COLLAB ALERT! Garmin Watches Will Now Automatically Cancel Your Runner’s World Subscription If You Die During a Run
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A new feature on Garmin running watches will automatically cancel any Runner’s World subscriptions in the event of its owner’s death, Dumb Runner has learned—a measure, both brands say, intended to “streamline the user experience and, hopefully, ease the burden on the user’s survivors in a time of pain and grief.”
The collaboration, thought to be the first of its kind, was announced online this week via a joint statement from the two global brands.
“Running, as we all know, is a wonderful way not just to add years to your life, but life to your years,” the statement read. “However, in very rare cases, a runner’s life can be cut tragically short—before, after, or even during a run.”
“Such are the vagaries of fate.”
“With this in mind, Runner’s World, the pre-eminent global publisher of running content, and Garmin, the world’s leading maker of fitness watches, have teamed up to make such occurrences at least a little more bearable for those left behind.”
The technology behind the feature is fairly straightforward, as explained in the statement — if a watch owner’s heart rate falls to zero for more than 30 minutes, Garmin will receive an automated alert announcing the user’s death; Garmin will then relay the deceased runner’s identity to Runner’s World, which will scan its subscriber database for a match.
If a match is found, Runner’s World will cancel that runner’s subscription, effective with the next billing cycle.
“The death of a loved one is always crushing,” the statement read. “By tying up this one loose end, we hope to make that experience a little less stressful.”
Asked whether they were considering a similar partnership with subscribers of Bicycling magazine, a spokesperson for Garmin replied, “Nah.”
