Christy Turlington Burns Apple Watch Event: Model, Activist Becomes First To Wear Device For Marathon Training

Christy Turlington Burns became the envy of millions of Apple enthusiasts Monday when she was the first person given an early model of the Apple Watch, which she used to complete a half-marathon. Burns joined CEO Tim Cook on stage at Apple Inc.’s “Spring Forward” event in San Francisco to unveil the watch and new Macbooks, and to tout the Apple Watch.

“In the short time I’ve been using it, I can already see how this is going to be an important part of my life,” the women's health advocate and former supermodel said in a video showcasing the fitness features of the watch, according to Apple’s live stream of the event. These include tracking calories burned, minutes of brisk activity and how long you’ve been standing. The Apple Watch also helps users set customizable goals to assist in monitoring fitness levels and features a heart rate sensor that detects when a user is working out.

Burns, who was named as one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2014 for her work as a maternal health ambassador working to combat maternal mortality, is also using the Apple Watch to help train for the London Marathon, according to Fox News. "Apple Watch is going to help me get there," she said in a video that was shown during the event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

The Apple Watch comes in three versions: Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sport and Apple Watch Edition, which is encased in 18-karat gold and costs $10,000, according to Mashable. The least expensive Apple Watch starts at $349. The devices will be available for preorder April 10, and will ship April 24 in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, Cult of Mac reported.