As a fitness editor, I have to have an open mind when it comes to the best running watches and the best fitness trackers. Not as a runner.
Before doing our Apple Watch Ultra review, I switched between my Garmin Fenix 7 and Garmin Forerunner 955 to track my training runs (I often forgot to charge them, so I took out the one with more battery) . the rest of the day my Apple Watch 7.
I’ve never loved or trusted the Apple Watch 7 on my run, hence the Garmin, but as someone who quickly became addicted to closing those damn rings, I would switch back to the Apple Watch as soon as I got off my run. That is, until now.
I truly believe the Apple Watch Ultra was designed for runners like me. I run at least five mornings a week; I walk the dog two hours a day; and I do one or the other peloton or strength training course in between.
I’m not an athlete by any means – you won’t find me training for an ultramarathon or multi-day adventures anytime soon, and when I’m going on a longer hike I stay on the beaten path (sorry guys, I think I’ve got the map reading that orienteering skipped at school).
I also use an iPhone, have an iPad for reading or watching Netflix on the go, and a Peloton Bike+ that syncs seamlessly with the Apple Watch so I can use it as a heart rate monitor while rotating (you just hold your Apple Watch and turn the camera on of the bike when you start a class – read more about it Learn how to use your Apple Watch as a heart rate monitor on Peloton).
I gave up my Garmin for the Apple Watch Ultra…
After doing a few test runs with the Apple Watch Ultra and my trusty Garmin Fenix 7 on my wrist, I quickly found that the GPS was pretty spot on – both gave me very similar results. I even drilled down into the data after a 12 x 400m on-track repeat session to compare split times between two watches. You can see the dates below.
Despite all my running friends commenting on how big the Apple Watch Ultra was, I soon got used to the big screen and loved how bright and clear the screen was, even in direct sunlight.
I once convinced my control freak that the two watches gave me similar readings. I swapped out my Garmin Fenix 7 for the Ultra and wore it for all my activities throughout the week. And I was surprised that I didn’t miss my Garmin that much.
One of the main reasons I never loved running with my Apple Watch 7 was the lack of physical buttons. I found it impossible to swipe the touchscreen with sweaty fingers or while wearing running gloves, or to manually press the side button and digital crown at the same time. The action button solves this problem – you can pause an activity by holding down the action button and either the side button or the crown. (Here it goes how to use the action button on apple watch ultra).
I also didn’t fail to sync my Garmin run data to Strava and then from Strava to Apple for the data to affect the status of my rings. Garmin doesn’t share calorie data with Apple, so a run on a best Garmin watch isn’t going to close the move ring on a best Apple watch.
Although all my running buddies commented on how big the Apple Watch Ultra was with its 49mm screen, I soon got used to it and loved how bright and clear the screen was, even in direct sunlight. I even accepted the battery life – as I noted in my intro I frequently forget to charge my Garmin so even with a much longer battery life I was ready to go for a run and then sat in the kitchen waiting for my watch to come around get enough charge.
With the Apple Watch, I’m almost in sync with taking it off every night and charging it alongside my iPhone. However, other, more organized runners will likely disagree on this point.
Apple Watch vs Garmin: The only thing I missed
I’m a fan of Garmin’s training data – things like the morning report and the recovery countdown force me to take things easy on days when I really need more rest.
So what’s the one thing I do did fail? The recovery data. I’m a fan of Garmin’s training data – things like the morning report and the recovery countdown force me to take things easy on days when I really need more rest.
Like most runners, I tend to overtrain and don’t take my easy days that easy, and while I’m pretty good at listening to my body, I often get sucked into a Cody Rigsby Peloton ride and forget it this is how active rest should be.
I’m also not sure I would trust the Apple Watch Ultra for my next marathon. I’m wondering if 12 hours or even 15/16 hours on sleep mode would be enough to get to the start, keep the watch connected to the GPS for about 20 minutes at the start line, then track my run for four hours, and still leaving me enough juice to have a working clock for the post run celebrations at the pub. I’ll be testing that soon though, so keep an eye out for that area.
bottom line
Overall, I was surprised at how little I missed my beloved Fenix 7. I’m sure it hasn’t been relegated to my bedside table forever, but kudos to Apple for creating an Apple Watch that feels like it was designed for me.
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