Roger's Runway: D-Jet Road Show

Last Friday a friend called me on his way past the airport and said the Diamond D-Jet road show was at our local FBO.  Usually I am pretty up to date with the latest happening related to aviation in the Kansas City area, but this one sneaked under my radar.  Saturday awoke to beautiful weather and I figured this was a good time get some exercise and check out the D-Jet.  I got the mountain bike out for one last ride of the year before I move the riding indoors.  I know what you are thinking and that I am trying to keep up with Peg and Jake.  Well not really, they like to run and I don’t. Enough said. Getting up inside cockpit I got to see the G1000 in the three screen setup with 2 Primary Flight Displays flanking a huge 15” Multi-Function Display.  With Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) on the aircraft this will help reduce work load for the pilot and help save some jet fuel as well.  The D-Jet tour is still has a few weeks left and if it is coming to an airport near you I would recommend checking it out.

Jake's Journal: SEMA and Leno

   It's no secret that Jay Leno loves cars and motorcycles. So there's no better place than SEMA to show off a few of his prized possessions. And we're thrilled to have the honor of displaying his three-wheeled, souped up Spyder motorcycle (would that make it a tricycle??) in the Garmin booth (#10616). And no motorcycle is complete without a zumo, as you can see in the pictures.

Leno and Garmin also team up on the automotive side, as we preloaded a nuvi 680 with nearly 1,200 gas stations that offer the E85 ethanol blend as a fuel alternative. Check out the jump below to see nuvi riding shotgun in a Leno ride - his C6RS Corvette. Gearheads, brace yourself before you click.

Garmin on National Geographic!

Garmin is definitely popping up everywhere... Recently, the National Geographic Channel gave the Garmin nüvi two thumbs up when it comes to saving gas (and your sanity) when on the road. Their "Road Trip Tips" highlight the nüvi as an portable GPS that can save precious time in your car or on foot. With pre-loaded maps and a hefty points of interest database, finding your destination has never been easier. Take a look below and see how it's done. It's a whole nü way of getting around.

Plus, the video features some of Garmin's finest!

Give a Garmin: Holiday advertising has arrived cont.

Yesterday we brought you the first of the two new Garmin holiday commercials. After taking a wrong turn, unfortunate circumstances popped up for the man in the video without his Garmin nüvi. You will notice however, in the second spot that we're bringing you today, the commercial illustrates how a nüvi can solve life's little problems during the holiday hustle and bustle. The woman is calm, cool and collected as she flawlessly navigates to shopping, food and even the spa- all in one trip- with her nüvi. Take a look at how she does it below, and see how giving a Garmin to someone special in your life could make or break your holiday preparation!

Jake's Journal: Scenes from SEMA, part one

   Please forgive any typos. There's so much bass rumbling around the Las Vegas convention center that my fingers can't think straight. Such is life at SEMA. What started as a sweet little serenade from the Beastie Boys has started sounding tsumani warnings across the Pacific.

Speaking of extreme weather, you need to check out the tricked out Garmin SWERV Jeep, as in Severe Weather Emergency Response Vehicle. In a nutshell, there are two 5012 marine units, XM weather, a StreetPilot 7200, two GPSMap 60CS units, two Rino 530s, a Garmin GMR-18 radar unit and a GMS 10 port expander. And don't get me started on the $10,000 worth of Kenwood gear that puts the fun in functional. Click on the jump for even more pictures, and check back tomorrow to hear how Jay Leno is getting in on the good times.

Garmin got me!

For marketer and technology connoisseur Amanda Bodak, taking a road trip with two kids, turned into a disaster when her on-line directions turned this trip from one hour, to two, with no shortcut in sight. Amongst the screaming, kicking kids who were teasing their mom, Amanda remembered a few Garmin advertisements that caught her eye. She writes in her blog that after seeing a magazine ad, then another, then another radio spot followed by something on the front page of a Circuit City Sunday paper insert, Amanda says Garmin did a heck of a job marketing to her. Specifically, after relating the perky, red-headed women in the advertisement, to a lady in between a lunch date, soccer game and then a trip to Nordstrom's for holiday shopping, Amanda says Garmin got her! 

Check out what else she has to say about Garmin, and find out how we can save your next road trip, too.

Give a Garmin: Holiday advertising has arrived

Believe it or not, Christmas is less than 60 days away! And in addition, Nov. 23rd (otherwise known as Black Friday in the retail world), one of the busiest retail shopping days of the year, is just 25 days out.

According to Solution's Research's "Digital Life America" report, GPS gear was No. 5 on the wish lists of men, as the women ranked it No. 7 on theirs. So with the "year of the personal navigation device," we've got some fun GPS holiday cheer in store for you.

To jump start your holiday spirit, and hopefully put a smile on your face, Garmin's holiday advertising started yesterday during one of America's favorite pastimes - Sunday NFL football. This year's round of holiday commercials might look similar to those of the past, as we attempt to show you what happens if you don't have a Garmin nüvi this holiday season, while we give you the solution to the pesky problem of getting lost.

So, without further ado, below is one of the new spots for your viewing pleasure. This one illustrates what might happen if you get lost and take a wrong turn. Stay tuned tomorrow for the second spot, which promises to be equally as entertaining. Have a look and see for yourself, the wonderful world of giving a Garmin...

Jake's Journal: SEMA sounds like a blast

My blogmates have been hitting great shows around the country - CTIA, the boating bonanzas, the aviation shindigs - and now it's my turn. Vegas, baby. Vegas. I'm taking a brand-new nuvi 760 to show thousands of car connoisseurs as we gather for the Specialty Equipment Market Association, or SEMA.

Being new to the game, I'll admit I had to look it up the first time I heard the acronym. You see, SEMA sounds like a lot of other interesting things: ZIMA (the 90s "malternative" beverage that had little taste, even with a Jolly Rancher dropped in); CMA (though SEMA will have sound systems powerful enough to win music awards); Jose Lima (no Royals pitcher has had quite his knack to invigorate or infuriate fans); and FEMA (but I hear some of their staffers will be in Vegas playing the roles of reporters).

Check back throughout the week for updates from me and nuvi. And if you're in Vegas, swing by Booth 10616 and meet us.

Navigating Through CTIA

This week was the CTIA Wireless IT and Entertainment trade show in San Francisco. Unlike the majority of people at the show, this fearless Garmin blogger wasn't texting messages every day and that's why it has taken until now to post about the show.  And speaking of texting, one of the staggering stats given at the show was that U.S. subscribers send an average of 1 billion text messages every day. Yes, that's billion with a "b".  Incredible!

In case you missed it, we announced that we're teaming up with Palm and will be providing navigation to their Treo and Centro lineup. Those who have a Treo 680, 700, 750, 755, or Centro can now get Garmin's turn-by-turn directions on their smartphone. Setup is plug-n-play easy -- you just slide our Garmin Mobile XT preloaded data card into your Treo or Centro. The application automatically installs and turns your phone into a high-end Garmin navigator. You can't get any easier than that!

The other Garmin product that was center stage was Garmin Mobile XT. We announced this product in early October, but CTIA was the first opportunity for consumers to see it in the flesh. All were very impressed, especially with the $99 price tag.

Family of five conquers the coast with Garmin

I love hearing stories from our loyal customers and learning about their “adventures in GPS.” Recently, I got a note from a customer who, along with four other family members, participated in a cycling event in Corpus Christi, Texas, called Conquer the Coast. These cyclists are Garmin fans to the core, as every one of them used a Garmin device to track and monitor their ride and upload to MotionBased (soon to be Garmin Connect). Check their ride here. The customer, a self-professed bike geek (well, at least that’s the title of his personal blog), says he’s a huge Garmin supporter because he’s impressed with how fitness devices can have a positive psychological effect, especially on people who are new to exercising. “Downloading data and reviewing statistics gives them such a feeling of accomplishment and inspires them to do it all over again. Detailed histories allow them to track their progress.” We couldn’t agree more. Follow the jump to read more about their cycling adventure.

Dave's Docklines: Joining the fun in Florida

As the temperature drops at Garmin's home base in the Midwest, it seems like the perfect time for a road trip to Florida. Or, in our case, a boat trip. First up was the IBEX show in Miami, where a record number of boat-building professionals made this year's show the biggest ever. A week later, we were back in Florida - this time in Amelia Island - to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the National Marine Electronics Association. So how did we celebrate NMEA's golden anniversary and a record year for IBEX? We threw a Garmin party. We started by bringing our new 5200 series, 4200 series, 500 series and 400 series. And as if that wasn't enough to get things rolling, we also brought along the Garmin/TR-1 Autopilot, every boater's new best friend.

Today's the day: Win an eTrex Summit HC

You've been patient all month, and the big day is here! Outdoor Channel's Gear Up and Go sweepstakes showcases our eTrex Summit HC today, and you could be one of five winners just by entering the contest. Perfect for hiking or geocaching, the eTrex Summit HC features a high-sensitivity receiver for peak performance in any environment. This trusty outdoor unit includes a bright, sunlight-readable color screen, barometric altimeter to pinpoint altitude and electronic compass to get your bearings. The eTrex Summit HC's included basemap contains lakes, rivers, cities, highways and more. The Summit HC also includes 24 MB of internal memory for loading waypoints and routes from the included MapSource Trip & Waypoint Manager software. Adventure has no limits. Enter and win today.

Roger's Runway: Blazin' TFRs

Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR) has become a way of life for pilots.  Getting a briefing on existing TFR can be challenging and with the current fires in Southern California getting larger more TFR’s are expected to come.  When you subscribe to the basic Aviator Lite package from XM you will receive TFR information on your GPSMAP 396/496, GNS 430/530, or G1000. By knowing the TFR information you will help stay out of the way of aircraft supporting the fire fighters that are on the ground.  You can find out more information about the TFR by highlighting the TFR with the cursor.  This will pull up information like the vertical limits of the TFR and the TFR identification code. 

GPS Review highlights a "beautiful" device

After taking the nü nüvi 760 out for a test drive, the guys at GPS Review call this flagship nüvi, a beautiful GPS device! Upon first glance, they liked that the 760 has nearly all of the advanced features GPS connoisseurs look for: a widescreen display, Bluetooth hands-free calling, traffic updates, and an FM transmitter... just to name a few. Aside from diggin' the new physical look (this nüvi, unlike it's counterparts, is black and sports a non-flip-up antenna), they also examined the routing engine, and particularly loved the multi-destination routing (also nü to the nüvi line)! This tool automatically sorts all of your destinations, and provides you with the most efficient route. And while you're out, keep track of where you've been and where you need to go by viewing your trip log that keeps an electronic bread crumb trail of up to 10,000 points.

Traffic, detours, voice and text-to-speech (speaking street names), and the debuting "Where Am I?" feature are also among the features reviewed. The new "Where Am I?" lets you keep track of yourself and your car, and will also help you navigate to the closest hospitals, police stations, fuel stations etc.

So with all this and more, what's not to love about this nüvi? Check out the entire review, along with the 760 demo and experience it for yourself!

Peg’s Posts: Forerunner paced me, Jake pushed me

As I mentioned last week, I set out to run my first half marathon, the KC Marathon/Half-Marathon, with my own pace team. Forerunner 305 to show if I was maintaining our goal pace of 8 min/mile, and fellow blogger Jake to distract and entertain for 13.1 miles. Both played their parts very well. Sure, it’s nice to have course volunteers calling out your split times at certain mile markers. But having a personal trainer like Forerunner on hand to update your pace by the second—golden. It’s also nice to have a highly animated tour guide/comedian along for a race, so I’d highly recommend running with Jake when you get a chance. When I say he pushed me, I mean that in a good way. I doubt I would’ve come close to my “pie in the sky” goal of 1:45 for my first half marathon without Jake and Forerunner. Check out my run in MotionBased and follow the jump for more running commentary.

Jake's Journal: Keeping me on pace and honest

Halfway through Saturday's KC half-marathon, I realized that I'm a liar. When describing last year's race - my first half-marathon - I say that I went out too fast, had to walk, but still finished in 1:36. That's all true, but I thought that I had lasted at least 10 miles before walking. Turns out that in 2006, running without discipline (or a Forerunner 305), zapped me faster than I recalled.

This became clear to me when, while running Saturday's half with fellow blogger Peg, I recognized the first spot where I had walked the year before. With help this year from my Forerunner, I knew exactly where that spot was: 8.15 miles. But this year, partnering with Peg for her first half, I felt stronger than ever after 8 miles. And, whether Peg liked it or not, I was feeling more social than ever - judging by the good (restaurant talk), the bad (not really jokes, just observations) and the ugly (I never thought I'd run the whole race with those beads around my neck).

Chasing dreams... one step at a time

A few weeks ago, we introduced you to one of our favorite tri-athletes, Ben Collins. Not only were we able to share Ben's story with you, but through Ben, we also introduced you to Aaron Scheidies. With Ben's help, Aaron was about to take on a world record attempt, and become the first blind tri-athlete to break the two-hour barrier. "He [Aaron] wanted to not just break the Physically Challenged World Record for Olympic Distance Triathlon, but to smash it," Ben said. "His goal was to break the two-hour barrier, and to do it he needed someone to be his eyes without holding him back from his potential."

As luck would have it, the two athletes are both currently attending the same university, and with the geographical coincidence, Ben eagerly jumped to the challenge. The two decided on the Toyota U.S. Open in Dallas, and as Ben prepared for his next mission, he often wrote about training with his Garmin Forerunner. And when the big day finally came, while Aaron was relying on Ben's eyes, Ben was relying on his Garmin to display all the data the guys needed to stay on track.

Drivers head into season's end at Martinsville

Our favorite NASCAR drivers are headed to Martinsville for the weekend. First up is the #8 theGPSStore.com/ Garmin driver Chad McCumbee in the Craftsman Truck series event on Saturday. After having last week off, Chad and team will take on the "paper-clip"-shaped oval track with it's tight turns and 800-foot straight-aways. With only five events left in the season, we're cheering for a great finish for Chad at the Kroger 200!

After Saturday's event, race on back to the track Sunday to watch the NEXTEL Chase heat up. The #66 Best Buy/ Garmin driver Jeff Green is coming off a rough run from last week's Lowe's event where after a 37th-place start, the team was only able to move ahead five spots for a 32nd-place finish. Jeff says that with five events remaining, the team hasn't changed their focus, and continues to try and put the #66 in the top-15 every week. We here at the Garmin campus are rooting for those top-15 finishes too, and wish Jeff the best of luck this weekend.

Good luck to both drivers at Martinsville this weekend! Let's make the last races of the season some of the best!   

Peg’s Posts: run for a reason

When I set out to run my first half marathon tomorrow on the streets of Kansas City, I have a few good reasons to keep me moving forward for 13.1 miles. First: I have my own pace team, consisting of my Forerunner 305 and fellow blogger Jake. When Jake found out I was wavering on my original time goal of 01:45, he kindly offered to pace me for this race, slowing down his typical pace but pushing me to hit 8 min. miles. I’m still not certain my training can support that target, but we’ll let you know next week. One thing I do know: I won’t be maintaining a “running dialogue” with Jake, an admitted social runner. He said he’s fine if the conversations are mostly one-sided. If you’re running or cheering tomorrow and you see two Forerunner-wearin’ runners with one giving the other the silent treatment … that’ll be us! Back to my reasons for running: the second one is actually several. See those beaming, Forerunner-bedecked girls in the photo? They’re just a few of the members of our local Girls on the Run council. I’ll be running to raise money for these girls through Team Tiara. Follow the jump to find out more about this amazing group.

Jake's Journal: Can't spell marathon without "math"

I'm looking at this weekend's KC half-marathon as homework. Part science experiment, part math problem, and part social studies, to be specific. My plan is to teach my legs how a 3:30 marathon would feel (biology meets P.E.) by maintaining a constant pace (addition, multiplication or division, pick your poison) with help from my Forerunner and blog colleague Peg (we're social people).

If this sounds familiar, it's because that was my goal for the Chicago Marathon - 8-minute miles, 26.2 of them. But the torrid conditions changed that a bit.

Have "Ahnold" by your side this winter

The days of summer have come and gone, and if you're like some of us as Blog Central, you might already be feeling those winter-time blues starting to set in. But fear not... the GPS Maniac crew has just completed their review of the Forerunner 305, and are calling it a great motivator! "The 305 is the next best thing to having "Ahnold" as your fitness coach." While using their Virtual Partner (properly nicknamed "Ahnold'), these guys also liked being able to record and analyze your workout with the FR 305 to keep you in tip top shape!

See for yourself how the 305 stood up after 150 miles on the asphalt with the GPS Maniac crew, and put one on your wish list this holiday season! Just like it's never too early to start thinking about Christmas shopping, it's never too early to start working away those winter-time blues! 

NASCAR Lowe's weekend preview and fun facts

With just six more events left in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Chase, our favorite driver is really making us proud! The #66 Best Buy / Garmin driver Jeff Green had yet another top-20 finish at last weekend's Talladega event. Jeff took home a 13th-place finish after starting 32nd, and hopes this weekend will bring similar luck as he qualified 37th going into the Lowe's Motor Speedway weekend. Earlier in the season, the team didn't have such good luck, and after a wreck during qualifying, had to complete the event with the back up car. This time around, Jeff says the team has a really good shot at a good run this weekend. Tune in Saturday evening at 6:30 pm Central to catch the only night race in the Chase for the Championship. Good luck, Jeff!

While Jeff is out on the Chase this weekend, our other favorite drive Chad McCumbee, has the weekend off. We will catch up with the #8 theGPSStore.com/ Garmin driver and the rest of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series drivers, in a few weeks at the Martinville Speedway for the Kroger 200 on Oct. 20.

And on a side note - have you ever wondered how much man power, paper products, or trash cans it takes to make a NASCAR event run smoothly? Check out the Lowe's Motorspeedway Fun Facts to brush up on some random race event facts. You're going to be amazed!

Race recap

While Jake and other Garmin runners were sweltering in Chicago last Sunday, another coworker, Amy, took to the hills and had a quite different experience at the Monumental Challenge Marathon/Half Marathon in South Dakota. Now I’d pegged it as a scenic run, but her pics blew me away nonetheless. Follow the jump to see more.

Jake's Journal: More taper capers

Now that I've passed the proverbial training torch to our friend Tommy for the New York City Marathon, I can start looking at the next challenge ahead: Kansas City's half-marathon. After doing this race last year, I had my sights set on doing it again long before the Chicago Marathon squeezed itself onto my schedule. The catch: Less than two weeks separate the two. Which, I guess, means that I already get to taper my training again!

Unfortunately, this taper stage won't measure up to pre-Chicago. Why? Because Jocelyn and I spent two of the three weeks before the marathon traveling around Italy with a nüvi 670 and a Forerunner 305 (while the Garmin crew foiled my cubicle). After two days in Geneva, Switzerland, we took an overnight train and woke up in Venice. That night, another overnighter took us to Cinque Terre, a group of five quaint coastal towns connected by a hiking trail. Florence, Siena and Rome rounded out our journey, and our Garmin GPS devices were with us the whole way. Check back for future blog entries to see our MotionBased link from the Cinque Terre hike and read about nüvi saving the day in the big cities.

Women Riders lead the pack with zūmo

Motorcycles, and motorcycle gear aren't just for men! And to prove that, the ladies over at Women Riders Now, recently took the motorcycle-friendly Garmin zūmo, for a ride. After nicknaming the zūmo's female voice, "Zelda," the crew was ready to review. They not only liked the accuracy of the zūmo, but also thought the zūmo succeeded in representation of where you are and where you are going. And aside from the dynamic features that set the zūmo apart from the rest (the main controls on the left side of the device, the button size, and the waterproof and fuel-resistant plastics) they also noted that the zūmo makes trip fun, and hassle-free. Check out the entire review and see how these Women Riders are using Zelda to lead the pack!

Triathletes team up to break World Record

If you're in the Dallas area this weekend, make sure you stick around for the Toyota U.S. Open Triathlon - the Championship race for the Life Time Fitness Triathlon Series - to catch a piece of history in the making. This Sunday, Oct. 14, marks the Triathlon's first U.S. Open, and it also marks another first for a few of Garmin's favorite triathletes. 2007 U.S. and World Age Group Champion Ben Collins, will team up with three time blind World Champion Aaron Scheidies, in his attempt to be the first blind athlete to break the 2-hour mark.

As Aaron continues to attract attention everywhere he goes - breaking records, and overcoming more and more obstacles - he has been named the U.S. Open's Toyota Athlete of the Month, and we're excited to watch the duo team up to accomplish yet another feat.

In his daily blog, Ben wrote just days ago how he's excited to go to Dallas to meet up with Aaron, break a world record, and come home happy. And as a matter of fact, Ben updates his fans on his training, sponsorship, and everything Ben Collins almost every day. In one post, Ben shares how his Forerunner is the "sweetest toy he's had to play with this year," and calls it his "most reliable training partner." He even brags a little about his nüvi 270, too!

Watch Ben, Aaron with all of their Garmin gear this weekend in Dallas, as we cheer the both of them on in their record-breaking challenge!

Forerunner 305 is key to the city

World, meet Tommy. Tommy, meet world. A member of the New York Road Runners Club, Tommy Wong is using the Forerunner 305 and MotionBased.com (soon to be Garmin Connect) to train for his sixth New York City Marathon, which he'll run Nov. 4. Tommy is going to check in with us before and after the race, and this is how his story begins:

I didn't know much about the Forerunner 305 when I first entered the contest at the New York Road Runners Club. I have never used a GPS watch before so I didn't know what to expect. After using it the first month I was really surprised at the features and how accurate the watch could be as a training tool. Normally I am accustomed to training with a standard watch. My training course for the most part has been Central Park in NYC. I'm pretty familiar with the park so I can usually get a pretty accurate read on the distance. But how accurate? An added challenge is trying to stay consistent. A question facing anyone who has ever run a long run before is how do you keep your pace level throughout the run?

Roger's Runway: Clarifying WAAS Approaches

As the number of airplanes with WAAS-equipped GNS 430/530 units grow, I keep getting more and more questions about WAAS and what it will do for you.  One of the most common questions is about the annunciations that tell you the type of approach.  Well, let me break down the annunciations for you.  The first one is the LPV annunciation or precision GPS approach.  When you see LPV illuminated on the bottom left of the corner of the display, you can use the LPV minimums listed on the approach chart.  The next annunciation that you could see is the L/VNAV.  This is the LNAV/VNAV that is listed on the approach chart.  This is not a precision approach like the LPV, but the glide slope that shows up guarantees vertical guidance over obstacles and has its own minimums.  The third annunciation is the LNAV+V.  The LNAV+V non-precision approaches have glide slope information but do not guarantee obstacle clearance. Instead, it provides guidance for a stabilized approach.  You will want to use the approach chart’s LNAV minimums on the approach. The last annunciation is the plain Jane LNAV, which is for non-GPS approaches like ILS, Localizer, or non-precision GPS approaches that do not have any vertical guidance.  For these LNAV approaches you will want to use the approach chart’s corresponding minima for that approach. 

Chicago Store: Marathon wrap-up

Don't be fooled...Jake wasn't the only one staying busy in Chicago this weekend! Although we were definitely excited to have Jake make his second Chicago Store debut, we had a few other fun things up our sleeve as well. While in the windy city store, folks could check out all the marathon essentials (upstairs and down) while demoing the latest and greatest of everything nüvi. While the expo booth was selling out of Forerunner 205's and Forerunner 305's, we were staying busy at the store. On Saturday, we saw over 2,500 visitors and had a record breaking day in sales. Aside from all of the product hype, store goers could also head to the second floor to view the trailer for the Chicago Marathon movie, Spirit of the Marathon, that takes viewers through the emotional and physical training process of five marathon runners. Meanwhile, customers kept busy (and in shape) by trying out the new Forerunner 50 Foot Pods on the treadmills at the front of the store.

Stay tuned for more Chicago news coming up. It was a great weekend to start off the holiday shopping season that's arriving fast. Make sure you stop in and get your Garmin wish list started early!

   

Jake's Journal: And the winner is ...

After looking at the 25 predictions posted for our Chicago Marathon contest, I knew I had my work cut out for me. The fastest time, aside from Pete's overzealous 1:59.59, was posted by my optimistic wife. Jocelyn had originally submitted a time of 3:48, but in trying to be supportive, she changed it to 3:13. From there, the times spanned all the way up to 3:57.45, giving me a good-sized window for my first marathon. Of course, as I ran along in the sweltering heat, I realized that breaking four hours wasn't a given.

Fortunately for me, I had help. First, by the time my group reached the starting line, Springsteen's "Born to Run" was blaring over the loudspeakers. Second, I met up with two guys who were also doing their first marathon and had a similar goal. Third, the people of Chicago lined the course and never tired of yelling, "Go Jake Go!!!" Seriously, they loved me.

Jake's Journal: Marathon feels the heat

Before we reveal our contest winner - thanks again, everyone, for your entries and interest - I want to share my thoughts on the discussion surrounding the running - and abrupt ending - to Sunday's Chicago Marathon. Watching the news last night out of Chicago, and reading the stories from various newspapers, it seems that race organizers are taking a lot of flack for the aid stations along the course and their decision to pull people off the course after nearly four hours if they weren't halfway done. I can only speak from my experience, but it seemed to me that race officials did everything right all week long.

Roger's Runway: Expounding on Expo