Ten athletes in the TCS New York City Marathon will have wearable sensors that will feed biometric data to the television broadcast, which will feature in-race commentary from ESPN “Sports Science” reporter John Brenkus.
The wearable “pucks” are the result of collaborations between New York Road Runners and Tata Consultancy Services, the Indian IT giant that acquired title sponsor rights in 2013. The pucks capture body temperature, pace, cadence, heart rate and breathing rate, and will be transmitted to tablets held by nearby cyclists.
The athletes who have signed deals to wear the pucks run the gamut from top returning 2015 U.S. male finisher Craig Leon to first-timer Caylin Hughes, a 31-year-old who’s been running for just two years. NYRR Chief Executive Michael Capiraso will be wearing one as he runs his 25th marathon, as well as wheelchair racers Tatyana McFadden and Josh George.
Graham Goetz, NYRR’s senior manager of broadcast and video production, said the recreational runners’ health data may be more interesting to see than that of the seasoned professionals. “It’s the people’s Olympics, right?” he said. “We just wanted to make sure this wasn’t entirely focused on professional athletes.”
In addition to the broadcast, the data will be shared on digital display boards along the route and at the finish-line hospitality center.
Tata and NYRR will continue to develop the puck technology for future years, Goetz said.
