Jump-start Your Race Training with Your Smartphone

U.S. Cellular Experts Help Runners Use Their Wireless Devices

According to Running USA, there were an estimated 720 U.S. marathons and more than 500,000 marathon finishers in 2011. As the weather warms up, thousands of runners will begin training for and participating in 5k and 10k races and half and full marathons across the United States. While gearing up for the big race, many will rely on their smartphones to help them achieve their goals.

“Today’s cutting-edge devices can do so much to help runners train and plan for competition at any level,” said Frank Jacquez, director of sales for U.S. Cellular in the Mid-Atlantic. “There are a lot of free apps available for runners and marathoners that can organize their training and turn their devices into both a personal trainer and motivator.”


Whether people are developing a training program, plotting split times for a marathon course, tracking their pace and distance or motivating themselves with good music, smartphones offer a lot of resources for runners.

New 4G LTE products, like U.S. Cellular’s Samsung Galaxy S® Aviator™ that features a 4.3-inch vivid touchscreen, are ideal for runners who want to access apps quickly and easily to improve their training regimen. With nearly half a million apps available through Google Play, formerly known as the Android™ Market, there are plenty of options, and with U.S. Cellular’s lineup of Samsung devices, there’s a smartphone to fit every runner’s needs.

U.S. Cellular offers the following tips to help runners use their wireless device to help them prepare and train:

• Track your training. Whether training for a marathon or a 5k, there are several apps that can help you train. MapMyRUN+ tracks the route, distance, pace, calories and more in real-time using GPS technology. Another free Android-powered app is RunKeeper, which uses GPS to measure your fitness activities such as distance and pace, while also tracking the path traveled on a map and providing audio cues, customized interval workouts and integrated RunKeeper FitnessClasses.
• Know the course. Marathon Calculator was designed by marathoners for marathoners. This app compiles a list of the top 67 marathons in North America, plus the top 21 international marathons taking place this spring. Features include mile split calculation with elevation as a factor, course elevation chart and an interactive map course for any of the selected marathons.
• Stay energized with music. Your smartphone’s built-in music player can keep you pumped up while listening to your favorite artist or custom running playlist. If you haven’t loaded music onto your phone, users can download free music apps, including Pandora, to stream music without having to save it to your device. Just enter the name of your favorite artist or song, and Pandora will create a "station" that plays their music and more music like it.
• Enjoy a little extra security. While you’re concentrating on running, you never know when you may need to make a call due to injury or an unexpected circumstance. Your smartphone gives you some built-in peace of mind in case you need to make a call on the go.

About U.S. Cellular
U.S. Cellular rewards its customers with unmatched benefits and industry-leading innovations designed to elevate the customer experience. The Chicago-based carrier has a strong line-up of cutting-edge devices that are all backed by its high-speed nationwide network that has the highest call quality of any national carrier. U.S. Cellular was named a J.D. Power and Associates Customer Service Champion in 2012 for the second year in a row and received PC Magazine’s 2011 Readers’ Choice Award. To learn more about U.S. Cellular, visit one of its retail stores or uscellular.com. To get the latest news, promos and videos, connect with U.S. Cellular on Facebook.com/uscellular, Twitter.com/uscellular and YouTube.com/uscellularcorp.