Technology Trends in Trail Running - 2016

Editor's Notes

• #2: Welcome! In this session we would like to give a sneak peak of some new technology that will likely appear on the trails in 2017. In particular, we are going to cover a few that might have larger implications for Race Directors.
• #3: Your speakers today are two guys who balance the nerd worlds of Silicon Valley with the trails. Scott is a tech entrepreneur, so his “day job” is to figure out what technologies will be widely adopted and when. He likes to apply this to trail running.
• #4: First of all, I should point out that nobody “needs” technology to run. You don’t even need a destination to get a taste of the joy, optimism, and fitness that comes with the oldest human sport. [photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures]
• #5: But technology that helps capture the experience – in photos, in data, in sharing – are actually driving more interactions with nature. Behind this is something called the “Easterlin Paradox”, a study of happiness that has been going on for the last 20 years. At the core of this paradox is that material purchases and experiences have similar happiness measurements when they occur. But over time, a purchase brings LESS happiness while an experience brings MORE happiness. Experiences require more adaptation (whereas we tend to get used to the items we purchase), and because of this, experiences become ingrained in our identify. Experiences become the stores we tell.
• #6: So don’t think of technology as gadgets that get in the way, think of them as ways to capture and share a defining experience. When you find technologies that are REALLY good at this, you can expect they will grow rapidly.
• #7: Technology can be motivational. Seeing the elevation you tracked, getting a Strava King of the Mountain, sharing with friends – each of these increase the reach of a defining experience. The act of capturing the experience (bottom left) is what is seeing the biggest boom right now. This is the new camera on the iPhone 7, capable of amazing photos beyond most professional rigs. This is a headband with a 4k video built in – that’s how small these cameras are getting. This is a drone, which we will talk about in more detail. Live sharing is also something I want to drill into, and then I’ll go through a few fun products set to hit the markets this year.
• #8: The trick of course is to not go “full Borg” (Star Trek reference) and lose track of the essence of running. Don’t forget to unplug!
• #9: Ah, the “selfie”. But if you think about it as capturing and sharing an experience – such as your race experience – you can understand the craze. It is evolving quickly. The selfie stick of 2015 is quickly giving way to drones that follow you around. Soon, those will live stream as well. Both of these have HUGE implications to race directing, so let’s dig in a bit.
• #10: Drones are already big. With 1.9 million units in use just in the USA, and doubling every year, you can expect them to be at every race within the year. Registration of drones has jumped from 150k to 500k devices just this year. And the commercial drone laws that went into effect two weeks ago will produce 600k licensed drone pilots…nearly 3x the number of manned pilots...in the first year. It’s big. The big leap that will happen in late 2016 is the appearance of affordable semi-autonomous drones, which you toss into the air and they follow you around.
• #11: It’s best to just see these semi-autonomous drones at work, so let’s watch a video. [video] Compact, semi-autonomous, waterproof, durable…and $650.
• #12: So what are the implications? When Scott last ran in Zermatt, Switzerland at the Ultraks 55k, six drones met the lead pack at the first ridge, all fighting for air space. It was a little scary. Now everyone might have one of their own! GoPro will make their new drone available to 15,000 stores in a few weeks, and it can be carried in a backpack. The DJI Mavic Pro now fits in the size of your hand. The Teal Drone can fly up to 70 mph. The skies will fill with these things when an epic event is on, and that raises some important questions for RD’s. Are drones in your policies? Do your t’s and c’s to accept responsibility of your drone? Does your insurance cover damages if one crashes? Just some things to think about.
• #13: Live sharing has always been important, but it’s also increasing dramatically. For example, how many people came on the Internet to watch the start of UTMB this year?
• #14: The answer is over 100,000. And another 3 million watched the 19 cameras set up for live web feeds along the way. Your race audience is WELL beyond the participants, even at a race the size of UTMB. And it’s the participants that will amplify this more than ever through live sharing to their peers.
• #15: One example is Facebook Live. Any Facebook user can now stream a live video to their friends, a select group, or everyone. Those watching can comment back, give a thumbs up or reaction, all in real time. That’s 1 billion users who already watch 8 billion videos per day. Live video is up 75% on Facebook this year, and when it’s live, viewing is 3x longer. How much can it grow? How many of you are on Facebook? And how many of you have live streamed a video? So, it could possibly grow at what…10x more?
• #16: Strava is a well-known social network for endurance athletes. Now when you record a race or run, you can share your progress and location with anybody – even people who aren’t on Strava. It was originally intended for safety purposes (“where are you?”), but has turned out to be very handy for crews.
• #17: Millenials are all over this, no surprise, with nearly all of them watching live content daily. There is a big audience for live sharing. So are you set up for your participants to do live streaming? Are the logos on BOTH SIDES of the starting and finishing chutes? Are you inviting them to stream it? Are you giving them a hashtag so people can find all of them? When you do, your race becomes more of an experience, not only for the participants, but the people watching as well.
• #18: The amount of Internet-connected devices is set to explode over the next four years. Sensors and chips are cheaper, and they can all access capabilities in the cloud that make things like artificial intelligence work well with big data sets, and create compelling experiences back to the device. The question used to be “why put something on the Internet”, but it’s quickly becoming “why wouldn’t you put it on the Internet?”. Here are a few fun ones that you might see on the trails.
• #19: One great thing about new sensors is that things that used to require invasive testing – like blood samples for VO2 max, hemoglobin, or lactic acid tests – can now be done non-invasively and in real time. BSX Insight has a calf sleeve that uses LED lights to track lactic acid. Now you can fine tune your training, and know when you’ve burned that candle at both ends. BSX also recently announced LVL, a hydration monitor that fits on your wrist and uses red-light technology to monitor your hydration. It sold $1 million in pre-sales in the first week and is due out in Summer, 2017. Given that 75% of people are in a constant state of dehydration, I think this may be more revealing and useful than a Fitbit.
• #20: Sensoria has developed a “smart sock” that has sensors woven directly into the fabric. This is a trend we are likely going to see, where measurement devices are non longer separate straps or devices, but instead put right into the fabric. The smart sock can tell you all about your foot strike and weight distribution, for example, and how that affects your cadence. It can also help you pick out the right shoes.
• #21: The new Jabra Sport Plus headphones have a built in HRM that can do VO2 Max testing live.
• #22: A Canadian company called InteraXon has developed a portable EEG that can track brainwaves. Why? By itself, it may not be interesting, but combined with other data it could help you understand what conditions are affecting your mood, stress, etc. It could even be used to trigger or control events. One case I could see this used is with other data to indicate what leads you to hit a mental low point, and start becoming predictive. Or have it change your songs based on your mood.
• #23: Gatorade has jumped into the smart product world too, with a sweat sensor that tracks water and electrolyte loss then suggests a custom cap to your bottle that replaces in the right ratio.
• #24: Displays are getting interesting too. The latest flexible OLED screen can show an HD video on a piece of plastic the size of two sheets of paper, and can be rolled up to the size of roll of quarters. Snapchat (now called “Snap”) just two weeks ago released a $130 pair of glasses that takes a stereo circular video image of 10-30 seconds and sends it right to your Snapchat feed.
• #25: Want an instant ice bath? Cryo-tanks can now spray you down in 90 seconds. Want to see exactly how and where your muscles, bones, and tendons are wearing and tearing? The Dexa X-ray can scan you in minutes and give you a full break down for $15. Want the heat? You can now get an infrared sauna put into your house for $5k that can heat up in 2 minutes. And hospital-grade inflatable compression can now be purchased for the home. There was a guy on my flight two weeks ago who just whipped these out in coach – apparently it’s that socially acceptable now.
• #27: Thank you!