Microsoft Band and RunKeeper Partner for April Marathon Challenge

If you're looking for another way (or, another reason) to get your hands on a Microsoft Band, RunKeeper and Microsoft are teaming up to motivate you.

From April 3 to April 30, if you use a GPS or Microsoft Band to log a total of 26.2 miles then you'll be entered to win one of ten Microsoft Bands. The mileage doesn't have to be all at once and it also doesn't have to be a running activity. You can walk the entire 26.2 miles if you want to and really, for an entire month of activity, 26.2 miles is a lot shorter distance than you might realize. So, it's definitely worth giving it a try, even if it only serves to help you create a new fitness habit.

To participate, you have to have an active RunKeeper account. It doesn't have to be the paid, Elite subscription – even a free account will work. And, you can use any RunKeeper supported product to track your mileage. Any device that will send the GPS points to RunKeeper when it syncs will count towards the challenge. RunKeeper provides official apps for iOS and Android, but for Windows Phone you have supported, third-party options, Caledos Runner, Run the Map, and Catchme. Frankly, even though I use a Windows Phone and because Microsoft Health integrates directly with RunKeeper, I don't use an app at all. I just use the Microsoft Band to log and store my activities (even sleep) in RunKeeper. In fact, the solid integration between the Microsoft Band and RunKeeper has me seriously considering dropping my Runtastic subscription altogether when it expires in July.

If you're a RunKeeper user, just jump out to the following link to "accept the challenge" and you'll be automatically entered:

http://runkeeper.com/challenge/microsoftbandmarathon

If you don't already have a RunKeeper account, you can sign-up for free to be eligible to participate and use the same link. The beauty of joining a service like this is the ability to find friends and motivate each other and also to keep track of your fitness lifestyle to challenge yourself to do better. As a RunKeeper member, feel free to find me and 'friend' me. We're all in this together.

I'm entirely enamored with my Microsoft Band, and it does a good job tracking runs both outside and inside. There are a lot of fitness bands on the market, but not many with the same level of integration and feature set.