Friday, March 6. 2009

Off Topic: The Virtual Half Marathon

One of the things all competitive athletes know is that on any given day you have a shot at winning. Perhaps the guy who's faster than you will get sick or have car trouble (not that I wish that on anyone). But what if that competitor can run against you without actually showing up to the race?

That's part of the vision for the Virtual Half Marathon being organized in conjunction with the Rocky Mountain Half Marathon. Using technology, anyone can register (same price as if you show up!), map out their own course (on MapMyRun.com, a sponsor), set a date to run (must be before midnight of race day), run their own course with a tracking device (iPhone, Garmin, Timex, Nike+, or Polar devices) and upload their results to be included with those of runners who compete on the course on race day. Virtual runners receive a bib number, shirt and goodie bag by mail. I see nothing about whether they get the one big thing folks like at the end of a distance event - a finisher's medal or if they are eligible to win prizes, but I suspect not.

I have mixed feelings about the whole thing.

Posted by Adena Schutzberg at 07:05 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) |

Bentley Updates BE Conference to Online Seminar Series

I read about this earlier in the week on Matt Ball's blog. I didn't cover it since I expected it'd be "news" everywhere by now. It's not.

Some are saying BE is "cancelled," though Bentley is positioning the change as a response to its users' situations. Somewhere wrapped in, I'm confident, the plan change reflects Bentley's situation as well. The event, for those who've not attended, struck me as on the "fancy" side of those I've attended. The "dress up" BE Awards really did have an Academy Awards feel. The awards event, renamed Be Inspired Awards, will be held in the fall as a one day affair for finalists.

What interested me about this change is that the news came not from Bentley (at least to date), but via two blogs. Matt, as I noted posted about it on Wednesday and yesterday Ralph Grabowski noted it on his WorldCAD Access blog. CAD guy Brad Holtz from Cyon just twittered about it yesterday. The only other tweeting on the matter is between someone who "respectfully disagrees" and a person I gather to be a Bentley user.

- Be Connected Event

Posted by Adena Schutzberg in Bentley at 06:38 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) |