(Photo: Mitchell Feinberg)

Sometimes all it takes to kick-start a fitness regimen is watching nearly 40,000 people run from borough to borough for 26.2 miles. Other times it may take the promise of a workout-enhancing, yet attractive, gadget. Timex’s iControl has all the sports-watch standards—timers, alarms, a lightweight Spider-Man–esque band that says to the world, “I am an ironman” (even if that’s all talk now). It also has a tiny wireless receiver that plugs into your iPod. So when you’re huffing and desperate to change from the new Radiohead to the new Springsteen for a boost, you can switch tracks and crank up the volume by pressing the buttons at your wrist instead of having to use that pesky scroll ($124.95 at Sears, 5200 Kings Plaza, nr. Kings Hwy., Brooklyn; 718-677-2800).