How long was FLM on your Garmin?

[Deleted User]

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone else's Garmin was as far off as mine... my 201 reckoned it was over 28 miles!

Algie

AlcoPop

Hi Algie

26.55 for me. Seems surprisingly accurate considering lengthy periods incommunicado around Canary Wharf and the tunnels. Mine is a 201 as well.

28 miles seems excessive - usually distances get shortened rather than lengthened. I've got up to 26.95 as my longest so far!

AndrewB10

Mine said 26.66 - was about .3 more than the markers at about 13 miles then stayed about right after that. Mine is 201

Don Minquez

Erm... Presumably you didn't run along the blue line, did you?

AndrewB10

nope

Don Minquez

Therefore your course will naturally be longer than 26.2 miles, because you didn't follow the 26.2 mile line.

Dave The Iron Ex- Spartan

Send in your Garmin details to the FLM office, and they might adjust your finish time. Only fair if they didn't measure the course proper

[Deleted User]

Anyway the course is normally longer than 26.2 miles as a factor is built in for inaccurate measurement.

[Deleted User]

Measured mine at 26.95. Met a chap in the line for having the chip removed and his also stopped at 26.95. Noticed that the wrist unit lost the signal quite a few times in the City area. Thought this would mean it under-reading!!

It measured my time quite accurately. Unfortunately!!

XFR Bear

mine was about 29 miles - it was a smidge over on each mile (faie enough) and at mile 22 sais 22.15 from memory, but it lost the signal in the underpass, and for some reason when I came out it had added about three or four miles and said that I'd already finished (26.85 or similar!!)

Dave The Iron Ex- Spartan

Wonder if you would have run faster if you hadn't spent so much effort carrying and keep checking the damn thing ?

[Deleted User]

I thought the blue line is a myth. I thought it was for the camera crews (bikes and cars) its for them to follow not the runners, theough the elite runners will

Don Minquez

Erm... Why have one then?! Milk, it's not a myth, it's a fact.

[Deleted User]

mins a new "improved" 305 . Going well until 18.47 miles (it said 18.3 at 18) then it gave up , lost half a mile and never really recovered . Final distance 25.5 miles. Pretty crap really .
I think DTXS is right I could have run faster without it.

[Deleted User]

Slightly off topic but my Polar RS200SD (calibrated) read 24.14 miles. Do I need to go back in to London and complete the remaining 2 miles?

Night Nurse

Hi mine measured 27.7 and timed 3.46.27,its a 201, lost the signals couple of times,is it really possible to run over a mile further by not following the blue line??

[Deleted User]

I stopped at the official 25 mile mark as my Garmin read 26.2, do I still get my medal? ;-)

XFR Bear

I'm going to upload the data tonight - be interesting to see where the garmin thinks I went when it suddenly added several miles!

Dips

Mine is showing 28.35! Around 18.5 it suddenly started showing 20 miles...in my running state of mind I actually thought I had missed the 19 mile marker!!!
I've uploaded my data and it shows the following
lap 16 10.18
lap 17 10.03
18 15.39 start of the gar gar garmin
19 01.39
20 00.45
21 6.10
22 10.32 back on track

Go-KL

My 201 said 25.38 miles. It was around .2 mile up from 4 miles to around 17 miles where you go through the tunnel bit that bears left and it got a bit confused there - losing the .8 or so of a mile.
Have to say it was invaluable though in conjunction with a HR monitor at keeping my pace on track - with all the crowd support and so many runners around it was so tempting to go faster than I should have - but the 201 kept me in check.

fat buddha

oh ffs - just go out and run the damn thing.............

Garmin, Schmarmin...........I bet you lot check your Garmins against your car odomoeter just for the sheer hell of trying to prove something is wrong........

Dips

Go vent yr spleen elsewhere...we were just wondering why it showed 28 miles...you don't have to read the thread.

Night Nurse

Dips, weird, thats exactly were mine started to go haywire, remembering shouting to my friend that we had done nearly 20, and someone corrected me as the 19 mile marker came up,didnt correct itself, even stranger, I cant switch the damn thing off now its stuck on my time for yesterday,cant switch it off, cant change mode,think its more knackered than I am.

fat buddha

true Dips, true - but I just find something fascinating about people who get all anal about technology when it deviates from the norm - as IF the FLM is not accurately measured to start with........

Dips

FB...if u read the thread properly instead of going off on one..you will see that we or at least most of us are NOT disputeing the distance...just wondering why the Garmin went bonkers at around 18 miles.

I ran a fair way on the blue line so know the Garmin is at fault not the organisers or course measurements.

Anyway...I'm off for lunch...will measure the distance though!! ;-) and check how many calories I burn before I eat...anal? me? never!

[Deleted User]

FB, I don't think anyone has implied the course was not 26.2... I just thought that 28m vs 26.2m was a pretty big variance - not likely to be explained by not treading the blue line all the way - and wondered if anyone else got similar results as I expected a GPS system to be more accurate.

fat buddha

hee hee - I still find it funny though that you are uptight about small variances............

try - tall buildings in Canary Wharf (Mile 18 to 20) and electrical interference from DLR power lines as you run under/over the track a few times around here............BR power rails stop my Polar at level crossings........

shite - even I'm sounding like I've got my thumb up my arse now!!

Minks

I decided not to wear mine in the end, as I wasn't sure whether there would be problems keeping a signal (and I've only had it for a week so I'm not fully used to it yet - mine's the new 205). I used my Nike Triax SDM (footpod system) which paces pretty well if you mark the laps (miles) - I did a 45 second positive split so can't complain too much!

Garmin is a wonderful training tool, but I would probably stick to the Nike for racing.

[Deleted User]

Paris - sounds like the same symptoms that my 101 suffered once. In frustration, I gave the thing a sharp 'thwack' and it came back to life!

[Deleted User]

I ran with the new 305 and it lost the signal at 21.9 miles and never got the reception back until I got to the finish. So much for new technology! Its a good job we can stick to the old trusted mile markers.

Night Nurse

chocolate moose, thanks off to thwack my garmin, will let you know if it does the trick