Heads up! Here’s your massive list of sports tech deals! This includes the Garmin Forerunner 965 for just $499, Garmin Epix for $429, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Black Titanium for $735, the GoPro Hero 12 Black for $299, (or Hero 13 bundle for $339!) and plenty more! Go check out the full list here!
I’m DC RAINMAKER…
Here’s how to save!
Wanna save some cash and support the site? These companies help support the site! With Backcountry.com or Competitive Cyclist with either the coupon code DCRAINMAKER for first time users saving 15% on applicable products.
You can also pick-up tons of gear at REI via these links, which is a long-time supporter as well:
Alternatively, for everything else on the planet, simply buy your goods from Amazon via the link below and I get a tiny bit back as an Amazon Associate. No cost to you, easy as pie!
You can use the above link for any Amazon country and it (should) automatically redirect to your local Amazon site.
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Check out my weekly podcast - with DesFit, which is packed with both gadget and non-gadget goodness!
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5 Easy Steps To The Site
1
In Depth Product Reviews
You probably stumbled upon here looking for a review of a sports gadget. If you’re trying to decide which unit to buy – check out my in-depth reviews section. Some reviews are over 60 pages long when printed out, with hundreds of photos! I aim to leave no stone unturned.
2
Read My Sports Gadget Recommendations.
Here’s my most recent GPS watch guide here, and cycling GPS computers here. Plus there are smart trainers here, all in these guides cover almost every category of sports gadgets out there. Looking for the equipment I use day-to-day? I also just put together my complete ‘Gear I Use’ equipment list, from swim to bike to run and everything in between (plus a few extra things). And to compliment that, here’s The Girl’s (my wife’s) list. Enjoy, and thanks for stopping by!
3
Have some fun in the travel section.
I travel a fair bit, both for work and for fun. Here’s a bunch of random trip reports and daily trip-logs that I’ve put together and posted. I’ve sorted it all by world geography, in an attempt to make it easy to figure out where I’ve been.
4
My Photography Gear: The Cameras/Drones/Action Cams I Use Daily
The most common question I receive outside of the “what’s the best GPS watch for me” variant, are photography-esq based. So in efforts to combat the amount of emails I need to sort through on a daily basis, I’ve complied this “My Photography Gear” post for your curious minds (including drones & action cams!)! It’s a nice break from the day-to-day sports-tech talk, and I hope you get something out of it!
5
The Swim/Bike/Run Gear I Use List
Many readers stumble into my website in search of information on the latest and greatest sports tech products. But at the end of the day, you might just be wondering “What does Ray use when not testing new products?”. So here is the most up to date list of products I like and fit the bill for me and my training needs best! DC Rainmaker 2023 swim, bike, run, and general gear list. But wait, are you a female and feel like these things might not apply to you? If that’s the case (but certainly not saying my choices aren’t good for women), and you just want to see a different gear junkies “picks”, check out The Girl’s Gear Guide too.
Memories of Julie Moss’ incredible journey back in ’82.
Watching their faces of agony while running the last leg of the mile. Pure determination and grit.
2004… Senior in HS…
A couple of years ago, watching the leader pull ahead in the end of the marathon. It was insane.
My first memory of Kona was when Macca won for the first time.
Trying to have a romantic dinner in 2011 with streaming under the table on iPhone watching Chrissie battle her way up through the field to win her 4th title!
Two years ago while recovering from plantar fascitis, I noticed that my legs were involuntarily pumping during while watching Tim Odonnell on the bike.
Watching Chrissie Wellington win after being in a bike accident 2 weeks earlier (2011). She literally looked beat up from all of the road rash she had. It was amazing to watch her overcome the odds and win Kona.
First watching.This are remembers to wish they last forever.
Allen v. Scott iron duel
2013 replay…dolphins swimming next to the pro men. That was cool.
watching julie moss crawl!
Watching chrissy wellington’s domination in 2007-2009!
I remember watching highlights after I had just gotten into cycling and seeing the conditions they were facing (and overcoming) on the ride…
3 years ago. I was watching tv on a sunday and couldn’t find anything good on. Stopped and was riveted. It amazes me how fast the elites are but the thing that really gets me are the back of the packers. The things your body has to be saying to you after 14+ hours…
My first foray into Ironman was watching Hines Ward and the Chocolate Milk series and being inspired by his attempt to do triathlons. Seeing him tear up as he crossed the finish line made me a bit emotional too.
Watching Chrissie on the big screen while in line for registration at IMTX. Then getting my finisher’s medal from…Chrissie after the race!
i remember watching the iron man as a kid on the wide world of sports and thinking it was the best thing ever
I remember watching the father-son duo. The son has cerebral palsy and the father takes him along. Simply amazing and so motivating.
Local television news in Switzerland : Natascha Badmann wins the IM Hawaii in 2005. Although this was their 6 victory I’ve never heard of her before :-)
Watching Faris Al Sultan and trying to figure out how he could do a race that long in a Speedo.
That famous finish by Julie moss… Incredible!
Last year fourthplace finish of Yvonne van Vlerken made me proud to be dutch. Hopefully this time she can finish on the podium.
following the 2010 Kona with the Macca and Raelert handshake was epic
Watching a highlight of Julie Moss crawl to the finish line.
Don’t remember the exact year or athletes. But remember seeing it on the Wide World of Sports in the mid-80’s as a kid. I thought that it was both awesome and those people were crazy.
Allen v. Scott iron duel
I remember being fascinated by the geometry of the tri-specific bikes, and trying to copy that on my mountain bike at home…
kona??
Was watching it online some years ago, thinking that it was a super human thing to do. Now I’m starting to think that I’ll do one in a couple of years. :-)
Watching ABC’s coverage of Mark and Dave. So much better than the infomercial we see today.
Gotta be the iron war – Scott/Allen battle!
As a 2nd year triathlete I have to admit that last year was the first time I’ve actually watched Kona.
Carfrae breaking Wellington’s record at the Ironman World Championship, and Wellington cheering her on.
Macca-Raelert battle on the Queen K. Was glued to my laptop all afternoon.
Julie Moss crawling (and the foam hat)
Best Kona memory……participating (lottery winner)! Nothing like that finish line. Even if it took me *forever* to get there. :)
My best memory was Chrissie’s 2011 win … against the odds. Supreme victory & showed me the power of mental fortitude & focus, very useful in the IM events.
Living in Qatar, the time zone creates an extra nocturnal challenge. Watched last 5 years of Kona via various streaming websites, throughout the night .. well worth the tiredness on the following day.
First time I watched it last year, I was sure the first cyclist was going to win, guess a marathon can change things!
…seeing the swim start from above on a sports clip – chaos! A thrill and terrifying at the same time…
I recall Super Dave racing in the late 80’s and even had a poster of him when I went off to college!
Aussies holding the course record in both the women and the men’s events. 6 Aussie winners in the last 7 years. Seeing everyone push themselves to their limits to finish.
Chrissie Wellington’s last victory at Kona in 2011. I had just signed up for the inaugural Ironman Mont Tremblant and watched it live while spinning and then again on NBC. What a bad-ass racer she is/was/will be.
Never seen Kona, but if I win, I may watch some of it.
Watching Kona shortly after I starting doing triathlons and feeling SO inspired by all these crazies!!!
I know I watched in years ago.. or at least blips of it.. but last year was the first time I watched the live broadcast. It was cool watching all those Pros race to the max.. and seeing Rinny run past everybody like they were standing still.
Last year, watching on TV F. Vanlierde and asking myself “what is the price of his bike???”
Watching Julie Moss crawling to the finish line.
Last year. I don’t remember who the people were but I remember watching the bike and thinking how brutal it looked!
JULIE MOSS
I saw Julie Moss crawl, whow!
My first memory of watching Kona was on TV when I was a kid, one of those 1-2 hour summaries they show on one of the networks a week or two after the event. The thing that was really cool about it was how impressive all of the athletes were and how they got to compete in such a beautiful place. ~4 year later, my sister started competing in triathlons, and I began ~2 years after that.
Haven’t actually watched Ironman — triathlons don’t exactly make for a great spectator sport — but I checked into a Kona hotel just after the race in 2001. Found someone’s Euro-U.S. AC adapter in the room. If it’s yours, feel free to claim it.
First time I watched it was in my early teen years…I think it was on NBC. I was bewildered on the amount of participants and the age range of the athletes. I was totally humbled.
Don’t remember exactly when I caught a snippet of it, though I did think it was kinda crazy. The next time was before I completed my first Ironman, watching the YouTube video of Team Hoyt, thinking that was the most amazing achievement ever.
Watched clips of Dave Scott years ago when a kid. That got me into bicycle racing and time trials.
Scott & Allen battle
At home in India with my dad as a 15 yr old kid back in the late 90s
I remember seeing the times and being in awe that my single event was so much slower than any single leg of theirs.
I did my first Kona qualifier in 1985. Didn’t qualify, but saw one person from my race on the Wide World of Sports later that year.
Last year, watching online. Not sure how I’d missed years of coverage before that!
Can’t recall when…
Like others, it was YouTube footage. I couldn’t believe that athleticism that was on display. Even though I’ll never win, or even place in my age group, it lit a spark in me. I’m now training for a triathlon with a long term eye on completing an Ironman.
Watching the different bikes during transition! Love the Tri bikes!
Reading this post thinking about my big Kona (give away) win!
Call me clueless, but up until two years ago, I didn’t really come to understand what the Ironman race was all about. While channel surfing, I came across the broadcast of the Ironman World Championships. The scene involved these guys running in the dark with headlamps on and then follows them up through the finisher’s chute. I knew then that I wanted to finish an IM.
Watching a video of Matt Hoover (from the “Biggest Loser”) finishing the race. One of his reasons to participate? “Sometimes you need to say a chubby guy, taking off to do something his is not suppose to.”
I vaguely remember being seeing Kona coverage on ABC wide world of sports when I was really young and wanting to do that one day.
1979 Sports Illustrated article: Tom Warren running with a severe tilt in his stride
As Belgian, it was on TV the first victory of luc van lierde and now this is frederik time :)
Well, I’ve never watched Kona, but would explaining why I’d like to win suffice?
My Garmin 310XT, which was handed down to me by my dad two and a half years ago as a birthday gift is falling apart. It’s by far the most-used gift I’ve ever received.
On the morning of last year’s New York City Marathon, two things happened:
– First, while putting the watch on, the strap buckle broke. Fortunately I was able to secure it with some tape in the start village.
– Second, I had turned the watch on first thing when I arrived at Fort Wadsworth to acquire GPS satellites and hopefully speed up the process once I entered the corral. Little did I realize there’s seems to be a software bug when it comes to the clock being set an hour forward/back. When I turned on the watch again just before the start, it froze on the boot screen. No amount of resetting the watch did anything to help. Frustrated, and with the watch still frozen, I started the marathon. It finally booted properly about 1.5 miles in.
Then, more recently the (new, replacement) strap fell off because a bit of the rubber holding the strap in place on the body of the watch had cracked. So now it’s eternally attached to a quick-release kit, and I fear every time that something else will fail and I’ll lose it down a drain or into the East River.
This turned out to be much longer than it was in my head.
Just remember watching all of the feel good stories on NBC and thinking anyone could do it if they really wanted it bad enough!
Thought to myself ‘that doesn’t seem so hard, over 17 hours’. Then I watched it, saw the course layout, and realized that
1. They finish a lot faster than 17 hours and
2. That’s an insane distance — that I would never have to worry about because of the fact that I would have drowned in the open water swim. (only done sprint tri’s to that point, in a pool) and
3. I don’t have the strength (mental or physical) or perseverance to be able to even comprehend completing one of these.
Well two memories – one extremely vague…one crisp because it was last year.
I have a hazy memory of seeing the Wide World of Sports coverage of seeing ‘the crawl’ which WAS from the year it happened. At the time I was growing up in San Diego, the epicenter of it all, and was totally clueless.
second, last year, watching the interview with Luke McKenzie, where the fact that A. he’d just come in Second and B. that he could eventually WIN this thing came flooding through his mind. If you didn’t notice, watch the interview again, you can physically see these things coming into his head as he’s speaking. Really amazing.
and a bonus one – the over and underwater shots of the start and the canon going off, gets me every time!
Following people from the club
Watching Pete Jacobs crush the competition 2012
I knew a lady who took 18th in her amateur age group at Kona.
On TV, a long time ago.
My former self (50lbs heavier) watched a portion of it in 2012 and stared in disbelief. Now 2 years later, and about to run my first marathon next weekend i can see why people do it!
Saw part of several on youtube, my wife saw only the surroundings of the island, and now she wants to go to Hawaii. Ok it’s a deal.
I remember one afternoon flipping through channels on TV and saw hundreds of swimmers treading water along with intensifying music followed by cannons. This was way before I became interested in triathlons and I never heard of the Ironman World Championship. Well I was glued to my couch watching the whole event dumfounded at how these athletes could race for such long distances. Every year since, I’ve watched each NBC special and having competed in triathlons better understand the commitment these people have put into getting there.
The only Kona I knew was the bikes.. haha, but googled it and ah, an ironman race :) That’ll be something to watch this weekend
Watching Jon Blais compete and roll across the line.
I watched the special on tv one year and thought that is crazy I never want to do an Ironman (already signed up for my 3rd!)
Will go there one day … maybe to compete :-)
Hello.
I. Raña on fire at the running, the last year.
Every year, being in awe of those that push themselves to that limit and finish so fast!
First time last year via iPad.
Watching Chrissie Wellington win. Again. And Again. Having read her book this summer, I am so inspired myself and also for women; that if you believe in your dreams you can accomplish anything you set out to do. Sister Madonna Buder has shown the world that age doesn’t matter. Watching her is watching a miracle. And that inspires me to greatness.
Watching Wide World of Sports growing up in the 80’s. Those crazy people riding a bike and running around in the blazing sun. It all seemed so weird to me at the time, now it’s simply amazing.
iron war, Dave Scott and Mark Allen, 1989
Favorite is a tough call between the calm-before-the-storm underwater shot they’re so fond of on TV (always striking how clear the water is) or the past few years of Rinny just chewing up everyone on the run. Last year’s race when she passed Rachel Joyce like she was standing still just made me stare in awe.
When I realized how long is the swin leg, I understood why it is called Ironman…
After that I run a marathon, and considered: How can they run a marathon AFTER swim and bike legs?
They are E.T., not Iron…
Macca getting away from Andreas Raelert 3k from finish line
Just some vague memory of watching clips of it on TV, when I was really young.
Surprised that my brother has lived on the Big Island for 10 years and has not had a chance to watch it yet. Maybe he will this year.
Mark Allen and Dave Scott late 80’s early 90’s battles.
Watching and thinking yep no chance i can do that
I wish i could do kona.
Best memory of the Ironman–the first time I watched it on TV, I realized that my girlfriend (now my wife) was right, I really am lazy. In my defense, my couch is really comfy and that 70″ TV I have is a pretty awesome place to watch other people accomplish great things…
I remember watching an Ironman competition on TV as a child, I can only assume it was Kona. At the time the distances didn’t mean much to me, but the announcers continually drove home the fact that this was a very difficult race.
Last year was the first year that I actually sat down and pulled up the youtube video of Kona and watched the race with a real understanding of what I was watching.