What are your fav running trackers?

[ToughBean]

I’d like to know how far I’m running. And track my progress. What are your fav (preferably free/cheap) trackers and why?

Thanks ☀️

[Sandraj39 Graduate]

I have a Garmin watch now but used to use Runkeeper (free) a lot.

[tony_a Graduate]

If you have a smart phone with GPS (and most of them these days do) then there are many free apps that will track your route, distance and pace etc. Strava, Edmondo, Runkeeper, MapMyRun etc.

Some people have fitness trackers of running watches (Fitbit, Garmin etc) which can be useful to see your progress as you’re going along but I’d say that if you don’t have one already you might as well start with a free app (assuming you have a smart phone).

I always tracked my progress and found it motivating to see how much further I went each week but there is a danger it can demotivate if you start comparing to others or seeking 5k in 30 mins (rather than just running for 30 mins).

[ToughBean in reply to tony_a]

Yes, I’m also wondering if I should maybe wait a wee bit so as not do demotivate when I see how “little” I’m actually doing. But I like graphs 😆

[tony_a Graduate in reply to ToughBean]

Graphs are nice. And you will see progress each week as you run more. You can always delete 😀

[Jullaly Graduate]

I love my Fitbit 2 charge because I’m a graph geek! Comes from being a science and maths teacher lol. I posted my heart rate graph today. My resting heart rate has dropped from 73 to 61in the last 4 weeks ..amazing . The Fitbit also tells you how many km or miles you’ve done. Other than that mapmyrun is free app to download. That shows you your route and how far etc

[RobW73 Graduate in reply to Jullaly]

I have a Charge 2 as well.

I also use MyFitnessPal to track food intake, as this allows you to create recipes and standard meals.

I installed MapMyRun, but have only been using it a few days, so not able to provide any informed feedback yet. But it does show you routes that people near you have run and the distance.

[Jullaly Graduate in reply to RobW73]

Yes I have map my run but not really I sing it. I live in a remote area so routes are quite limited anyway. The plus side is there are only sheep to watch me run and not people !

[ToughBean in reply to RobW73]

Let me know what you think of it when you get a better feel for it!

[ToughBean in reply to Jullaly]

I already have a Fitbit Flex2. It doesn’t have a heart rate monitor and it tells me steps and time but not distance. I wanted that one to track my swimming and I’m not getting two

I’ve also done a lot of science so I totally get your graph feels though!

[misswobble Graduate]

Garmin Forerunner 10. Cheap but I love the virtual pacer feature, which the posher versions don’t have 🤷‍♀️ I am not bothered about the minutiae of detailed stats so this basic watch is fine for me They are cheap but some colours are cheaper than others, according to popularity

[GoGo_JoJo Graduate]

I started with Samsung's built in SHealth app which tracks rides/runs etc. I liked that but ended up moving to Strava. The free version gives you plenty but my fella bought me a premium sub which shows even more stats. Garmin Connect which feeds from my watch into Strava has tons of graphs etc too which you would use with any Garmin device.