You’ll never run alone

Then two things happened simultaneously that got me back on the road. My daughter who was in Johannesburg on holiday challenged me to a run, and a new Nike+ White Sports-Watch GPS arrived for me to review. The planets had aligned and who was I to argue?

The watch is big bold and easy to use. It can be irritating for athletes trying to read a watch display when running, but with this large, clear display that is no longer a problem.

The instructions were clear: “Put on the watch, go outside and run.”

But before I describe the run, let me tell you about the impressive tech specs. Sports watches have come on in leaps and bounds since I last tried one on. This Nike product has a built-in GPS from TomTom, USB connectivity and the optional Nike+ Sensor.

What sort of information does the SportsWatch supply? Heartrate, time, distance, as well as calories burnt. The built- in GPS will accurately plot your route and suggest new ones, all with changes in elevation. In fact there is so much packed into the impressive box that the only omission is someone to actually do the run for you.

There is an onboard USB contact built into the strap, so no more trying to work out how far you have been, or where you have run for that matter. And the watch will store eight hours of running data, so daily downloading is not required.

The social aspect of running has not been forgotten either. Join up with Nikeplus.com and share your highs and lows with a huge virtual running club and via Facebook and Twitter.

If, like me, you are a runner that looks for excuses not to train, then the built-in Run Reminder will kick in if you have not trained for five consecutive days.

However, if you do a “personal best” you will get an “Attaboy” from the watch.

Back to my daughter and me hitting the road together. I pushed the start button on the Nike SportsWatch and off we set.

An hour later, we returned home, only to find that I had pushed the wrong button and no data had been recorded.

Back out onto the road…