Sorry in advance if this turns to a long post. I had my usual morning routine before my run. 2 coffees while I check Instagram (I’m following Couch to 5k Laura - how did that happen? Didn’t know she was on here) Timehop (see the grandmoppets at various stages of development) e-mails (both of them) and of course read my healthunlocked updates etc. Then to plan my run - route/distance/background listening etc. Decided to go with nrc - don’t know when/if I last used it. Oh and maybe Spotify for a bpm soundtrack. All sorted so off I set with Nike 5k but also with my garmin set. Decided I’d never done the Nike one before as I got 1k updates and pace (low 6 😱!). It all was going well until about 4.5 and I could feel I was slowing but got the “5k” announcement so stopped. Stopped garmin too and began cooldown walk. Now for the good news - nrc says I did 5k in 30.59 😮. That’s about 1 minute faster than I’ve ever done. Want the bad news? Garmin says only 4.24k. Who do you believe? I know who I’d LIKE to believe!! On a more serious note I see nrc has recorded both runs in my history. Do I need to delete one?
Oh font of all knowledge - who do we trust? ... - Bridge to 10K
Oh font of all knowledge - who do we trust? NRC or garmin?
Could you check distance on google earth?
Oh - good plan but not sure I’m up to it! Tbh I’m not holding out for it being 5 as it WAY faster than my normal (I’m 65 and only started running less than 2 years ago!!) We can all dream though 😆
I think the GPS on the watch is more accurate than the phone - sorry!😢
Fantastic time. Whoop whoop! 🙌🏽 🤩🤩🤩 I only use NRC, so if it’s not accurate, that blows my PBs totally out of the window! 😂
I didn’t know NRC records Garmin too. That’s pretty cool 🤩. Or it would be if they said the same info 😊. I wonder if there was a spot where the Garmin might have lost signal? Does that happen? 🤷🏽♀️
Regardless a massive well done to you!! ❤️
Great (but false) time I fear!! 😆I’ll stick with the watch I think - Pb on that is 32.58 more than a year ago but still quite proud of that. Made me smile though. 😊
Your PB’s are pretty much safe. NRC can’t record directly from a Garmin, but can sync (one way) from Garmin connect and so show runs that we’re recorded on a watch. Yes, GPS devices can lose signal, but it’s very rare outdoors... they can lose accuracy though, I once had a walking GPSr shoe it’s accuracy as +/-512 feet which would be terrible for a run... sadly there’s no equivalent screen to show accuracy on the running watches.
Having not used it before (or maybe once) I was surprised to see my previous runs there. It’s good to see the totals though. You can certainly see when you’ve been lazy!
Yeah... think it syncs right back to when you got the Garmin... sadly the sync doesn’t go the other way, Nike won’t share data with anyone.
Thank you! 🤗 I don’t have anything else to compare with and I have rarely gone out with a particular distance in mind, so I’m just going to continue with having a bit of fun on the run. 😂😂❤️
My Garmin reckoned that my best pace today was 1.40min/km - max speed 36.1km/h - well I was doing speed intervals, but that is quite something!! (and no, I hadn't been out in my car!) 🤔😂
I spoke to Garmin on this very issue... NRC (or the device it’s running on) is more accurate. They said that anywhere where there is mobile signal, the phone will use assisted GPS to improve accuracy, and where it was out of range the two devices would measure distance pretty much exactly the same.
I use my watch on every run... when I also use NRC guided runs, I delete the NRC run so that I have consistency... the actual pace doesn’t matter as much as if it’s a harder or easier run.
Adding a footpod changes everything, the watch will be more accurate then. Here’s a test from a few years ago... iPhone 5s kicked all the Garmin’s butts for accuracy fellrnr.com/wiki/GPS_Accuracy and the 4s did pretty well. The chipsets have improved since then but, again according to Garmin, they’re pretty much the same standard.
If your watch has GLONASS, turn it off, it makes accuracy worse!
Thanks UNM - I stand corrected!👍
Thanks for all that. I don’t think I have GLONASS but I’m absolutely sure I can’t run that time either so I’ll just bask in unfounded glory until my next run!! I might try running both watch and nrc again though just to see if yesterday was a glitch.
I keep track of my PBs separately per device... NRC might have measured your old PB faster too 🤷♂️
You made me look 👀. Sadly not of course as I had ever even got the app then 🤣🤣
Whenever I’ve run in a track Garmin is about 40m a lap out, which is a lot... a little less on my normal routes thankfully.
Wow that’s a lot. It’s probably wise just to stick to one measure and then the relative increases/decreases will be a guide. So much for our reliance on tech! Thanks for all the help though.
Can I ask what NRC stands for? (Blushes)
Sorry - it’s an app. Nike run club. Lots of people use it and swear by it. It my ABSOLUTE favourite as of yesterday. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Seriously though it is popular and I’m sure I just hit a glitch.
I ditched NRC as I found it was saying I had done longer distances than map my run or runkeeper said and consequently faster. They both seem to more or less match.
Think it’s a matter of picking your poison! Yesterday’s tasted quite sweet! 😂
This is a really interesting question. My husband and I had the same thing yesterday. We walked together and he recorded it on this Endomondo phone app and I recorded it on my TomTom watch. His app said he'd done 0.5 km more than me (him: 8.04 km, me 7.50 km).
I had a look on Google Scholar (shhh, don't tell any of my ex-students) and came across a 2020 paper that looks at several makes of watch and phones for accuracy over a 56 km course.
The paper is really interesting if you can get the full text. I had to use my university login (shhh, don't tell my university because I'm taking a year out and probably shouldn't still have access).
Most of the watches were more accurate in these circumstances than phones (iPhone and Android using Strava app). The exception watch was the Garmin Fenix.
The article includes a lot more detail about the size of potential errors and also discusses the actual length of the course - it was guaranteed to 1% to be an IAAF regulated race. Well worth a read if you're interested and can get it.
Johansson, R. E., Adolph, S. T., Swart, J. & Lambert, M. I. (2020). Accuracy of GPS Sports Watches in Measuring Distance in an Ultramarathon Running Race. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 15(2), 212-219.
Wow thanks for all that detail! I’m out again in a minute and may repeat the run but I’m afraid I know who I believe!
I know what you mean. I'd like to experiment too.
Today it was garmin 5k but nrc 5.89 so no comparison. 🤷♀️
That's a pretty big difference.
I have the same issue.
I am now using a Garmin 935 and have been testing that against NRC.
The Nike app shows I have completed each km sooner than the Garmin and thus also quicker.
At the end of a Nike 5km the Garmin shows around 4.4km. And the pace was almost a minute slower on Garmin.
It would be nice if Nike was right but I think Garmin is more accurate.
I'm thinking of going to a running track where one can do an exact 5km and see what these two say.
Oh, forgot to mention - I was using an Amazfit Bip watch for quite a while (paired with the MiFit app). It is actually pretty good. And its data generally supported the Garmin figures.
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