I’m trialling an Apple Watch right now, and love it for running, but prefer my old watch for basically everything else. (The old analog watch just looks nicer to me, and it feels weird wearing a watch that won’t last decades with proper care.)
The problem is running. Running with my iPhone is not comparable to an Apple Watch. The cellular Apple Watch experience for running was nothing short of a revelation. I loved the timer, the laps, and the overall distance, as well as the map it drew after the fact in the Fitness app.
For those of you who run with an iPhone, are you aware of any nice (hopefully inexpensive) apps that track your run on a map, as well as your overall caloric burn, etc? I know I’d lose heart rate data, but it would be nice to at least get some measure of my distance, split speed, and total running time.
If I can find an app for my phone that does that well, I could survive just fine without an Apple Watch. Thanks!
I’ve used Runkeeper. I avoided Strava, which is pretty big, after some publicity about data privacy (no idea if that got addressed). And some stuff I read about Runkeeper at the time (I forget what) made me think it was better on that front.
I used Runkeeper for many years until the Apple Watch made it unnecessary. It’s very good, well featured and I liked it. I had one major issue - the constant nagging to upgrade for features of no value to me
Sounds like Runkeeper and RunMeter are both good options — thanks all! Related to my needs, but not to the thread title: do you have any app recommendations for strength training? I don’t really know how well the Watch tracks that, or how well the phone could, but I’d love to manage it all from my phone in general if I return the watch.
Oh that sounds pretty cool. I’m not a competitive runner, but I can be competitive with myself, and I would definitely be competitive with all the neighbourhood runners too if they showed up in the app.
Strava is definitely good. It’s the granddaddy of endurance athletics social networks! Segments, as @anon20961960 stated, are a fun feature for sure.
It’s worth noting RunMeter has capability to give real time audio feedback during a run. These updates are fully customizable and can include your current time/pace as compared to prior runs on the same course. Strava doesn’t have anywhere near the customizability of display/content/audio announcements that RunMeter has.
Runkeeper may have this capability, too. I’m not familiar with the app. I tried it once long ago and chose to continue use of RunMeter instead.
I realize a bit off the original intent of the post, but given the “jump through hoops” comment (which I completely agree with for various services), RunGap is an excellent Swiss Army knife for sharing workouts across many different platforms.
I got my first AppleWatch last year and after much searching (mostly for a variety of outdoor activities), I ended up with WorkOutDoors. It’s not the prettiest app but it’s incredibly customizable and very useful. I’ve made custom running workouts which has been great.
It’s not a social app though. It has some integrations with other services, some better implemented than others but it’s mostly focused on capturing accurate data and having great plans on device. No servers involved. This is perfect for me as I never ended up liking the social media aspects of other apps.
Anyway, thought I’d share in case there was interest. I feel it doesn’t get enough publicity and it’s a great, single purchase app.
I highly recommend Tempo for Runner on the App Store It’s a great companion app for the AppleWatch; you continue to log your run using the fitness app and use Tempo to view all the data collected - pace, splits, heart rate, elevation. It also has an interactive map of your run.