June 9, 2025
From race time predictions to Garmin Coach working coaching plans, your Garmin working smartwatch will help you get forward.
Perhaps a good friend talked you into signing up in your first 5K. Or possibly you’re prepared for a brand new problem and need to prepare for a marathon. Irrespective of the place you need to go in your working journey, Garmin race day options will help.
Right here’s how one can maximize the advantages in your smartwatch for race day.
First, arrange your race within the Garmin Join™app
OK, you’ve signed up in your race. Now it’s time to arrange your race — totally free — in Garmin Join. With these 5 steps, you may make certain what you want for race day is in a single place.
1. Construct your course in Garmin Join: When you could run a sure route, programs permit your watch to direct you alongside a selected path. You may create your personal, select from one already within the system or add different third-party course recordsdata along with your appropriate smartwatch.
2. Add your race: Within the “Coaching & Planning” part of the Garmin Join app, you’ll choose “Races & Occasions” so as to add your race. You may both choose an present race by looking for the title or location, or you may create your personal occasion. You’ll additionally set a aim in your occasion, whether or not that’s a time, tempo or simply to complete. That occasion will seem in your Garmin Join calendar. Then, you’ll add the course you already constructed to your occasion.
3. Verify the first race look: Need a fast have a look at your upcoming race? Think about using the first race look in your appropriate smartwatch to see particulars about your upcoming race. In the event you’ve added a course in your race, this look can show your elective PacePro™ race characteristic (extra on that later) or your time/tempo aim, in addition to elevation information. The first race look additionally reveals a countdown till your race, the date and time of your occasion, climate and customized day by day urged exercises. With an occasion added to your calendar, the day by day urged exercises will turn into race-specific to arrange you in your race.
4. View your race time prediction: Subsequent, you’ll need to test your race time prediction to see how shut you’re to your time aim. In the event you had been to run your race right now, this supplies an estimate of your tempo and race time. Race predictor on appropriate Garmin smartwatches makes use of your VO2 max1 and coaching historical past to foretell a end time in your race. Plus, if a course has been added to the occasion, predicted race-day climate and the course elevation profile will additional refine your race time prediction.
5. Take into account your projected race time: In the event you hold coaching effectively during your race date, this predicts what your race time and tempo could possibly be by then — along with your appropriate smartwatch.
With these options arrange in a single place and linked to your race, you’re prepared to begin coaching.
Subsequent, join a Garmin Coach coaching plan
Whether or not you need to hit a PR or need to construct your health so you may end the race, a free Garmin Coach working coaching plan on a appropriate Garmin smartwatch will help. Garmin smartwatches interpret your efficiency and restoration information to know the depth and affect of your efforts.
You’ve received two choices right here: a performance-adaptive plan with a working coach or a customized plan based mostly in your particular person well being, efficiency and restoration metrics.
1. Dynamic coaching plans from specialists: Merely choose your race aim and working stage —these exercises regulate as you progress. Garmin Coach gives three skilled coaches to function your on-demand private information: Olympian and best-selling writer Jeff Galloway, physiologist and on-line working coach Greg McMillan, or bodily therapist and working professional Amy Parkerson-Mitchell. Study extra about selecting the best Garmin Coach for you right here.
2. Garmin Run Coach: With a appropriate smartwatch, you may entry Garmin Run Coach. As soon as you choose a aim and coaching days, Garmin Run Coach will construct a coaching plan that gives customized day by day exercises that adapt to your efficiency, restoration and well being metrics. Plus, you may add in supplemental energy exercises. Put on your smartwatch as a lot as attainable so it could actually think about metrics resembling your VO2 max, lactate threshold, coaching historical past, sleep, restoration and extra.
Now you’re able to race with Garmin
You’ve spent the previous few weeks tapering your coaching, packed gels into the pockets of your race day shorts and picked up your bib. Race day has arrived. These options will help you get throughout the end line.
1. Execute a race day pacing technique with PacePro™: The PacePro characteristic, which analyzes elevation contours in a course, gives dynamic tempo steerage based mostly on elevation and your personal pacing preferences — all to assist maximize your efficiency (simply be sure you’ve connected a course to your occasion). Need to run quicker going downhill or spend downhills recovering from more durable uphills? You may regulate this characteristic to match your choice, then use the information area in your watch to execute your technique. With PacePro you’ll be capable to assume much less about pacing and focus as an alternative on staying relaxed and quick.
2. Monitor your progress with auto lap by timing gates: Your appropriate smartwatch will set off auto laps if you cross mile or kilometer course factors, as an alternative of utilizing GPS-based miles or kilometers when following a course. The lap alert along with your break up and whole time will help you higher assess — and regulate — your efficiency in the course of the race.
3. Cease your watch with a urged end line reminder: You probably did it! You completed the race, however did you cease your timer? When you have a course loaded for the race, your appropriate smartwatch might counsel trimming your information to the end line if you happen to forgot to hit cease.
Feeling extra ready for race day? Browse our newest working smartwatches and obtain the Garmin Join app to get began.
1See Garmin.com/ataccuracy