KANSAS CITY, Kan. — After a race through 15 miles of rock-laden, hilly trails in Wyandotte County Lake Park, Byron Rieper went online to discuss the competition with other runners.Many already were sharing their experiences online. Some blamed heat and humidity for their slow times, others recalled unforgiving hills. Rieper, a seasoned marathoner and cyclist who lives in Overland Park, used his watch to offer them a detailed look at the course.Millions of athletes are using watches like Rieper's Garmin Forerunner 305, which maps his path and records his distance, speed, pace and heart rate. Other devices that use the Global Positioning System are geared at athletes competing in long-distance events, including cyclists, triathletes and hikers.The popularity of these devices has spiked as more people discover the Web sites where all this information is being uploaded and compared, including SportsTrack, Garmin Ltd.'s MotionBased.com and Nike Inc.'s Nikeplus.com.Many companies, including Nike and Garmin, have organized running groups people can join to test the gadgets.“I just think all these free Web sites where people can upload their data has really contributed to their popularity and people are just more aware of GPS either on cars or on phones,'' said cyclist Jeff Englert, 48, of Shawnee, Kan., who has switched from a handheld GPS to his Garmin watch to compare elevation climbs during his training.Englert, who has ridden for 25 years, said he logs on the MotionBased Web site to find the best local routes when he travels.Other fitness monitoring systems include Nike and Apple Inc.'s Sports Kit, which enable iPod Nanos to measure distance without GPS, and Timex Corp.'s Bodylink system, made in partnership with Garmin, which uses a GPS transceiver to transmit data wirelessly.Timex plans to come out with a new series of GPS watches to compete with Garmin, said Heberto Calves, the company's vice president of marketing.“The trend of fitness measurement as a whole is growing,'' Calves said.

Holiday travel: what you need to know

Every year, business management sophomore Kathryn Kitts packs her bags, loads them in her roommate's car and checks one last time that she updated her iPod playlist in preparation for the long trek home to a Philadelphia suburb.

But before students look forward to family and taking a weekend off, there are a few things to remember to make the trip stress-free during the busiest travel time of the year.

According to Expedia, on its Press Room Expedia Travel Trendwatch, the most congested time for travels, by either air or road, is the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday or Monday after.

"Whenever I travel on the Sunday (after Thanksgiving) coming back from Philadelphia, I always allow for an extra two hours," Kitts said. "San Diego never tends to be too bad, but coming back from major airports like Philadelphia, the waits can be up to two and a half hours."

The best way to fight the rush of holiday travelers is by scheduling flights around these days.

The Zune Universe Expands, Where's The Bling?

If Microsoft wants to even catch a sliver of iPod's market share, it's going to have to build up its base of third-party accessories for its Zune music player... Oh, wait. That's just what they did this week.

I mean, really, how does Microsoft expect to sell Zune without some serious bling bling to add on to it? Apple's iPod wasn't always a fashion statement.

Plan to put tours of Cambridge on mobiles

IT'S not uncommon to see tourists frantically trying to regain their bearings in the winding streets of Cambridge.

Alternatively, travellers will be able to download tours, which feature atmospheric music and sound effects, from the internet onto an iPod or MP3 player before setting off on their trip.