Garmin releases global running, cycling data

Garmin said on June 3 that it had published new global running and cycling reports drawn from Garmin Connect data, releasing a set of headline figures timed to Global Running Day and Global Cycling Day. The company said the reports track how users logged runs and rides over the past year across roads, trails, mountainsides and indoor workouts. (prnewswire.com) The release gave a snapshot of how Garmin’s user base is training now, from average run distance to ride duration and pacing data. Garmin linked to both full reports in the announcement. ### What exactly did Garmin publish on June 3? Garmin said the June 3 release covered two separate reports — one for running and one for cycling — based on activity data from the Garmin Connect community. (prnewswire.com) The company framed the reports as a global look at how athletes are recording workouts, rather than as a product launch or software update. The Olathe, Kansas-based company said the data spans users training outdoors and indoors, including roads, trails, mountainsides and home gyms. The release did not give a total sample size in the text shown, but it did present the figures as global Garmin Connect trends from the past year. (prnewswire.com) ### Which running numbers stood out most? Garmin said runners recorded nearly 13% more indoor running activities and 3% more outdoor running activities over the period covered by the report. The company also said there was a 23% increase in users who logged both a run and a strength activity in the same week. (prnewswire.com) The average run distance was 4.82 miles, Garmin said, with users aged 50 to 59 averaging 5.1 miles per activity. The company said the average pace per mile was 9:21 for men and 10:11 for women, while runners in Ireland posted the fastest average mile at 9:09, ahead of Portugal and Italy. (prnewswire.com) Garmin also said August was the month when runners logged the most miles, Saturdays were the days when they typically ran farthest, and the half-marathon plan was the most popular distance used in Garmin Coach. The company put average VO2 max for runners at 50 and average sleep score at 73. (prnewswire.com) ### What did the cycling report show? Garmin said the average bike ride per user was 28.59 miles worldwide. Cyclists in Italy logged the highest average miles per ride at 34.73, followed by Belgium and Spain, according to the company. The company said Garmin cyclists spent about 115 minutes on average on each ride, recorded most rides on Sundays and rode most often in August. (prnewswire.com) Garmin put average cycling speed at 14.89 miles per hour and average elevation gain at 1,158 feet per ride. Garmin also said average VO2 max for cyclists was 51, and that the data indicated a link between more weekly mileage and higher VO2 max. (prnewswire.com) That relationship was described by Garmin in the release; the company did not include outside analysis in the text shown. ### Did Garmin include any athlete examples with the release? (prnewswire.com) Garmin included comments from sponsored athletes alongside the data. Isaiah Harris, identified by Garmin as a sponsored 800-meter runner, said he relies on indoor track training in Seattle and uses the indoor track activity on his Forerunner 970 to maintain pacing precision comparable to outdoor GPS sessions. (prnewswire.com) The company also quoted a Garmin-sponsored cyclist describing the Edge 850 as central to training rides and navigation in new riding areas. Those comments appeared in the release as user examples accompanying the data summary. (prnewswire.com) ### Where can readers find the underlying reports? Garmin said in the June 3 release that readers can access the full running report and the full cycling report through links included in the announcement. The company’s newsroom page carried the same summary and links, giving public access to the longer reports beyond the headline figures in the press release. (prnewswire.com)