PLEASE NOTE: I HAVE RECEIVED NO WORLD RECORD CLAIMS (BUT SEVERAL THAT WERE FUNNY OR CAME CLOSE). IF SOMEONE SUBMITS A RECORD, I WILL STILL PROMOTE IT AS PROMISED BELOW.
Everyone who runs with a running watch and foot pod to ascertain distance knows they need calibration to be accurate. The Wii Fit suffers the same inaccuracy problem, only there is no way to calibrate, the inaccuracy is way worse, and it’s really easy to, um, cheat.
Given all that, I thought it would be fun to hold the first annual Wii Fit race, with the winner getting the fame and glory of being the world Wii Fit 30 Minute Free Running champion.
That’s it. No free Wii Fit. No cash award. Just whatever fame and glory I can provide the winner via Twitter, the blogosphere, YouTube (if the winner provides video or we can recreate it afterwards) and the same kind of determination in my media outreach as shown by the ultimate winner of this world-class jogging-in-place on the Wii Fit event.
Key point: the winner will be the one who does the best job of figuring out how to game the Wii Fit’s built-in accelerometer. Running in place really fast doesn’t seem to be a requirement, because in fact the image of your jogger (technically, your Mii) falls down if you run too fast.
To inspire entrants and let them know how high to aim, here are a few examples of great Wii Fit times achieved and posted on the Internet:
- It said that i ran 2 miles in 7 minutes which i pretty sure is close to the world record
3:30 pace is far better, actually, than the world record.
- i just did 2.053 miles in the 10 min free run and i'm still at 3 stars.
Only 4:52 pace? Sheesh, no wonder you only got 3 stars.
- I have gotten 4 stars twice on the 10 minute free run. Both times, I ran over 2.6 miles, and kept a very steady and consistent pace all the way through. I feel like I cheat on this run, because I run in place lightly and hold the controller in my right hand, while moving my hands in short pulses like I am beating drums. This makes you run very fast, which lead to my 2.6+ miles in 10 minutes (I would be a world class runner if I could do this for real).
Uh, holding 3:51 pace for 2.6 miles is better than world class. That drum beating works.
- Q: Has anybody run 8 miles on a 30-minute run? I'm sure I've run an 8-mile pace, it's just hard to keep going that fast for 30 minutes.
A: That's insane. Olympic athletes had great difficulty breaking the 4:00/min barrier, and you're saying an average Joe can do it in Wii Fit?
It does seem absolutely true that an average Joe can jog at 3:45 minutes per mile pace on the Wii Fit.
- um, to do 8 miles in 30 mins, you'd hafta be running at 16 mph, which is sprinting speed for most people. Granted, wii fit running isn't exactly the most accurate thing on the earth, but it is a bit outlandish to get 8 miles in 30 minutes.
Outlandish? 16 mph is only 3:45 pace miles. The world record sprint for 100 meters is an average of about 22 mph. But heck, 16 mph isn’t bad for jogging.
- You can just sit down and shake the wiimote at a steady pace. I have perfected it. The pace you want to go at is about 3 shakes of the WiiMote per second, although right when you hear the dog bark you should speed up to pass your guide and chase the dog. This jogging thing is serious crap, I tried doing it by actually running but the pace is too damn slow.
Okay, 3 shakes a second, says this expert, who admits he can’t do it that fast by jogging.
As best I can determine, the current Wii Fit world record for Wii Fit Free Jogging in 30 minutes is 16484 m (which is 10.2426 miles for a 2:56 minutes per mile pace). You can see it here.
If you visit this last link you'll actually relive a (claimed) world-record run, and I highly advise it for anyone planning to enter this contest. Note the Wii Fit screen display recreates the experience, including the falls when going “too fast.” Note also that you only see the first 9 minutes and 13 seconds of this run, which will not be enough to claim a world record in my contest. At a minimum, I need a photograph of the display upon conclusion of the record attempt, and would prefer video of both the screen and jogger during the record attempt.
The contrast between those two videos will no doubt be stunning, as it is when you see the running form of the claimed current world record holder by clicking here.
Now, before closing this post, a few tips on what seems to be the key issue: where you carry the Wiimote.
Putting it in your front trouser-pocket (that’s right, trouser because the key pocket in runner’s shorts is too small), you run fast but quite erratically (i.e., pace varies and gets too fast and you fall down). If you carry it in your back pocket, you get a slower pace but rarely or never fall down.
Some have reported carrying the Wiimote in their breast pocket (apparently, it’s okay to do Wii Fit running in a suit jacket) which allows you to better hear the speaker in the Free Jog game, but that causes your on-screen speed to drop to near zero. Well, that just won’t do, so don’t plan on wearing a suit jacket for your world record attempt. Carrying it in the breast pocket of your pajamas has the same effect. So pajamas may be out too.
Even holding the Wiimote in your hand greatly affects the speed of your jogger too. Unless, as noted earlier, you perfect the drumming motion thing. Yes, you could just stand and drum. Jogging or running is optional in your world record attempt.
(Click here to enter) by whenever you get around to it. Original deadline of midnight Pacific Time on February 28, 2009 has passed without a winner and so the contest is extended indefinitely. The winner will be promoted vigorously as soon as I can verify the claim. I am the sole judge, and my judging decision is final, even it it's wrong because someone has managed to fool me. Like the way the Wii Fit fools people into thinking they can jog at better than 4 minute mile pace.
That amazing speed is one of the things that didn't quite make my Top 10 Reasons to Train for a marathon on a Wii Fit list.
Please ask questions or make comments below.
