Name: Race for the Gold
Rating: 3.6 (20 reviews)
Author: kurtie_bcn

This app is designed for competitive running. If you run a distance (for instance a 10K, half marathon or marathon to say the more typical, but distance is configurable) and you aim for a time objective, then this app may be for you.  I would like it to be a data field but that is not possible because Connect IQ SDK does not allow access lap information to data fields.

Let's say that you are running a marathon and you want to complete it under 3h 20 min. You pass the distance marker for the 35th kilometer on a 2h 45m 12s. Are you doing well? I am good with numbers, but after running for almost 3 hours, I am not in the mood for doing these kind of calculations.

Of course, you could use any of the apps, ghost or virtual runners available, but they don't work in a competition. The problem is that if you are running a 10.000 meters race, your GPS will probably end on something like 10.185. Because GPS has a limited precission and because in a crowded race you are not going to race all the time on the shortest path, your watch will end measuring more distance, and that renders any calculation on the final time quite useless.

But what if the distance markers on a race can be used to inform the watch where are you and do the calculations based on that? This is what this application do.

This is how it works:

- First you set up the distance you are going to run (in meters) and the target time you want to achieve (in hours, minutes and seconds).

- You start to run (press start / stop button). The app will use GPS and will read the heart rate.

- When you pass on a kilometer marker (it will support miles in a future version) you press lap button, and the app will adjust its calculations to reflect that. If you miss a marker, don't worry, go for the next one.

This is what you get:

- In the main screen you get the heart rate, the current average pace for the last 30 seconds, distance, seconds ahead / behind your target, a graphical representation of your position (that's more decorative than useful), and the timer.

- In the lap screen (you change screen with prev / next page buttons, or via touchscreen on 630) you get the calculated finish time based on current pace, current lap distance, current lap time and average lap pace.

With the menu button (press up long on 230 / 235) you can open the menu. The menu also opens if you press lap while the timer is stopped. The menu has 3 simple options: continue with the activity, save the activity (it is saved as a running activity) and discard it.

For exiting the application you have to save or discard current activity, and then press back button.