Smartwatch in Running Event, the Benefit that We May Missed of

In 449 BC, there is a legend about a Greek soldier named Pheiddipedes who ran non-stop for 25 miles (40,2336 Kilometres) from the city of Marathon to Athens, bringing the news of the victory of the Greek troops over the Persians. This epic event finally inspired the birth of the marathon running event, a long-distance running event like Pheiddipedes.



The century has been changed. In 1896 AD, the modern Olympics began. Again, the Greeks became the pioneers and organizers. At that time, this event was only held for men. The winner was a Greek water carrier named Spyridon Louis. With a record time of two hours, fifty-eight minutes, and fifty seconds. The year also changed, 1897 was born the Boston Marathon Event, one of the most prestigious and well-known Marathon events to date. This event aims to bring back the spirit and heroism of Pheiddipedes, which became the basis for holding the first marathon event.

Then in 1909, 5 other marathon events appeared in New York on special celebration days such as Thanksgiving Day, Lincoln's Birthday, New Year's Day, Washington's Birthday, and the day after Christmas. Furthermore, in 1972 the term Running Boom emerged, inspired by the victory of Frank Shorter, an American, in the Summer Olympics.

The 1984 Olympics became a milestone for women's participation in the marathon because it was the first time the women's marathon was officially held. Since then, approximately twenty-five million people took up running as a hobby or sport during that boom – including then-President Jimmy Carter. About 715 marathon events are routinely held only in the USA. This shows the popularity of the marathon sport that remains sustainable and even tends to increase.

Common problems in Running Events

Currently, the synergy between sports and technology has developed very rapidly. Many technological products are used in various sports. One of them is the use of smartwatches in running activities. Smartwatches on the market today have features that are very useful in helping some of the problems that arise in running sports.

In running, tracking the position of the runners is crucial because it involves the committee's responsibility for the runners' safety. The GPS feature can help in solving this problem. Recording the average speed of runners is also important. We can find out the record that happened, get important health data related to runners' ability in sporting events, and help with assessment. Recording several health parameters such as heart rate, heart rate, and SpO2 is also important in running sports events.

There are times when running event participants are in a dangerous situation/accident while participating in a race. By looking at this, we can know in advance the physiological condition of the runner, whether he is still fit or not during the race, so that we can be prepared in case of the runner experiences unwanted things, such as dehydration, heat strokes, or heart and respiratory disorders. Several features such as SOS/emergency phone calls and fall detection can assist participants in contacting the competition committee to request medical assistance.

The managerial aspect also becomes problematic. The running event organizer is challenged to make the running event successful. Successful means the event went effective and sustainable for a generation. Smartwatch can be used as an integral part of organizing a running event. Let’s explore deeper.

Designing an effective and sustainable running event with a smartwatch

As we mentioned earlier, a successful running event depends on the effectiveness of the organizing organization's work and the ability to maintain the sustainability of this event. To run an effective and sustainable running event, the organizers will face challenges in terms of quality, time, and cost. Furthermore, these three fields are divided into sub-sections/divisions that accommodate the related tasks in the above fields.

According to Garcia-Vallejo et al., the areas of task are as follows: commercial sponsorship, general management, economic-administrative, logistics security, marketing protocol, press communication, production, medical services, and technical athletics. Commercial sponsorship, press communication, and marketing protocol may overlap if viewed from the task areas above. However, for large events, specialization for each task is necessary to achieve the effective performance of the organizing organization.

The utilization of smartwatches can directly improve the performance and coordination of logistics security, medical services, and technical athletics aspects. Meanwhile, aspects of press communication and marketing protocol can benefit indirectly.

According to Gracia-Valejo et al., the following is a description of each of the above work areas: Aspects of logistics security include Occupancy plan/mobility and signage; security plans; Contacts with security entities and forces; Security management; Preparation of permits; Logistics management (transportation and storage); Work-related risk prevention; Cleaning; Accreditation.

Aspects of medical services include Protocolization of medical services; Medical training; Prevention and awareness; Coordination of medical teams; Coordination of additional medical services (physiotherapy and podiatrists); Medical attention.

Technical athletics aspects include Design course; Design of exit/finish-line areas; Design of drink stations; Coordination of municipal services; Management of urban areas; Monitoring of federation regulations; Management of elite athletes; Management of registration/bibs; Parallel races; Recruitment of volunteers; Volunteer functions; Training/loyalizing volunteers; Race monitoring.

Several aspects of press communication related to the use of smartwatches include Information participants, Dissemination of sponsorship images; Social awareness; Social networks management; Web page management; Social programs, and Announcements-events.

Several aspects of the marketing protocol related to the use of smartwatches, namely Marketing strategy; Corporate image; Creativity/content; Audio-visual production; Fair-expo management; Entertainment management; Pasta-party management; Authorities management; Timing; Awards of trophies and prizes.

The coordination and relationship between these three aspects and the integration of smartwatches in them:

1. Sub-aspects of work-related risk prevention with protocolization of medical services design and design of drink stations as well as coordination of municipal services on technical athletics aspects. By planning work-related risk prevention, we can determine the medical protocol that will be made related to the safety of running participants (including smartwatch standards that will be used to monitor the health conditions of race participants). After that, it is related to connectivity to health service facilities at the event location.
2. The sub-aspects of course design and exit/finish-line areas can be assisted using a smartwatch when conducting route trials and the post-race evaluation process. Post-race evaluation is important to improve the quality of future events, especially in choosing running routes and designing drink stations and medical posts that support the welfare and safety of participants.
3. The monitoring race sub-aspect is related to coordination of medical teams, coordination of additional medical services such as physiotherapists and podiatrists, and medical attention sub-aspects. All these features will greatly assist the committee and participants in organizing the event. Smartwatches like Wonlex can facilitate this, especially with the latest features, such as GPS, SOS/emergency phone calls, and fall detection.

Next, we discuss the relationship between communication and marketing aspects:

1. The announcement-event sub-aspect is closely related to most of the marketing protocol sub-aspects. For example, in the organizing committee campaigns: the organizer can use a smartwatch as one of the prizes in the event, or a smartwatch can be given to all competition participants as a free facility from the committee that can be taken home (either won or lost).

By looking at all these aspects, smartwatches can be a solution for event organizers to spice up running events so that they are more organized in management, marketing, and technical aspects (logistics, technical athletics, and medical services).

Conclusion

Running events have existed since ancient Greece, and even now, their popularity is timeless. The existence of a smartwatch can synergize well to help carry out current running events from management, marketing, and technical perspective. The management aspect is assisted in designing competition logistics and medical services.

The marketing aspect is helped by designing marketing campaigns such as giving merchandise or part of prizes. The event committee can contact wholesale smartwatch providers like Wonlex to get smartwatches in large quantities with the best quality (it can even be branded according to the wishes of the organizing committee).

The technical aspects helped start from the pre-event such as route design. And then, when the events occur, such as monitoring participants (position and health) and during post events, such as evaluation of route data, level of participants' vital signs (average heart rate, average respiratory rate, average SpO2, etc.). All these technical features can be found in the Wonlex smartwatch.