Sunday, November 20, 2016

10 Things Runners Remember from 10 Years Ago

I celebrated my 38th birthday on November 11. It seems like just yesterday I was 28 and just starting to get into long distance running.

I ran my first marathon in 2006, and even though running still involves simply putting one foot in front of the other, quite a few things have changed. If you've been running for 10+ years, enjoy this bit of nostalgia. If you haven't, then maybe you'll learn a bit of history!
Stopwatch, white shoes, sports beans!

1. Stopwatches with lap buttons
If I remember correctly, the Garmin GPS watches were just starting to come out in 2005, and it took them a few years to go mainstream. Back in 2006, I was using my trusty Timex stop watch in races and for long runs. I did all of my long runs on the W&OD trail, which has mile markers, so I would press the lap button at each milepost. The same was true for races. I had no idea what pace I was running until I approached the mile marker and hit the lap button on my watch.

2. Mainly white running shoes
If you walked into a running store 10 years ago, all the shoes would be white with small pops of color accents. The more popular models offered a choice of up to 4 color accents, but the shoes looked pretty much the same: all white. Nowadays, the walls of running shoe stores are covered in bright colors and you'll be hard-pressed to find anything that's mainly white. It used to be that runners were cautioned not to buy shoes based on color, but now runners actually have a good range of colors for any given shoe.


3. iPods--not iPhones
10 years ago, many people were running with iPods, myself included. I used the iPod Mini for awhile, but then the shuffle came out and I loved how compact it was. Nowadays, I see some people still using Shuffles (which is what I use on the treadmill) but the majority of runners who run with music seem to be using their phones to do so. Oh, and also using the phones to track their route, take pictures, and a number of other things that could not be done with a simple iPod.

4. The Boston Marathon didn't fill up
You could BQ in February and then run Boston just two months later! What's more, you could BQ in the fall of 2005, and that time would be good for Boston 2006 AND Boston 2007. There were no "cut-off" times because there didn't need to be. 10 years ago, running marathons was not nearly as popular as it is today. It was a lot easier to get into Boston back then because there simply wasn't as much competition as there is today. Part of me wishes it would go back to being the way it used to, but another part of me enjoys the fact that it's more challenging now.

5. The ChampionChip
Back in the day, most all races were timed using a chip that you would affix to your shoe. That chip was replaced by the D-Tag somewhere around 2009, which I absolutely hated because it was so bulky and it had accuracy issues. But then the B-Tag that attaches to the race bib came along in the past 3-4
My ChampionChip collection
years which is both accurate and convenient.

Some races still do use the D-Tag and a shoe chip, but they are few and far between. Also, I'm only familiar with races in the Washington DC metro area and large-scale marathons. There may be races in other parts of the country that still rely heavily on the timing chip. I had my own personal ChampionChip that I purchases from the Rock 'N' Roll Virginia Beach half. I used this to register for local races and it would save me $2 on registration. Some races also provided souvenir chips that would not work for future races. I have these from the Houston Half Marathon, the New Jersey Marathon and the Marine Corps Marathon. Before the ChampionChip, there was the ankle strap, and I ran several marathons with that. Super uncomfortable!

6. Social Media wasn't mainstream
Some people were on MySpace, but not nearly as many people were on MySpace talking about running as there are today on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Strava, and numerous forums. So chances are, if you went for a training run, the only person who knew about it was you and maybe the people you lived with. There wan't as much "inspiration" going around so runners had to be more intrinsically motivated to get out there and run.

7. Sports Beans or gels?
Fueling options were limited 10 years ago. There were only a few brands of gels and the alternative to that was Jelly Belly Sports Beans. Today we have plenty of options available: UCAN, Shot Blocks, Tailwind, Honey Stinger Waffles, and probably a bunch of others I don't even know about.

8. Lottery? What Lottery?
Races used to be easy to get into. Chicago, Marine Corps, Houston, Cherry Blossom -- just to name a few. None of these races used to have lotteries and you could register for them as late as a few weeks prior! It was nice because you didn't have to commit to a race so far in advance. You could basically just wait until you felt ready to race and then go for it. Also, if you were injury-prone (like I used to be) it made sense to wait until a month or so before to register.

9. The Philadelphia Distance Run and the National Marathon
The Philadelphia Distance Run 2006

In 2006, the Rock 'n' Roll series had like 4 or 5 races to choose from. I remember San Diego, Arizona, and Virginia Beach. What we know as Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia used to be called the Philadelphia Distance Run. Today's Rock 'n' Roll DC used to be the National Marathon. As part of the Rock 'n' Roll series, these races are now more expensive and commercialized, but you know that the race will be well-organized.

10. Brightroom Event Photography
It used to be that a company called "Brightroom" dominated the race photo industry. You could preview your photos online at a decent size (see photo to the right) without the huge word PROOF over your face. You could buy printed copies of your photos for a reasonable price. At some point, Marathonfoto emerged onto the scene and gained a monopoly over the industry. They are now able to get away with charging and arm and a leg for race photos, while sending horribly-formatted marketing emails. While their prices have gone down ever so slightly over the past two years, I predict that they will soon either need to reduce their prices more or face new competition. Smaller race photography companies exist, they just aren't mainstream yet.

Who knows what running will look like 10 years from now? Overall, I like the technological advances that we've made and the fact that more people are running marathons. But it is nice to reflect on "back in the day" when things were much simpler.


Well, not everything was much simpler! 


24 comments:

  1. OMG yes to the no GPS craze. I haven't been running for 10 years but it's crazy how recent the GPS trend is. Now I feel naked without mine!

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    1. Yeah, how do you know how much you ran without it!?

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  2. So you know I've been running for 25+ years--things have really changed! Fortunately, I'm not one to buck change. It might take me a while to accept, tho--so I ran musicless for a long time. Then I got an iPod and iTunes. Then it was digital music via Spotify. I ran with a Timex Ironman for the longest time--just timed my runs and did the calculations myself. Then it was Map My Run. Now I have a fancy Garmin Forerunner 230 that does amazing things. Races used to have you tear off the bottom of your bib and slide it on a spindle, and you wouldn't learn your results for days. I like all the technology.

    The one thing I do not like is the lotteries and mania surrounding big races. While I'm glad so many people have embraced running--that is a good thing--it has also invited cheating to get those bibs. Big businesses have also got into the act, with "charity" bibs. It's tough for the regular runner to get into a big race and it makes me sad.

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    1. I agree with you about the big races and how it's frustrating and sad that not just anyone can enter. Especially when you have a group of friends or family members you run with and only one person gets in. Makes it hard!

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  3. So good!! Yes, on all 10 of these, Elizabeth! I've often wondered what happened to all those ChampionChips people bought, anticipating saving money on future races....I see you know where yours are!! I do still use my iPod, as it's so much smaller and simpler. Yet, this morning, I used my phone to listen to a book on tape as I ran. Depends! Ditto on the lotteries....wow. Good reflections!!! I ran my first marathon of this era in 2006 as well, so your memory is over the same period of time as mine. I ran my first two in 1979 and 1980, though. Then, the only "carb" on the course was flat Coke. Yes. It actually worked well, with the sugar and caffeine. Just needed to make sure someone opened the bottles 24 hours ahead of time to let them lose all the fizz!!!

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    1. That's so cool about the Coke. I had no idea they used to do that. Kind of logical, though! I didn't really get my money's worth from the Chip, but it's a nice souvenir, I guess!

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  4. I still remember the chafing from the ankle band timing chips! I trained for and ran my first half marathon in 2007 without GPS. I "measured" the distance of my training runs by driving the route. I did speedwork by running two blocks hard then jogging the next two (and repeat). I did a lot of math with my Timex and mile markers during the race, but I didn't really know what my finish time would be until I crossed the finish line. I have probably never again felt as excited and happy at the finish of a half marathon!

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    1. The element of surprise is really good! And yeah, ankle band chafing was rough. During one marathon I think I actually had to stop to make mine loser because my ankle had swelled a little.

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  5. I have only been racing for about 6-7 years but was running just because before that so was nodding my head to all of this. Minus I was running with my discman at one point haha can't even imagine if I had to do that today!
    I have to say that while I think it is great that running has boomed - at the same time I have found myself moving towards smaller races. I know people race for fun, and I do too at times, but people taking selfies, listening to music out loud, running and chatting several abreast I find is more in big name races vs. small so have been edging away from the big ones.

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    1. I can totally understand that attitude about not wanting to do the larger races. It's really become a social event for many (and it is for me too, but that's not the primary reason I race). I used to use my Discman on the treadmill. I would try to run with it outdoors but it skipped too much, even using the ones that claimed they were anti-skip!

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  6. I would add two things: cotton race tees and no guarantee of a medal. I ran the Chicago Half Marathon in 2007 and they didn't give out medals, I think only the top finishers got them.

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    1. Ah yes, cotton t-shirts! Many of the local races still give them out, but not the big city marathons. I have cotton t-shirts from RnR Virginia Beach and RnR Arizona! It also took them awhile to realize that women didn't want men's shirts, so now I feel like most races give you a gender specific shirt.

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  7. I was running a little bit 10 years ago, mostly just around my college campus for 2-3 miles, but I do remember a few of these things such as the timing chips you had to attach to your shoe. I also remember doing a race that had them and a runner lost his... it was a $25 fee if you lost it! He had to run the whole course again to try to find it and avoid paying the fee. I felt so bad for him and hope he found it.

    You can still find some plain white and solid colors of shoes, but usually NOT in the local running store on the wall. I've had friends who've bought plainer ones of models they liked because of the military.

    I don't run with a phone... it's hard to put the phone in my pocket and still run! But a friend and I were discussing smart phones the other day and thinking of how we'd react if someone told us 15-20 years ago when we were kids and teens that someday, we would RUN with our phones. And how phones would have flashlights, and go online, etc. Gone are the days when you lost reception on your cordless phone because you walked too far away from the reciever!

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    1. I don't run with a phone either. It's the only time I spend awake away from my phone and I enjoy it thoroughly. I agree with you about how crazy it would be the notion of not only running with the phone, but using it as a camera, and to look up the weather, news, or anything really!

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  8. I'm pretty new, so I can appreciate some of these things, but man, the idea that you could get into Boston that easy...means I wouldn't have to improve my 15 second buffer. My heart broke a little when I read that. What was I doing with my life 10 years ago??

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    1. Ha, well, it was still hard to get into. Just not AS hard, and you knew when you BQ'ed that you were actually going to get in. Now it's like the BQ happens and the glory of it comes later if you are on the cusp.

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  9. I remember using my car to mark a route when I ran noncompetitively for fitness for many years! I actually ran with a portable mp3 player in late 1999 right after I graduated from UVA! It had so little memory, that I'd have to play the songs, twice, to get through a 1 hour run!

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    1. I graduated in 2000 from UVA. Do I know who you are? That's crazy about the MP3 player. I had one of those in 2004, and it could only hold 40 songs. Seemed like a lot back then.

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  10. This post was so fun. My first stint in running marathons was 2002-2008 and you are right - it used to be SO EASY to sign up for a marathon just a few months before. I ran Chicago, Boston and a Disney marathon during this time frame and it was so easy compared to now when you have to plan like a year in advance! My favorite item on this list, since I had forgotten all about them, was the shoe chips!!!! I agree with Taryn's comment re: cotton race tees and no medals. I remember thinking that Lakefront Marathon in 2008 was CLASSY because it was the first time I had gotten a technical fabric shirt for a marathon. (My Boston 2007 t-shirt is hilarious. I can only wear it when I am pregnant - the thing is enormous!)

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    1. P.S. Do you get Runners World? Their 50th anniversary issue (Oct or Nov issue) had some articles like this - "running in the past" etc. I read it last night and it made me think of this post.

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    2. I don't get Runner's World, but that sounds like an issue to check out!

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    3. Darn. I already gave my issue away, otherwise I would mail it to you!

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  11. Fun post! I signed up for the Chicago Marathon during Memorial Day weekend to run in October. Sigh, so much easier to get in before than now.

    I remember the National Marathon. Was that the same as Suntrust or something like that?

    I also had my own ChampionChip. Don't know where it is but I do have the one from the Marine Corps Marathon in 2007.

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  12. Ah - this post is amazing! I re-watched Spirit of the Marathon recently and was shocked by how old school everyone in the race looked, even though it was only 2005! I started racing in 2006 and did my first full in 2007 so everything you put here resonated with me. I think I ran with a D-chip on those same white and baby blue Brooks!

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