Do you take your phone with you when running?

[Sid]

I typically run around the neighborhood, so I'm usually only 10 minutes away from home at any time. I went on a trail run today, 20 minute drive to the middle of nowhere. I brought my phone and stuck it in a ziploc bag and put it in my shorts pocket, which is in the back center. Thwap, thwap, thwap with every step. It got a bit annoying, so the phone will be staying in the car next time. Still, part of me says that I should bring it, and I was actually able to get 1-2 bars during the run.

Now, I saw this watch phone, which looks pretty slick. I can just pop my sim card in when running. I might give it a try, and it's no bulkier than my Garmin.

Does anyone else bring their phone? Do you use a waist pack or arm band?

Edit: The watch phone didn't work out. I'm sending it back to Amazon.

 

[dutchie53]

No, I do not bring my phone. With the loops that I run I am never farther than 4 miles from home. Also should the need arise to call someone there are always stores and gas stations on the way.

 

[NotSoDoomedRunner]

I use a waist pack and always have it with findmyfriends on. But I'm often 10 or more miles down a country road. My wife pretty much demands it. It is nice because she brings me surprises sometimes. Mostly. She just checks for when I'm close but also to make sure the dot is still moving!!

 

[NickW]

I use a waist pack and always have it with findmyfriends on. But I'm often 10 or more miles down a country road. My wife pretty much demands it. It is nice because she brings me surprises sometimes. Mostly. She just checks for when I'm close but also to make sure the dot is still moving!!

Glad my wife does not know about that app. She would not get any work done while I am out for my morning run with our toddler. She is such a worry wart and makes me take my phone in case I need it or she needs to get in touch with me.

 

[clawhammer72]

My wife would love it if I brought my phone, but I don't have a good way to carry. So I don't. If she's ever right and I do need it, I don't want to have to say "You were right, dear." So I'm lookin' for good solutions.

 

[NickW]

I use an armband for mine and then I can listen to music too when I run by myself. When I run with the stroller my phone goes in the cubby on the stroller and I still listen to music.

 

[NotSoDoomedRunner]

I got a little fuel pack waist sack for lime $11. I also use it to carry tp.

 

[happysongbird]

I always carry mine in a waist sack (have never heard that term before, I'm guessing is the same as what I have been calling a "hip bag" since I learned that other names were not internationally acceptable... I have had to seriously call for a ride home twice now, so I am very happy to have it along. Having the hip bag there is something of a gauge as to how smoothly I am running, too.

 

[spoonerweb]

I used to run with one all the time, but ruined it with sweat. I don't have any place to really put one either. Now I just run with one on my long runs, but I also showed my wife my running routes so she knows where I'll be if she wants to come find me. We have a tandem now, so if I need a ride home, she will bring that to pick me up. I have also told her to give me 30min past the time I am expected home and then to come out and find me.

 

[ChasingShadows]

I buy my running kit to accomodate my phone - if I'm wearing a jacket it goes in the front pocket or I have a top with a phone pouch in the pocket to the side of the lower back. I have found it essential that back pockets hold things snugly, have had the same problem with keys bouncing around if the pocket's wrong.

 

[Hobbit]

It depends: On shorter runs around my village I don't bother. But as soon as I plan to run in the forest or on trails in the middle of nowhere I keep it with me (accidents do happen and with a sprained ankle at 15 km from home it is nice to be able to phone my hubby for help rather than painfully hobble back home). I carry it either in the backside pocket of my tights (so it doesn't wobble up and down) or in a special pouch on my drinking belt (just the correct size for the phone). Usually it's not the phone that wobbles in this configuration, but the water bottle...

 

[Bare Lee]

I bought one of these for my phone:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003ZYJTIM/ref=oh_details_o06_s00_i00

It holds the phone nice and snug against my body, no thwapping whatsoever. Plus I have my info on a little piece of paper in there, 'laminated' with clear packaging tape stuck on both sides, with emergency contact numbers. There's also room for keys and a few walnuts.

It's annoying when my wife calls me about something that could easily wait until the end of the run, but she's gotten better about that, and sometimes it's about something that needs to be resolved right away. And then a few weeks ago I got stop-me-in-my-tracks ITBS out of the blue, and used the phone to call my brother to come get me and help me pick up my daughter and a neighbor boy at Discovery Club. I was still two miles out and could barely walk and so would've been late for the Discovery Club cut-off if I hadn't been able to call my brother. You can also use the phone to listen to tunes or, in my case, field recordings--it has a little hole for the ear buds.

 

[ThomDavid]

I take my phone, but only because I use a metronome app to help me maintain a particular cadence. I've never been a fan of listening to anything but the sounds around me when I run, so even with the metro counter, I plug in only one earphone. I'm getting to the point where muscle memory is just about ready to take over, so even the app won't be necessary for much longer. I have an armband that I use to hold the phone, which isn't the most comfortable thing in the world, but it keeps my hands free.

I guess there is a certain amount of comfort in having a phone on-board, particularly if you're in unfamiliar territory. But I'm too old-school a runner: I started back when running shorts were made of nylon and t-shirts were cotton, shoes had waffles on the bottom, and the Walkman(!) wasn't even a glimmer in Sony's eye. I never required much of a distraction and never felt particularly in need of any sort of safety net. Having said all that, BECAUSE I'm now so "well-aged," it's probably prudent to have some sort of emergency backup system just in case something unexpected happens. I have a sibling, marathon-runner (shod, though I'm working on that) who was on a training run once and collapsed, ended up in the hospital for major bypass surgery. She had no phone, but someone out on the trail got her some help. So, I may need to rethink my without-a-net position on phones.

 

[Enso108]

I need to take my phone as I have heart condition ( my wife insists ). I use the Endomondo app and listen to music, I just carry it in my hand with ear phone lead going up my sleeve. The phone has an Otterbox case for protection, if it looks like there going to be heavy rain I put in a zip lock bag.

 

[JosephTree]

No.
I guess it's my feeble attempt to live a little on the wild and free side.
Also, I can think of many, many calls that could come in and just ruin my run.
I think I'm doing real well to remember my Road ID. With that on they'll at least know where to send the leftovers.

And LauraSongBird, I think you can write "fanny pack." My wife's a Brit and she gets a laugh out of that peculiar Americanism every time it comes up.

 

[migangelo]

i don't carry a phone when i run anymore. got tired of it. nearly everyone you come across will have one on them. problem for me will be to remember someone's number so i could call them for a ride! damn speed dial and contact list.

 

[Ronnie B]

At the end of the day - it is better to have one and not need it rather than the other way round!

 

[Sid]

Thanks for all the suggestions! I don't want to have something happen, and regret it, so I did end up ordering the watch phone. We'll see how well it works.

Edit: The watch phone didn't work out. I'm sending it back to Amazon.

 

[scedastic]

The other reason to bring a phone? Well, what if you break a leg, twist an ankle, trip and injure in some other way, etc., so it's bad enough you can't walk or don't want to risk trying to, there's your phone. What if you witness something, like someone getting mugged, attacked, a fire, what have you, then it's not just you you're helping out.

Then again, if you run in a heavily populated area where you are likely to see someone every few minutes, or there are houses that are likely to be occupied right there, you probably don't need the phone even in an emergency (though you are then relying on others to be helpful)

That said, when I run my loops around the block (it's about a 1 mile loop +.3 miles to home), unless I think the kids might need me, then I don't usually take it.

If you are in remote areas or on trails, you could wish you had one.

Hey, speaking of, finally just saw 127 hours. Bring a sharp knife, too.

 

[clawhammer72]

Turning off the phone and carrying it may be a good option for some, as it stops the interruptions, but maintains the safety measures.