GPS questions

[tinyman]

I’m just coming back into the sport after 8 years out. Most things haven’t changed, there’s still the mud and the pain, the friendship and banter, the gray nothingness when the clag’s down and the breathtaking views when it clears. But every now and then I realise that I’ve missed something in my time away. One of those things seems to be GPS.

In the Fellrunner mag and on these pages I keep coming across references to using GPS, particularly on long routes. Could somebody answer some questions that I’ve been pondering.
What are people using GPS for?
What benefits do these give?
What kind of GPS units are people using?

One of the real pleasures of getting back on the fells has been the huge re-learning curve of basic map and compass work. I’m just wondering whether there’s a whole bunch of new technology stuff that I’m pretty much ignorant of, but that could back-up what have always been the essentials of being safe on the hill. Thanks for any of your thoughts.

[Ady In Accy]

Could somebody answer some questions that I’ve been pondering.
What are people using GPS for?
What benefits do these give?
What kind of GPS units are people using?

For me (when I do actually put it on):
Use:
Recording a route to later transfer to a digital 1:25000 map to study post run. You can also point to any section of the run to check what your pace/HR was. Also to record races in the same way and print out with associated data to go with the results in a manila 'races' folder.

Benefits:
In theory, knowledge is power so with all your run data saved for analysis you can decide how you approach the run next time you do it and look to improve. You can also put grid refs (maybe checkpoints) into your GPS and follow the digital compass instead of dialing in bearings on a compass.

Which GPS:
Most widely used in running are the watch style GPS units often paired to a HRM. Garmin are quite popular and have reduced in size over the years to 'normal' watch size proportions.

[mr brightside]

the gray nothingness when the clag’s down and the breathtaking views when it clears.

One of the best parts of fellrunning i feel, it's like Chris Yates and Bob James say about their fishing; "the catching of fish matters less than being there".

Sorry to hijack your thread there, now GPS? not for me but some love them, i was running behind a guy up Dufton Pike this year and his was just bleeping constantly, why i don't know but i'd have flung it in the reeds long ago

[ydt]

1. When doing a long distance event I enter the grid reference of each top into my GPS and when I get near I switch the device on occasionaly just to make sure I am heading for the right summit. All navigation is left to map and compass. That is what I did recently when soloing the Cairngorm munros on spec, in bad visibility.
2. Again, when navigating in poor visibility (eg in the night) in a difficult area through fields with stiles etc, I try to reccie those difficult bits beforehand with the GPS switched on. I then follow the GPS crumb trail on the day. I never pre-enter a track from the map as this can be so inacurete as to be useless in a tricky area in the dark. I applied this successfully when doing the South wales traverse last March going through a forest and descending through wooded fields during the night.
3. Don't use GPS for navigation, it is useless when you stop.
4. I use a Garmin, marine version, not a wrist type.
Yiannis

[Tussockface]

I use a Garmin, marine version, not a wrist type.
Yiannis

It sounds as if there's a carefully considered point being made here, YDT. So let me ask the hanging question: why do you use a marine version rather than a wrist type? On the face of it, if a fellrunner needs a marine navigation device, she or he has already gone way off course...you might as well look for the flashes from the lighthouse.

[ydt]

It sounds as if there's a carefully considered point being made here, YDT. So let me ask the hanging question: why do you use a marine version rather than a wrist type? On the face of it, if a fellrunner needs a marine navigation device, she or he has already gone way off course...you might as well look for the flashes from the lighthouse.

Now that you asked, the answer is obvious: I used to do (and will do more) sailing. A waypoint is a waypoint whether in the middle of the sea or on a mountain, so I use the same GPS. I dont't think wrist GPSs are as versatile as hand-held ones. In any case, I do not intend to spend more on a device, which I use only occasionally. I am more than happy with map and compass.
Yiannis

[tinyman]

Thanks YDT, yours was one of the articles that got me curious about how GPS was being used.
Anybody else care to share what they're doing with GPS on the hill?

[Mark G]

I think there is a big difference between using them in races (not allowed in most events in any case, although GPS systems that monitor track/speed etc for later consideration but dont actually help you navigate are a different matter) and taking them on the hill for long reccies or runs - I have what is now a reasonably old one which I originally bought when I was in an MRT and kept finding myself out on night searches etc often in poor weather and found it helpful for that - I admit to having taken it when BG pacing in bad weather or on night sections but have only actually used it for that once on a winter section in very poor conditions, along with map and compass - I felt a little guilty but not as guilty as I would have done if I'd messed up and made the guy fail. I'm very much a traditionalist when it comes to races though - navigating by map and compass and route choice is part of the appeal for me.

[southernsoftie]

I use mine mainly for the pretty pictures I can generate, check out my most recent run details in Care to Join Me?:

http://www.forum.fellrunner.org.uk/s...&postcount=115

Great apres fell to visualise where you've been. Also most software used for these frivolities will have a training log function to keep a record of your weekly mileage and ascent.

To navigate, I still use map & compass (or the age old 'follow the local vest technique'!)

[rickityg]

A cheaper option I use is Nokia sports tracker. It's a free download if you have a nokia phone with gps. It doesn't have some of the features that garmins have (tracking pasts routes), but data can be uploaded after your run which you can see against google maps. It can also be used for navigation but I haven't tried this