Mud Run

kaylajane11

I was just wondering if anyone has worn their Fitbit during a mud run event. I am doing a 5k Dirty Dash on June 11th and am not sure if my Charge HR will survive it. Any experiences or advice?

xcalygrl

I have a FitBit one. I do Spartans and GORUCK frequently. I put my One in a Ziploc bag then in my sports bra. It has survived a few years of this. The One is not a wrist-based Fitbit nor is it waterproof.

I also wear a Garmin sportwatch for the GPS tracking. It has survived about 18 months of Spartans and other local 5k mud runs.

Is the Charge HR waterproof?

Also be warned that mud will probably get under it so the heart rate tracking won't be great/accurate during the run.

xcalygrl

Just looked it up. It says it is water resistance NOT waterproof. If you do want to wear it, I would put it in a Ziploc and put it in a pocket/sports bra/somewhere it won't fall out. It is highly likely to get ruined at a mud run since it isn't waterproof.

BarbieAS

The water resistance on those things is pretty good. Fitbit would never officially sanction or recommend it, but I've seen multiple people say that they shower with theirs on with no issue. If it was just going to be, like, a 5K in heavy rain, I'd say go for it. But, in this case, I'd be really worried that the mud would ruin it, at least to the point where the HR sensors would get permanently damaged, or the screen would get badly scratched up, or mud would just get in all the cracks and it would be really difficult to clean out. I also vote for not wearing it on your wrist, though I don't have a better suggestion for how to measure that activity/keep it on you than what's already been given.

NancyN795

I agree with the others that wearing on your wrist is risky. I'd hate to lose all tracking of the event though, so I'd probably take it off, put it in a Ziploc bag and put the bag someplace secure and protected. However, if you do that, make sure you turn the HR tracking to OFF. When I've tested it, I've gotten really bogus HR readings when it has been in a pocket or the like with HR tracking on Auto.

tinz75

I've done two mud runs with a Surge on my wrist and three with a One on my waist band. Each time I have wrapped cellophane around the device, with the Surge wrap it around twice and sellotape it to the strap to stop mud getting inside the cellophane. I was able to clearly read it, slide the screen and activate the buttons. Just needed to give the exposed bit of strap a good scrub up after!

Good luck with your run, and enjoy it!

str8bowbabe

I was wondering about this as I am doing a dirty run in about 2 weeks. I like the suggestion of the cellophane wrap. Thanks.

kaylajane11

Thanks everyone for the great tips! I am thinking I will try a few layers of cling wrap taped around it and probably turn off the heart rate tracking.