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Alternative to Garmin Connect for Serious Runners?

JNBEARDEN
over 8 years ago
I don't want to get into a fight with a moderator (see below). But I've complained twice to Garmin about the "modern" version of Connect being way too gimicky and difficult to use compared with the "classic" version that gave me what I wanted. No response.

Change is not always good. New is not always better. But try to tell that to young designers who are more concerned with building something clean and minimalist and whizzy-looking that will show well in their portfolio than they are in intuitive design and usability.

So...what's the alternative to Connect? I've been running since the 70s and have logged every workout I've ever done. 40 marathons, including multiple Bostons. I work in the technology business and help companies design/build Web sites for a living. The new connect makes a lot of the mistakes I counsel our young UX designers against, but I won't belabor that now. Garmin's app doesn't do what I need to do: i.e., a quick, easy-to-use look at each workout, including time, distance, pace, splits, and course, including elevation. Yeah, I know that's all there in one of the many, many views, but it's too slow to load and too painful to try to step through the splits, examine specific points on the course map, etc.

I don't use (and don't want to use) 95% of the bloated functionality. The older "classic" version wasn't the best, but it was good enough. The new version is too much and not good enough: the worst of all worlds.

What other running apps do the basics? Recommendations? Running is clearly important to me but I don't want to invest hours and hours learning a new app just to download a GPS log file. Neither I don't want to record my life's every detail (shoes, nutrition, which pair of shorts I wore, whether I was annoyed when I went out to run). I plan to keep my Excel file, too, to maintain the analysis and charting I've been doing with it for decades. I just want an easy way to get the data out of my GPS watch.

CLOSED THREAD FROM A FEW MONTHS AGO, BELOW, IS CLASSIC TECHIE ARROGANCE!:
User: Jim, I think you are missing the point here, this isn't about the speed of change. It's simply about people prefer I g classic and them being ignored, or told they are wrong. Is that clear to you now?

Moderator:
You've made your point. You've had your answer. Now please move on. Many folks are very happy with Modern, trying to cling on to an older way of working isn't helping anyone. Feel free to make constructive comments about how Modern could be improved.
  • 0 over 8 years ago
    Sounds like a non-premium account with https://www.trainingpeaks.com/ will probably meet your need for a simple interface, rather than Strava or some of the other solutions that are more 'social media' oriented. Training Peaks seems to be what many of the more serious athletes go for, but I imagine the premium version of Training Peaks has nothing you want so no need to pay for a subscription (premium features are probably most useful if you have a coach who needs to analyse your training through Training Peaks). As with many of the main fitness dashboard websites, there is a simple API that allows all of your activities to be automatically loaded in to your Training Peaks account from Garmin Connect; or you can just manually upload the files. Depending on which Garmin device you use (you don't say) it's probably easier to have some sort of auto upload to Garmin Connect via Bluetooth to Garmin Connect Mobile or USB/ANT to Garmin Express and allow Training Peaks to import from there. This does not mean you have to use/view the Garmin Connect website thereafter; it's just the simple way of getting the activity files from your device to Training Peaks. Training Peaks has a really simple feature to bulk download all of your activity files between a date range that you specify; so you can easily keep a backup of your files on your PC/Mac.

    The only thing you might still need to venture in to Garmin Connect for is to create any custom Workouts or Courses (if you even use them); it's not so easy to create them elsewhere and send them to your device.
  • 0 over 8 years ago
    Define 'serious runner' please? You don't like the modern interface but you seem to imply that no serious runner would either - if they use Garmin Connect how can they be a serious runner? It's a big leap in the dark and perhaps not the sentiment you meant to express in your title.. But anyway moving on...

    There is a number of alternatives that you can use to analyse your data perhaps in a way that better suits your needs. Training Peaks is one, Sporttracks, Strava are others. There are numerous offline sites too. Most of the options have been referred to in a number of posts over the years. Wouldn't take you too long to hunt them down or use Google to find something that suits your particular needs.

    Garmin Connect isn't perfect, but it does give Garmin users the ability to analyse the data from their device. But it does get a bit challenged when people want more than it has to offer but might be available in other locations. I would content that few people are 100% happy with whatever they use for training analysis.
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 8 years ago
    A possible option could be runningahead.com. It handles the basics very well and also has some more advanced features if you want to use them. The way it handles reports, training plans, and the calendar are very useful. You'll still need to sync to Connect, but that can happen in the background and then runningahead will automatically take that data and import it to your log there.
  • 0 over 8 years ago
    To me the most advanced and full-featured running-specific website out there is Runalyze. It's completely free to use and I have absolutely zero affiliation with them.

    https://runalyze.com
  • 0 over 8 years ago
    Check out connectstats

    Connectstats is great for analyzing runs and gives even overall fitness scores, and it takes its data right from Gamin connect. It's great for runners wanting to analyze their runs
  • 0 over 8 years ago
    I like SportTracks. I does have a fee, but to me it's worth it. It connects with Garmin, so you don't have to do anything to get your data over. There is a full featured trial version that good for about 60 days (I think), so you can try it and see if you like it. It's web based; no app.
  • 0 over 8 years ago
    Smashrun too

    Another service that might satisfy is Smashrun.com.

    I have an account there, but am otherwise unaffiliated. (Gonna connect it to Garmin data one of these days...)

    -- Pete
  • 0 over 4 years ago

    I prefer Tredict nowadays. It is fast, everything is there instantly. The calendar is clearly arranged. Metrics are at their place, where you need them. Nevertheless the activities page is very detailed and adjustable. It has an immense amount of possible statistics. I really like the intensity based zone models, too.