The latest word on effective cardio exercise is that you should go for short, intense intervals rather than waste hours on the Stairmaster. Shorter workouts, you say? Good with us, but what about the gear to go with all that? The Airun Plus shoe is designed for the HIIT exerciser who wants to track his BMI and caloric burn rates all the while controlling shoe weight. The built-in Smart Technology controller records BMI and calorie burn results while the weighted insoles can be added or removed based on your needs. Weight and speed information comes from a sensor in the right shoe, while the entire kick is designed with shock absorption and safety in mind. Ready to buy? If you're serious about your body, these things will run you £112.50 ($224) and they come all the way from England.

In a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine, doctors from Vancouver General Hospital detail the case of a 37-year-old jogger who was admitted for treatment of lightning-related burns on his neck, face, and chest -- and they say that the iPod the man was wearing conducted the current through his body. According to the letter, the man's eardrums were ruptured, his jawbone broken in four places, and both of his jaw joints were dislocated when lighting struck a tree near the runner during a storm. The doctors say that while the use of an iPod won't increase your chances of being stuck by lightning, the metal in the device's earbuds can direct current "to and through" ones head. This is strikingly similar to this case that we saw in July of last year, though it can be assumed that any earphone-equipped music device could have this rare effect, so don't go dumping your Apple stock just yet.

[Thanks, psxp]

Technology is inexorably tied to progress, but when it busts into our lives and subtly tells us that we're doing something wrong -- in this case, getting some "us" time on a solo jog -- we've gotta admit to being a little peeved. Even for those who like to share their second most sweaty experience on the day-to-day, this is probably a bit of an overkill. A prototype technology called Jogging over Distance is being developed at the University of Melbourne which uses GPS, cellphone tech, and 3D audio simulation to make it seem as if two joggers from separate cities are actually slogging it out together. The advantage over just whipping out a cellphone is that as one runner goes faster, their voice appears to be coming from further ahead to the other runner, which could presumably help motivation. To each their own we suppose, but we'd take some loud music over the grunts of a fellow jogger any day. Or, indeed, a form of motivation that helps us -- no, forces us -- to start jogging in the first place.

[Via textually]

Thanko's already rattled our skulls with its Vonia bone conducting earphones, but they couldn't leave well enough alone. The Vonia BCT SportsHeadband kicks out the jams using two waterproof bone conduction speakers near the temples, and also has a compartment conveniently located smack on the forehead to hold a small MP3 player. It's too bad the compartment isn't waterproof, since that'd be necessary to use this thing underwater -- so without a waterproof player we're not really sure how these will play out with the swimmer crowd, who Thanko is also marketing the headband to. On the other hand, runners, joggers, sprinters, skippers, and speed-walkers should be a-ok to blast some bone-rocking beats while keeping their ears open for oncoming traffic and catcalls.

[Via Crave]

Sometimes all we can do is tell you about a product and leave it as is. In this case, Yamasa Tokei delivers the canine accessory for which all jogging dog owners have been pining -- the Doggy Pedometer. Tripling as a dog tag, timer, and pedometer, this little gadget has several uses outside of the obvious. Say Scrapps runs away and you want to know how far he went. Or you don't have a pedometer yourself and go jogging with the dog all the time. Or you're a concerned pet owner and want to make sure Scrapps is exercising and running about in the back yard when you're away. Maybe you're a jealous spouse and want to see if your husband is running farther than he says. Perhaps you're an architect and you want to use Scrapper-do to measure long distances. Stop us now.

Some of us here at Engadget enjoy spending our off-hours going for a run (believe it or not, we actually do have them on rare occasion) . While our routines don't quite compare to runners who train for marathons and other such intense sporting activities, we're nonetheless interested in the cool gadgetry that these hard-core types get to use. Earlier this week, a team of South Korean researchers debuted the BioShirt at the National Sports Festival, currently ongoing in that country. The BioShirt is specifically designed with athletics in mind and monitors the runner's temperature, heart rate and speed; it then sends that data to a wrist-worn monitor via Bluetooth. Kim Seung-hwan, the leader of the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute team that built the BioShirt, told The Korea Times that the shirt could also have similar applications as a monitoring system for elderly or infirmed patients who need constant attention -- an idea we've seen before. Still, for some this runner's tech can't come too soon, especially after the loss of former Wired editor Bill Goggins earlier this year, who passed away from heart failure while running the San Francisco Marathon this past July.

Even if the the Nike+iPod Sport Kit were inaccurate, unintuitive, and uncomfortable to wear -- which it doesn't seem to be -- the handful of reviews we've read so far all agree that it possesses at least one attribute that might still make it a worthy purchase: it actually motivated the reviewers to run harder and more often than normal. Fortunately for people who also like their gear to function properly, the wireless pedometer cum personal trainer sounds like it does indeed perform as advertised, offering runners and joggers an easy setup, useful mid-workout statistics and updates, and perhaps most helpfully, a polished online interface to plot one's progress against personal goals or compare esoteric stats with exercise enthusiasts around the world. There are a few downsides here, though, not the least of which is the fact that this is basically a disposable product; the non-rechargeable, non-replaceable battery will supposedly crap out after about 1,000 miles or a year of regular use (and that's assuming you remember to reach into your stinky shoes and turn off the transmitter after each run). You'll also have to shell out for a new armband to secure your nano, as most currently available options (except for those from Nike, of course) won't hold the combination of iPod plus wireless receiver. Overall, it doesn't seem like the kit alone is compelling enough to encourage more folks to snatch up a nano, but if you already own one of these diminutive DAPs, it's a cheap way to give it some extra functionality -- especially if you forgo the special pair of $100+ Nike sneakers for a quick and easy DIY mod to your current kicks.

Read - CNET
Read - Shiny Shiny
Read - Tewks
Read - iLounge
Read - WSJ

Exercise nuts looking to pick up one of the Nike+iPod Sport kits to enhance their workouts can finally place their orders on the Apple site, and can expect delivery of their purchase in four to five weeks. At $29, the kit is quite the bargain too, except that it won't do you much good without the hundreds of dollars of electronics and specialized footwear necessary to record and analyze every aspect of your morning jog. Luckily, Nike has been busy releasing several pairs of sneakers with that dugout under the sole for the wireless sensor, so even if the nano continues to remain a relatively pricey luxury, you should eventually be able to buy a pair of compatible kicks that won't break the bank.

[Via TUAW]