My virtual partner is bound to take this the wrong way. It's not that the little man inside my Forerunner hasn't always been there for me. He pushed me through the streets of Chicago, Kansas City, New York and San Diego, 26.2 miles at a time, never wavering from our agreed-upon pace even when I was surging or struggling. And now that he's joined forces with my Forerunner 310XT's vibration alerts, I get encouragement as often as I want during a race or training run. But I want more. That's where you come in.

Now that I'm set on running the Chicago Marathon in October, I need more training partners. Because even though Virgil (my virtual partner) keeps me honest while I'm running, I need motivation before and after. I already have one person on board. Chris, a good friend from college, is also training for Chicago with his Forerunner. And though he lives on the East coast, the sheer potential for smack talk if I can't hang with him come October is enough to get me out the door in the morning. Now we just need more company, more sources of that second wind. If you're running the Chicago Marathon - or New York, Marine Corps, KC or any of those great fall races - and you want to join our little support group, post a comment below or shoot me a note on Twitter at @jakesjournal. We'll share success stories via Garmin Connect, swap secrets for getting through the rough days, and we'll all have a little more fun in the process. And maybe I can even drum up a Garmin running tank for you to wear in your race. We'll start with the first dozen or so people to send me a note, and see how things go from there. To be honest, I'm just making this up as I go. The idea came to me this morning when I was hitting the snooze button repeatedly while Virgil was getting impatient downstairs.

Comments

[Brian]

Hi Jake,
Got myself the forerunner 405 for my birthday, just in time for my 2nd marathon in the same month (July) here in Australia, got my qualification time for Boston thanks to the forerunner, great product Garmin very well done. Any chance of a Garmin running vest? since i'll be doing lots of training with the athletics club here in Sydney & traveling to Boston April 2010.
kind regards
Brian W
Sydney, Australia

[Stephen Spencer]

I, too, am going to participate in the Portland Marathon this fall - my first marathon!

I've done three half-marathons since last fall, and am excited about the prospect of completing the "full meal deal" as my running buddies would say.

My Forerunner 305's been a wonderful resource for training.

Best,
Stephen

[Mark Vosti]

Jake,

I'm running St. George on Oct. 3rd and start my 12 week training period in a week. I've never met my goal of Boston Qualifier yet because of injury. Hopefully this is the year! I'm on my 3rd Garmin Forerunner (205, 305) and now I love the vibration alert on the 310xt and the wireless data transfer. Waterproof makes it perfect for the IRONMAN St. George that I'm training for in May 2010. AMAZING!

mv

[JIMMY RUNNER]

jake
ive been given a 405 for my birthday last year and finally got around to getting it out of the box and loaded. why i did not start using this earlier is beyond me, however i can say that i am absolutely hooked when running with my 405. ive started training for the townsville half marathon in july 09, and am planning on doing the full marathon in italy '10. my reason for such interest in running comes from my girlfriends father, who at 48 will do a lazy 150-200km a week and 5-6 marathons a year. needless to say, it is a competition between us that sees us running in 3 degree weather anytime we get the chance, and sprinting the last 1km to determine who is the bigger bull for the week. thanks for all your posts, i now know how to get the most out of my running and my 405. good luck with all of your running too.

[Beth]

Out here in the desert of Canyonlands, I am training for my (very first) fall marathon. My Forerunner 405 has been completely indispensable, I am hooked and look forward to syncing up the watch after each one so that I can check out the route I just did. As a trail runner, I don't know how one would really know how far to go without one of these fantastic devices. Thank you so much for helping me toward the finish line!

[Sean Manning]

I'm running Chicago and just started my training program this week. Also, just got my new 310xt yesterday and cant wait to give it a try tomorrow.

[eduardo sampedro von raesfeld]

Hej Jake,

I just ran the San Diego streets, with Jolle, that´s the name of the small man inside my Forerunner310 XT. Now I can´t wait to be in Chicago as part of my training for the Bonita Ironman in March 2010. I´ll be glad to encourage you not to hit the snooze button if you help me and Jolle keep in good shape. I´m looking forward meeting our goals in October the 11th. Get back to me.

Sampo

[John]

I'm running the Portland marathon in October and would love some virtual partners. It's my first and I'm shooting for a Boston qualifying time. My 405cx has already motivated and improved my training. Makes it so much easier to training with specific goal paces. My small cadre of running partners all where them now.

J