iPhone to run Boston Marathon

TUAW regulars probably remember our post about a reader in Tokyo who strapped an iPhone to his hat and used Qik to livestream the Tokyo Marathon. Well, now we're about to see an iPhone run the Boston Marathon.

It's a very large iPhone with a developer inside! RunKeeper developer Jason Jacobs has battled plantar fascitis and a short training season (three weeks) to hopefully carry off this great marketing scheme on Marathon Monday. He's wearing a lightweight iPhone suit made of black lycra with a rope frame. What's on the screen of the iPhone? RunKeeper, of course!

The staff at Fitness Keeper worked with a team of students from Professor Dave Gerzof's social media class at Emerson College to come up with a marketing strategy that would give their popular exercise tracking app an extra push in the App Store. On Monday, we'll see how well an iPhone can run the Boston Marathon.

There's more of the story as well as video at http://www.runkeeper.com/marathon. Good luck, Jason!

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Source: http://www.runkeeper.com/marathon/

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TUAW regulars probably remember our post about a reader in Tokyo who strapped an iPhone to his hat and used Qik to livestream the Tokyo...

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Willy

I passed this guy on the course and saw him at the finish line. I told him I read about him at TUAW!

April 22 2009 at 7:23 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Drupa

Pretty darn "alternative lifestyle" if you ask me.

April 19 2009 at 10:47 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Elizabeth DiRusso

my roommates are in that class

April 19 2009 at 3:42 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

tygers134

Great marketing campaign. Although I really don't think the iPhone needs another marketing campaign since it is such a great product everyone is talkign about it online.

April 19 2009 at 3:32 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Shuki Haiminis

We will be cheering Jason on from Boylston St. Way to go!

April 19 2009 at 7:08 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

iphonerulez

Gee, I sure hope it comes in first place or at least not dead last. Of course, with all that wind resistance if he's running into a headwind, he's a goner. May the wind be always at his back.

April 19 2009 at 12:32 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

seth

Neat...the start/finish line is only 2 blocks from the apple store!

April 18 2009 at 10:27 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Allan

Ya, I'd say that's a good marketing idea.

"Let's have someone dress up as an iPhone to run the marathon. No one will care about it in the race but there are definitely going to be stories about it on the internets! THAT will be our marketing!"

See, you don't need to actually have a good idea to get free marketing... just something dumb, strange, or out of the ordinary... then you get the marketing and traffic from stories ABOUT your idea. Not the actual idea.

April 18 2009 at 9:07 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Luis Menendez

Let's hope there's good coverage in that area!

April 18 2009 at 5:04 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

FightTheFuture

the weather forecast for boston on monday is said to be 41/50Âº! i get too warm wearing just shorts and a tshirt in 50Âº weather. this guy is going to burn up!

i'm crossing my fingers that they get nike+ hardware into the next iPhone.

April 18 2009 at 4:50 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply