Our favorite gear

Nike iPod Sport Kit; $30; www.nikeplus.com

Anne Taylor Hartzell, Principal, Anne Taylor Communications

I used to jog the same route during my lunch break, which was predictable but terribly boring. On a shopping trip last year, I found the Nike iPod Sport Kit, which contains a wireless sensor, a receiver, and software that together track distances, times, pace, and calories burned.

Unlike a standard pedometer, it has a wireless sensor that goes inside your sport-kit-ready running shoe and a receiver that plugs into your iPod. Since I already owned a Nano, I decided to give this a try. Now I step outside the office door and start running in any direction, and the sport kit's audio feedback option pauses the music to broadcast my mileage. I download the recorded data for free at www.nikeplus.com, where I can chart my work-outs, set goals for myself, and challenge friends to race.

Here's something else a regular pedometer can't do: When I come across an unexpected hill and need a quick energy boost, I can press a button and Nichole Nordeman's "Brave" starts booming. Now running is fun again.