Running is a simple activity, and I want to keep it that way. The only real equipment needed is a pair of shoes.

When you get right down to basics, even the shoes are accessories, mere tools of the trade.

It's not that I'm against equipment. I'm all for any tool that helps me run longer or faster. But there are tools. hammers and screwdrivers, etc., and then there are "tools," computers and uplinks and all that techno-stuff. My running life is complex enough without having to deal with complicated gadgets, bells and whistles.

For years, my only running accessory, other than the shoes, was a basic start, stop and reset watch. It served my needs and my technical abilities as I timed splits on the road or track or clicked the real time finish in a race.

The only changes over the decades is that my latest timepiece costs a few dollars more and has larger numbers, a concession to my presbyopic eyes.

But after researching various monitors for a December column, I began to think about updating my running toolbox. I've taken a small step into the technical side of running with the purchase of a relatively simple bell-and-whistle — a GPS-sensing time and distance watch.

My new watch looks like the old one except for the size of the numbers. The watch face displays my choice of time, distance, speed and pace information. The GPS system adds a surprisingly comfortable armband housing a sensor.

When I was a child, I always liked those games that you could play right out of the box, the ones that didn't take an hour of reading the directions first. Happily, my new watch was that kind of user-friendly toy. I installed a single AA battery and powered up.

My first run with my new tool proved less than successful. I was a quarter-mile into my run before some satellite located me. That defeats the purpose of a time-distance recorder, so I decided to read the instruction manual before giving it another trial.

I've found that my GPS activates quickly if I begin my run from the treeless field beyond my garage instead of clicking the start button from my shaded front porch.

And even though I normally creep along on my first warm-up steps, I've found that it pays to take a few deep breaths and stretch in one spot while the satellite finds me.

Running with the new system is like running with a new training partner. I have much to learn about my new friend's strengths and weaknesses, preferences and quirks.

So far, the most annoying thing about my new partner is that it always tells the truth. It's informed me that the route Mom and I have affectionately called "eight-mile loop" for decades should be renamed the 7.8-mile loop. And my easy 9 mph pace stretches out to about 10:25 when I include a stop to chat with the neighbor or a pause to count turkeys stalking through the underbrush.

But my watch also offered some pleasant truths. The straight stretch of road I use for half-mile intervals is right on, though I do have to move my quarter-mile point from the speed limit sign to the black mailbox on the other side of the road. My out-and-back five- mile route is actually a touch long.

The best thing about running with my new watch system is that it follows me anywhere. Although some fancier models might plot an off-road course for me or tell me how to get un-lost, my simple GPS system is content to follow me wherever I choose to wander. When I decide to veer from the pavement onto a muddy power line trail or add a loop to get a closer look at the Canada geese on a long run, my friend faithfully tracks my mileage.

And it doesn't give up on me when I stop, bent over and gasping at the crest of a half-mile hill. It pauses, ready to record my amazingly fast pace down the other side. I think I'll keep it.

Saturday, 8 a.m.: Up-N-Running Group Run, Valencia. Run with friends, your choice of distance. 724-898-2525 or www.runpa.comSaturday, 9 a.m.: University of Pittsburgh Campus Classic 5K and 3K, Pittsburgh. Starts at Cathedral of Learning, benefits University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute. PittCampusClassic@gmail.comSunday, 1 p.m.: Ken Brumbaugh Memorial 5- and 2-Mile Race, Altoona. Starts at Leopold Park. 814-695-4467 or laurandt@hollidaysburgareymca.orgMarch 31, 8:30 a.m.: Just a Short Run Half Marathon, 5K and 30K, North Park. Also half marathon relay, benefits Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. 412-490-0881 or www.justashortrun.netMarch 31, 9 a.m.: Project Malawi 5K Run-Walk, South Park. Benefit for University of Pittsburgh's Student Leaders in International Medicine's service to community of Lilongwe, Malawi. www.slimpitt.orgMarch 31, 11 a.m.: Cook Forest Half Marathon and 5K, Cook Forest State Park. Run out and back along the river. 814-393-2081 or www.clariontrack.comApril 1, 9 a.m.: Athens Marathon and Half Marathon, Athens, Ohio. Flat and scenic course on Hocking-Adena Bikeway. 740-594-3825 or www.athensmarathon.orgApril 21, 9 a.m.: YMCA Big Foot Half Marathon and 5K, Kittanning. Run along the river. 724-545-1566 or k_knepshield@yahoo.comApril 22, 7:30 a.m.: Penn Relays Distance Classic, Philadelphia. Choice of 20K or 5K, also team competition. 215-898-5462 or www.ThePennRelays.comMay 20, 7 a.m.: Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon, Half Marathon and 10K, Cleveland. 800-467-3826 or www.clevelandmarathon.com

<B>Shamrock Shuffle 5K, March 17: </B>Jesse Bender, 1st Overall M, 18:15; Denise Green, 1st Overall W, 22:06; Curt Grimm, 1st 55-59 M, 23:11; Scott Kirkham, 1st 30-34 M, 25:58; Carl Hill, 26:04; Len Yensull, 31:44Send comments and suggestions to: 435 Cherry Valley Road, Saxonburg, Pa. 16056. Phone or fax: 724-352-4395. Email: bigp16@connecttime.net