The Finnish watch company Suunto has introduced a special Courtney Dauwalter edition of its Race S GPS watch–the Courtney x Suunto Race S Titanium Edition. It’s a special version of the brand’s lightest and most compact watch, originally launched last summer. Besides being small, light, durable, with great battery life, the new Suunto watch has something no other watch has.
The secret cheerleader
In keeping with Dauwalter’s easygoing, joyful approach to the sport, Suunto has given the watch a colourful, glow-in-the-dark watchband–and when it’s glowing, it reveals a secret message: the mantra “believe,” in Dauwalter’s handwriting.
Dauwalter, who has dominated the world of ultra-trail racing, winning the trifecta of Western States 100, Hardrock 100 and UTMB (Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc) in 2023, has been sponsored by the brand since 2017. When discussing this product collaboration, she requested that, in addition to making the watch super user-friendly, with an easy-to-read screen, it should somehow bring joy to wearers. “I didn’t even really know what I meant by ‘let’s add joy to this watch,’” Dauwalter told journalists at a recent online product reveal, “but the Suunto design team was brilliant, and, I mean, the strap is like a party on your wrist. It’s so colourful and bright–but then, to have this glow-in-the-dark secret message for you that reveals itself only at certain times, but you know is there all the time… that was the most special part of it for me, is this “secret cheerleader” that we all now get to have on our wrist.”
Battery life and ease of use
Besides the usual bells and whistles of a high-end GPS sports watch, such as a high-definition, 45-mm AMOLED screen (with 3.35-cm display), advanced training metrics, HRV, menstrual cycle tracking and more than 95 different sport modes, the Suunto Race S Titanium x Courtney offers excellent battery life. The watch will last for up to seven days on a single charge–or up to 30 hours of continuous GPS using the best accuracy (up to 40 hours with still-decent GPS accuracy and heart rate monitoring enabled). This should satisfy many runners’ ultramarathon needs, for races up to 100 miles.
Of greater interest to Dauwalter was that the watch be easy to use on the go, while training or during a race. She cited the watch’s customizable watch face as a big draw; she has hers programmed to show time in motion, mileage, her current altitude, total distance climbed and her current pace. She’s also a big fan of the watch’s Climb Guidance feature (which shows upcoming ascents in detail), as well as the quality of its (free) offline global maps.
Navigation is via three buttons plus a digital crown.
The watch retails for CAD $649.
The watch is also fully carbon offset in a Tree-Nation reforestation project.
For more information on the new Suunto Race S X Courtney Dauwalter or to purchase, click here.
