Review of four great, but fussy running gadgets

Nike/iPod Sport Kit
It is true the Timex system takes a few minutes, too, so I thought Nike/iPod might be my savior. The $29 kit comes with a small sensor that fits snugly into a hole pre-carved into Nike's specially designed "Plus" shoes.

The sensor needs no GPS signal. It sends information about the time between footsteps and the time your foot is on the ground to the iPod Nano, sold separately at $150 to $250 (the kit won't work with other iPod models). Apple's easy-to-use software calculates pace and distance.

The Nano voices your progress when you press a button. Keep it pressed for your personal inspirational song — the "Superman" theme in my case. It works best in your hand, though the button is large enough to fiddle with in a thin pocket.

Nike and Apple promise 90 percent accuracy for distance out of the box, and you can fine-tune it to your own running style. It took about four attempts to get the calibration right, but it seems to work now, at least no worse than the GPS systems.

With earphones on, such athletes as Paula Radcliffe offer praise after your fastest or farthest runs (though better motivation would be yelling for slowing down climbing the hill).

Apple sells special workout music, though your own tunes work. Nike has special clothing with openings for the Nano and earphone wiring. You also can send data to Nike's free Web site to view your progress and challenge friends.

That said, the device is quite limited in what it displays. You get current pace, but not the average until you finish, nor can you record split times, something core to most sports watches.

My biggest beef is the requirement for Nike shoes.

For one, Nike didn't have a "Plus" model yet for flat-footed runners like me who need extra stability. Within days, my left foot started aching — perhaps a coincidence, perhaps not.

I found I could still use the kit with a $6 key holder that attaches with Velcro to my shoelaces. The cheat was less consistent and more difficult to calibrate, though adequate as a fallback.

Nike promises to have a compatible stability shoe out soon, but even so, even the same class of shoes differs from model to model. It took some experimenting — and injuries — before finding a good fit, one that has served me well for 11 marathons since 2002.

I may ultimately buy the Nike/iPod system as a backup, but for Sunday's Wineglass Marathon in Corning, N.Y., I'll be going solo with Timex — all 46,000-plus footsteps in my non-Nike shoes.

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