We have an app on our phones called Map my Walk. We have the limited free version which basically measures the distance walked, the time, the route taken and the elevation gain. There is a subscription version which does a lot more including workouts from your trainer, sharing with friends, the weather (temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction), analysis of your walking etc. It will measure the number of steps taken, stride length, cadence, foot strike angle etc. There are also versions called Map my Run and Map my Ride.

We want the app to accurately measure the distance we have walked each day. The distances in our Macs Adventure notes and the various guide books are woefully inconsistent. They also only give distance on the Coast Path not adding in the often considerable distance to your hotel, path diversions and us getting lost. We used the app on our four 20km walks in Wellington before we left home to check its accuracy and it is pretty good.

As we are about to start walking we activate the app and a female voice says:

Start workout.

At each kilometre she says for example:

Time, five hours forty three minutes twenty one seconds

Total distance, 18 point zero kilometres

Average pace, fifteen minutes seventeen seconds

Split pace, thirteen minutes nineteen seconds

Then silence until you have walked another kilometre.

In Wellington we found this annoying. We thought she was nagging us and called her Naggy Maggie and turned the sound off. But here we love to hear her and now she is Maggie our friend and walking companion. It is really motivating to hear each kilometre ticked off. Barbara keeps her phone in a pocket of her day pack and we can hear Maggie without having to look at the phone screen. Barbara is getting very good at predicting just when Maggie is going to pipe up.

Maggie’s voice is obviously AI generated and is a little bit mechanical I imagine her as an Asian lady with an American accent.

It is interesting to see how your pace varies during the day. In the morning on a good surface we don’t go faster than about 12 minutes per kilometre. In the afternoon on a long steep climb or descent with lots of steps or a slippery surface this can go out to 27 minutes a kilometre. It also makes a difference if you have a tail or head wind.

If we stop for coffee, lunch or to talk with someone for more than a few minutes then we have to remember to pause workout or else the pace becomes meaningless. And then we have to remember to restart workout to set her off again.

On three occasions just as we have arrived at hotel reception to check, in Maggie has piped up with Time, five hours etc. The person on reception has looked a bit startled until we turn Maggie off and explain who that strange voice is.