Can We Please Share the Road Until Springtime?
For a brief time every winter, we runners are forced onto the roads with the rest of the world. Can't we all just get along and share the road?
Whether you really like running on treadmills or you just don’t enjoy running indoors, running on a Wahoo KICKR RUN smart treadmill can lead to an enlightening breakthrough.
I have to admit that, through my decades of running, I have not been a huge fan of running on treadmills—mostly because I typically find them to be noisy and cumbersome and, for numerous reasons, they don’t simulate what I’d consider an authentic running experience. However, I recently did a 7-mile run with several fartlek interval surges on a KICKR RUN treadmill, and it was a sublime and made me a believer.
The KICKR RUN is light years from your average treadmill. In fact, comparing it to any treadmill you’ve run on at a health club or hotel gym is as different as that old flip phone you still have in a drawer compared to the latest iPhone release.
It’s what I’d call the first “smart” treadmill, and it goes way beyond what traditional treadmills have been about. By using advanced technology that is behind my realm of understanding, the KICKR RUN allows for intuitive, hands-free speed changes, almost perfectly mimicking how you’d naturally vary your pace outdoors during interval training or a casual run. Beyond that, it’s just a much better and smoother experience than what you’ve probably experienced running on treadmills.
And yes, OK, with a $7,000 retail price, it’s a premium purchase. But as an investment in your health, it makes a lot of sense, and, from my point of view, is absolutely worth the price if you can justify it in your budget. Having run on dozens of treadmills (including the 15-year-old clunker in my basement), I would definitely not spend $1,000 to $2,500 on an entry-level or mid-range treadmill (like I did in 2010). They’ll feel basic and awkward, and won’t be a game-changer for your running and fitness goals the way the KICKR RUN can.
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What really sets the Wahoo KICKR RUN treadmill apart is its RunFree Mode that uses optical sensors to dynamically adjust belt speed based on the runner’s position, providing a hands-free experience for varied pace runs. In other words, if you move forward on the belt, the treadmill speeds up. If you drop back, it slows down. Plus, some traditional quick-access physical buttons have been replaced by paddle shifters, which is a seamless way to adjust speed and incline. Genius.
The running surface of the Wahoo KICKR RUN treadmill is engineered to mimic a hard-packed trail or asphalt, offering a firm, solid feel, good energy return and very quiet. The main sound I heard is the light footfalls of my shoes and not the whirring sound of a motor.
The KICKR RUN treadmill is a smart device with Bluetooth, ANT+, Wi-Fi, and Direct Connect capabilities. It pairs seamlessly with popular third-party apps like Zwift and Kinomap, which, in addition to offering virtual running experiences with geolocated videos from around the world, can automatically control the incline and decline for an immersive running experience. You can also watch movies, tune into your favorite sports talk shows, catch up on the morning news shows, listen to podcasts, or binge watch streaming shows while running on it.
The KICKR RUN has a minimalist design without a large built-in screen, offering only a basic LCD for key metrics like speed and slope. The deck can be adjusted from a 15 percent incline to -3 percent decline, allowing you to mimic the course profile of an upcoming goal race (i.e. for running downhill tempo runs while prepping for the Boston Marathon). It has a spacious shelf to accommodate a tablet, laptop, or phone, and with an “open platform” strategy, it allows users select their own preferred training ecosystem or entertainment source.
The main disadvantages of the Wahoo KICKR RUN are its premium price and the absence of an integrated display, requiring users to provide their own device for data and entertainment. High price tag or not, the Wahoo KICKR RUN is not for everyone. But if you’re willing and able to make the investment and run on it regularly, you’ll very likely going to experience a boost in your fitness and enjoy running—indoors and outdoors—more than you ever have.
Want to read other reviews of the Wahoo KICKR RUN, check out the reports from Run to the Finish, Believe in the Run, and DC Rainmaker.
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