One year on from the end of ANT+ certification: Garmin's new Varia RearVue 820 runs open ANT+ alongside a proprietary secure Bluetooth profile not shared with third parties. First real fragmentation signal. the5krunner.com/2025/01/04/a... #Garmin #cycling #ANTplus

Free, open-source desktop app for your Garmin FIT files. No cloud, no subscription. Compare four activities overlaid on one chart. Built by the Garmin-Grafana developer. the5krunner.com/2026/04/21/f... #Garmin #running #opensource

Garmin Connect+ Reviewed: Still Not Worth It After a Year BUT More To Come Garmin Connect+ turns one. Twelve months of feature additions later, the subscription remains hard to justify for most athletes, with two narrow exceptions. Plus a forward view on the two moves that c...

Two narrow exceptions, and a forward view on the moves that would change that.
the5krunner.com/2026/04/20/g...

Garmin Connect+ Reviewed: Still Not Worth It After a Year BUT More To Come Garmin Connect+ turns one. Twelve months of feature additions later, the subscription remains hard to justify for most athletes, with two narrow exceptions. Plus a forward view on the two moves that c...

Garmin Connect+ at one year. Subscription still hard to justify for most.
#Garmin #GarminConnect #SportsTech

Huawei FreeClip 2 Review: Open-Ear Earbuds for Small Ears Huawei's clip-on open-ear earbuds solve a fit problem that silicone tips never address. The FreeClip 2 improve on the original with a new driver, longer battery life and IP57 water resistance. Strong ...

Huawei FreeClip 2 reviewed. Clip-on open-ear earbuds that finally fit small ears properly, with meaningful sound gains over the first generation. the5krunner.com/2026/04/20/h... #running #Huawei #OpenEar #Earbuds

Garmin ClimbPro ClimbPro Accuracy Approximately reliable but rarely precisely accurate at any single moment. Best for Pacing effort on significant climbs during cycling,

everything you need to know about Garmin ClimbPro.
How the algorithm picks a climb, why the free-ride screen sometimes leads by 150 metres, which watches and Edge models support it, and how Coros Hill Alerts, Hammerhead CLIMBER and Wahoo Summit compare.
the5krunner.com/garmin-featu...

Garmin D2 Mach 2 Pro – a buyer's guide The Garmin D2 Mach 2 Pro adds inReach satellite and LTE connectivity to the D2 Mach 2 at a $50 premium. This guide covers what changes, what carries over, and whether the upgrade makes sense for pilot...

Full breakdown: the5krunner.com/2026/04/14/g...

Garmin D2 Mach 2 Pro – a buyer's guide The Garmin D2 Mach 2 Pro adds inReach satellite and LTE connectivity to the D2 Mach 2 at a $50 premium. This guide covers what changes, what carries over, and whether the upgrade makes sense for pilot...

Garmin's D2 Mach 2 Pro adds satellite SOS and LTE to its aviator watch for $50 more than the standard model. The calling limitation matters. #aviation #Garmin #inReach #smartwatch

Polar Street X Review 2026: Battery, HR, GPS Tested Polar Street X tested across battery life, heart rate accuracy, GPS, sleep staging, and 170+ urban sport profiles. Data from 200+ miles of cycling and five-device sleep comparisons. At £186 on Amazon ...

Polar Street X tested: 43% battery left after 20+ hours GPS, HR frequently 10 bpm off, and 170+ sport profiles that miss parkour entirely. Full data. #cycling #PolarStreetX #wearables #urbanfitness the5krunner.com/2026/04/14/p...

FORMA: Garmin Recovery Data to Structured Strength Workouts Forma is a free tool that turns Garmin recovery metrics into structured gym sessions. Enter your HRV status, Body Battery, sleep score, and training load, and it returns a complete workout matched to ...

Garmin tells you your Body Battery is 35 but has no opinion on what that means for the gym. Forma fills that gap, free. the5krunner.com/2026/04/13/f... #running #Garmin #strengthtraining #wearables

Whoop vs. Garmin: Both Target Muscle Oxygen Sensors. Here Is What It Means. Whoop has been granted a patent for a body-worn SmO2 sensor with a pressure-sensing strap. The filing points toward a product that could serve both strength and endurance athletes. How it compares to ...

Whoop has been granted a patent for a body-worn SmO2 muscle oxygen sensor with pressure-sensing strap. What it means for strength and endurance athletes, and how it stacks up against Train.Red and Garmin's plans. #running #Whoop #SmO2 #wearabletech the5krunner.com/2026/04/13/w...

Garmin Stride Length | the5krunner Stride Length Accuracy Cadence input is accurate; errors mirror GPS distance measurement, typically 1–5% outdoors Best for Tracking running economy

Garmin stride length isn't directly measured — it's calculated from GPS distance and cadence. That means treadmill values carry unknown error unless you calibrate. On outdoor runs, errors mirror GPS accuracy: typically 1–5%. the5krunner.com/garmin-featu... #garmin #garminrunning #running

Garmin CIRQA and Muscle Battery Are Not the Same Product Three Garmin leaks in one quarter: CIRQA, Muscle Battery, and advanced strength features. It is tempting to connect them to a single product. The hardware constraints make that almost impossible.

Three Garmin leaks in one quarter. Tempting to connect CIRQA and Muscle Battery into one product. The hardware constraints rule it out. Two products, one platform. the5krunner.com/2026/04/12/g... #running #Garmin #SmO2 #wearabletech

Polar Street X: 20+ hours of GPS cycling, finished with 43% battery. HR accuracy less convincing. Full data from two back-to-back 100-milers. #cycling #PolarStreetX #wearables the5krunner.com/2026/04/11/p...

the5krunner.com/2026/04/11/g...

Wellue BPW1 Review: Oscillometric Blood Pressure Watch Detailed Testing Most smartwatches claiming blood pressure measurement are optical guesswork. The Wellue BPW1 is different: it contains a real inflatable aircuff that physically compresses the artery, like your regula...

Most smartwatches claiming blood pressure monitoring are optical guesswork. The Wellue BPW1 has a real inflatable cuff. Tested across 4 subjects and 7 sessions. Here is what 92% systolic accuracy actually means the5krunner.com/2026/04/08/w... #Hypertension #WellueBPW1 #HealthWearables #BloodPressure

Whoop vs Bevel: 2.5m Members Against 500k. Bevel Is Fighting Back. Whoop has filed suit against Bevel, the software-only health platform used by over 500,000 people. The case turns on whether Bevel's app looks too much like Whoop's. The answer is more complicated tha...

Whoop has sued Bevel. The apps do look similar. But Bevel has a timestamped screenshot from Dec 2023. Whoop added its three-ring screen in May 2025. the5krunner.com/2026/04/04/w... #Whoop #Bevel #wearables #running

Coros PFT Test: HYROX Hybrid Fitness Mode Tested The Coros PFT Test is the Physical Fitness Test built into the new Hybrid Fitness mode, directly replicating the official HYROX P'F"T workout. This field test covers how the mode performs in practice ...

Coros Hybrid Fitness includes a PFT Test mode that replicates the HYROX P'F"T exactly. I tried it on an APEX 2 Pro. Rep counts all logged as zero. Here's what it actually delivers. the5krunner.com/2026/04/04/c... #HYROX #Coros #FitnessTesting

Fitbit Band vs Whoop: It's All in the App Stupid Google has confirmed a screenless Fitbit band is coming in 2026, teased by Steph Curry. The hardware specs are predictable. Two years of Fitbit app updates tell the more revealing story about what thi...

Everyone's talking about the Fitbit band hardware. That's the wrong story. Two years of app updates tell you exactly what Google's Whoop rival will do — and most of it is already live. the5krunner.com/2026/04/02/f... #Fitbit #Whoop #screenlesstracker #wearables

Garmin named eight specific strength features in a research survey, including a Neuromuscular Readiness Score. That is not how you test a vague idea. the5krunner.com/2026/04/02/g... #Garmin #StrengthTraining #WearableTech

Garmin Vertical Ratio | the5krunner Garmin Vertical Ratio Accuracy Reliable at personal trend level at comparable paces; less reliable as an absolute benchmark Best for Tracking form

Garmin Vertical Ratio divides bounce by stride length — that's why it reads worse at easy pace than race pace. Stride length grows with speed; the ratio falls. Normal, not a form problem. Purple zone starts at 6.1%. the5krunner.com/garmin-featu... #garmin #garminrunning #running

Garmin Acquires Strava: IPO Cancelled as $2.1Bn Deal Confirmed Garmin has acquired Strava in a $2.1Bn cash and equity deal, ending the platform's IPO. Both subscriptions will merge into a single Garmin Connect+ annual fee, with Runna continuing to operate indepen...

Garmin has acquired Strava in a $2.1Bn cash and equity deal. Strava's IPO is cancelled. Both subscriptions fold into one Connect+ annual fee. What this means for Garmin owners and competing platforms: the5krunner.com/2026/04/01/g... #Garmin #Strava #running #wearables

[31 March] WHOOP Is Worth $10bn. Garmin Is Worth $40bn. Really? WHOOP has closed a $575 million Series G round at a $10.1 billion valuation, putting it at one quarter of Garmin's public market value. The gap between those two numbers deserves scrutiny. This is wha...

WHOOP just raised $575m at a $10.1bn valuation. Garmin — five business segments, $7bn in revenue — is worth $44bn. Is WHOOP really worth one quarter of Garmin? the5krunner.com/2026/04/01/w... #Wearables #WHOOP #Garmin #HealthTech

new Coros PacePro, ClimbPro and Hyrox modes to rival Garmin COROS has released its Spring 2026 firmware update, adding Hill Alerts, Pace Strategy, and Hybrid Fitness mode across current and prior-generation hardware. The headline features bring ClimbPro-style ...

COROS adds ClimbPro, PacePro, and Hyrox mode in its Spring 2026 update — and rolls them out to watches back to 2022. First tests, compatibility table, and a few caveats. the5krunner.com/2026/03/31/c... #running #COROS #trailrunning #Hyrox

London Marathon: Don't Die. How ECG Monitoring Saves Runners' Lives. Cardiac arrest strikes roughly one in 100,000 marathon finishers, and that rate has not fallen in 23 years. An ECG chest strap monitors the electrical signals your GPS watch cannot see. Here is how to...

Cardiac arrest hits 1 in 100,000 marathon finishers. The rate hasn't changed in 23 years. Your GPS watch can't see the warning signs. An ECG strap can. the5krunner.com/2026/03/31/e... #LondonMarathon #FourthFrontierX2 #ECG #Running

Type to Run Weekly Coach: AI Training Plans for Garmin Type to Run's Weekly Coach generates adaptive running plans through a conversational interface and syncs structured workouts directly to Garmin. You report how each session felt, and the AI adjusts th...

Type to Run's Weekly Coach generates your running plan through conversation, then syncs structured workouts to Garmin. It adapts week by week based on what you tell it. A different approach to AI coaching. the5krunner.com/2026/03/30/t... #Running #TypeToRun #GarminWatch #TrainingPlans

Athalyze: Training Analytics for Multi-Device Athletes Athalyze merges duplicate workouts from multiple devices, consolidates health metrics, and tracks gear. Free on iPhone, iPad, and web in early access.

If you race with a GPS watch and a bike computer, every other platform counts that as two activities. Athalyze merges them into one and picks the best data source for each metric. Free during early access. the5krunner.com/2026/03/30/a... #triathlon #Athalyze #TrainingAnalytics #MultiDevice

Bolt 3 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3, Garmin Forerunner 965 very Long ride battery test A 77-mile circular ride around London put three devices to the test. Apple Watch Ultra 3, Garmin Forerunner 970, and Wahoo Elemnt Roam 3 were all fully charged at the start. Here is what survived.

One of these three devices nearly ran out of battery on a 12-hour London ride. The results say something important about how manufacturers calculate their claims. the5krunner.com/2026/03/30/apple-watch-ultra-3-battery-forerunner-970 #Cycling #AppleWatchUltra3 #GarminForerunner970 #BatteryLife

Garmin patents seek 50cm GPS accuracy, and improved battery life Garmin has filed three patent applications describing a new antenna architecture that uses the watch case itself as the antenna. The result could mean better GPS accuracy, longer battery life, and cel...

Garmin's new patents reveal a redesigned antenna targeting 50cm GPS accuracy, longer battery life, and global LTE compatibility without regional variants. The Fenix 9 could be first to benefit. the5krunner.com/2026/03/28/g... #Garmin #Running #GNSS #Fenix

London Marathon 2027: Two Days, One Million Applicants The London Marathon is considering a two-day format for 2027 to meet record demand. Here’s what it means for runners, residents, and your ballot chances.

1.13 million applied for the 2026 London Marathon. Fewer than 2% got in. Now organisers are planning a two-day 2027 event — the data tells a more complicated story than it first appears. the5krunner.com/2026/03/27/l... #Running #LondonMarathon #MarathonMajors #BallotRunning