the map and check in upon arrival at their destination. Clicking on one of the Wikipedia icons on the map will reveal detailed information about a location, such as the identity of an interesting building or landmark. Also new for the StreetPilot onDemand app are some fun features that make driving more enjoyable, such as a variety of voices or vehicle icons to choose from as well as visually refined 3D renderings of buildings to provide a better overview. The latest versions of the StreetPilot Onboard and the NAVIGON turn-by-turn navigation apps will also be on display. Garmin acquired the German navigation provider NAVIGON in 2011.
Track what’s important: The Garmin Tracker app tracks what’s important. The app works in conjunction with the GTU 10 tracking device to display its location on a map, making it easy to virtually follow anything, from your loved-ones to valuables or the family dog. Users can set up a geo-fence to get alerts when the device crosses in or out of a defined area. The latest version of this app now also allows a continuous tracking mode, and enables users to send out map links to others, so they can follow the location of a device too1.
Get fit with your iPhone: The Garmin Fit™ app turns the iPhone into a powerful training tool. The app keeps track of current walking, running or cycling stats. Users can easily upload, review and share their activities on Garmin Connect™, a vibrant online community of fitness enthusiasts. With an optional ANT+™ iPhone adapter, users can also pair this app with Garmin fitness sensors like a heart rate monitor, foot pod or speed/cadence sensor.
Go on a digital treasure hunt: The free OpenCaching app provides a fun way for families, nature lovers, hikers, or scouts to go outside on a digital treasure hunt. Geocaching, a popular activity worldwide, takes digital technology away from the couch and out on the trail. Hidden treasure troves – known as caches – have been hidden around the world. Their coordinates have been uploaded to online communities, such as the free website Opencaching.com, along with details and clues. Garmin’s app allows users to participate in this treasure hunting game by hiding, finding, logging and sharing cache information right from the iPhone.
An iPad app for pilots: Garmin’s roots are in the aviation business and today the company is a leader in this space. Garmin Pilot My-Cast℠ is an aviation-centric weather and flight planning application designed specifically for general aviation, corporate and commercial pilots. The app provides pilots with a paperless cockpit, weather and flight planning along with navigation.
To get an overview of our iOS apps, you can also check out the following video:
[1] Requires Deluxe Tracking service plan, available for $4.99 per month.
Seems like nobody invests more sweat equity in their sport than track and cross country athletes and their coaches. The athletes start logging miles in the off-season and then pile on even more once the season starts. And the work doesn’t end after the workout. Coaches invest hours analyzing the data, logging individual split times on the computer and strategizing on how to help their athletes improve. We have some of these volunteer coaches in our midst here at Garmin, so we get it. And we think it’s payback time, so we just launched the Garmin Coach program. Garmin Coach rewards student athletes and coaches with a $50 rebate on the purchase of a Forerunner 210, Forerunner 610 or an FR70 with foot pod. In addition to giving athletes the ability to track every mile and minute of their training, they can upload their runs to a team page at Garmin Connect where their coach can analyze the data in detail, see an athlete’s progression through the season, compare to other team members’ data and more.
Are you looking for a fun new activity for the family? Something that will let your see the world, interact with others and get you outside? Well then you must give Geocaching a try!!
It's been likened to an “electronic scavenger hunt” or a "high tech Easter egg hunt" - like being a modern day, landlocked pirate. Geocaching is a family friendly game that lets you enjoy the environment, see new places, and have quality time with your family and friends, all while looking for "treasure". The minimum that you need is a Garmin GPS unit and the coordinates to a geocache (cache)- which you can find on Opencaching.com and send directly to your compatible device.
Once you have the coordinates loaded up and GPS in hand, you can begin searching. You simply hike, climb, or meander along until you have reached the area and then begin searching for the exact spot using tips/hints provided. It’s a great way to explore the world and find new adventures- all while ensuring there is treasure at the end of the path!
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