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Much as we all love the versatility of our phones, they are not that handy for running. For a start you can’t sensibly look and use a smartphone screen when you are running and have to keep them stowed in a pouch or armband. This is the first time I have benefitted from the shear commonsense advantages – being able to actually look and use the watch functions while running. We’ve come a long way in all sorts of ways – when I first started marathon running some 20 years ago I used to rely on paper wrist bands to try and work out my pace. These are accurate to within about a kilometre, whereas a glance of the wrist with the SEKONDA ACTIVE PRO will give you a constant real-time pace. And while it sounds obvious, until receiving my ACTIVE PRO last month I have not enjoyed anything like this functionality and have instead relied on headphone feedback through my headphones every 250 metres frommy phone app – so the improvement was something of the 250-fold magnitude! You can synch the ACTIVE PRO to all the usual essential favourites – STRAVA etc – but I was happy to use SEKONDA’s own PRO app in both my training and on marathon day. The high-resolution end-to-end AMOLED screen with an always-on display was easily readable to my middle-aged, myopic, sweat- and-sunscreen filled eyes on the day. Built-in GPS and a barometric altimeter let you track elevation changes – elevation is not a big deal in the TCS London Marathon, but it is in just about all the other conditions I run and train in. The waterlock feature keeps your device secure should you transition to water in a triathlon, and you can stay in touch, connected and in control with the Bluetooth calling, allowing you to accept, reject, and dial calls directly from your wrist. The big crown which allows you to swivel-control functionality was a particular plus for me, reducing the need to double press small buttons. With a track temperature of over 25C this year’s TCS Marathon was comparatively warm for an old Brit (I’m 63). I had hoped for a sub 4 – I used to run 3.30s – oh how I wish I was only 50-something again. I did actively have the form for running it at this speed having run a half marathon on the very day I flew out to Cannes last September at a 5.05 km/min pace. Therefore, I only needed a much slower 5.35 km/min pace to run a sub 4 in London. Things turned out a little differently. I ran the first half on pace – a little bit beyond Tower Bridge – and then the pain frommultiple arthritis joints kicked in. I took a whole packet of codeine, but that didn’t seem to have any effect until within 5km of the finish. So I faced facts and backed off to what seemed to me like the slowest in the race until I was sure I was going to get at least a sub-5 and managed a 4.48 as I turned the corner to the finish at Buckingham Palace, around 1.20 off the personal best. But I never stopped running all the way and never, ever do I say to myself “never again.” For me, and other crazies, marathon running is a way of life – an actual lifestyle. Even the extremely well-paid consultant who looked at my locked-up knee a few months ago agreed that I was much better off continuing to run (although I did wonder about his motives after I saw his bill and the fancy Italian red sports car in the parking lot). But I will have a new running mate going forward – my SEKONDA ACTIVE PRO. I have to admit that I do already wear a fancy Swiss bracelet with all sorts of sentimental meanings on my other wrist. So not wanting to spend the best part of $1,000 on a smartwatch puts the circa $150 SEKONDA ACTIVE PRO in exactly the right price spot for me – it’s affordable, but it certainly isn’t just about affordability for someone like me... with so many unkind people happy to point out that I’m not exactly a ‘pro’… on all sorts of levels. Time Products will once again be exhibiting at TFWAWorld Exhibition & Conference in Cannes (28 September to 2 October 2025). Monday 12 May 2025 37 T F W A D A I L Y