Ability to list ranked times rather than just PRs

Yes, that would be great. But I believe that it is not simple feature for Garmin...

I'll bet my compression base layer top that it won't happen. What a consumer/user wants is one thing, and it's fine to ask for it, but anyone who thought about the technical steps required to achieve that functionality would conclude it's just too involved or ‘difficult’ and not worth the effort commercially to implement.

You're both joking, right? Neither of you are programmers, are you? This is absolutely trivial. By which I mean any programmer worth their salt should be able to hammer it out in an afternoon. I plan to do this for my own data (retrieved via Tapiriik) this weekend.

They have details on every activity you've ever logged. They can find the fastest mile/5K/10K/etc. on a single activity, so they can do it for any they have records of. Then it's a simple matter of sorting.

And for reference, RunKeeper does it with their premium service (and if I pay $250+ for a device, you can bet I expect to be treated as a premium customer). There are sites that will do it for Strava. These are just 2 examples I found in about 3 minutes on Google, so it's not impossible... or even difficult.

They have details on every activity you've ever logged. They can find the fastest mile/5K/10K/etc. on a single activity, so they can do it for any they have records of. Then it's a simple matter of sorting.

The above is not impossible, but this is not the same thing you described in your first post.

A single activity can have multiple 5k times if it is longer than 5k. So to achieve the functionality described in your first post an algorithm would have to compare all activities not only by the fastest 5k time, but by ALL 5k times that can be found in an activity. And this would have to be done from ALL activities. For example the fastest, second fastest and fifth fastest 5k could be in one 20k activity. Or in a 7 km activity as well, for that matter.

But assuming this is not really what you meant - having read your second post - I believe it could be done with reasonable effort, although I doubt if Garmin Connect will ever have that feature.

Neither of you are programmers, are you?

It just so happens that I have a degree in computer science and worked as a programmer (mainly for business-critical, high-volume transaction systems) for a decade, before taking on more senior roles in analysis, architecture and strategy.

This is absolutely trivial. By which I mean any programmer worth their salt should be able to hammer it out in an afternoon.

The logic is simple. Changing what is the current implementation, when the data structures and so on are not already in place (in the wearable device's firmware, and the cloud-based Garmin Connect service), is far from trivial or cheap in terms of effort, cost and risk.

They have details on every activity you've ever logged.

If you still haven't figured out that Garmin Connect does not scan uploaded/imported FIT files for post-processing, then I question your nous about industry. Have you even worked commercially for a medium-sized enterprise or a large corporation as a programmer? If you have read the documentation, the only time that GC will actively detect a PR is if the Distance in a newly uploaded/imported activity very closely matches one of the preset distances for that activity Type and it betters the corresponding PR for the user. It is the Garmin wearable device's job to scan for the best mile/5K/10K etc. while it is recording, and you will not get Garmin to change the firmware on every device model to record the best mile/5K/10K etc. for every activity record regardless of whether the user achieved new PRs for those distances.

They can find the fastest mile/5K/10K/etc. on a single activity, so they can do it for any they have records of. Then it's a simple matter of sorting.

Anyone with the data can. Getting Garmin to implement the feature, especially when Garmin Connect is free-of-charge to use without an ongoing subscription or recurring fees, is a different matter.

And for reference, RunKeeper does it with their premium service

So, by all means, use that.

(and if I pay $250+ for a device, you can bet I expect to be treated as a premium customer).

Oh, the hubris is strong with this one. Thanks for the lulz.

A single activity can have multiple 5k times if it is longer than 5k.

Yes. I didn't feel it necessary to specify that I meant non-overlapping 5Ks, because in theory any activity longer than a 5K would have infinitely many 5Ks embedded in it. Garmin needs to work on their temporal resolution, though, as the most they'll catch is one every second.

... although I doubt if Garmin Connect will ever have that feature.

This is my suspicion as well.

The logic is simple. Changing what is the current implementation, when the data structures and so on are not already in place (in the wearable device's firmware, and the cloud-based Garmin Connect service), is far from trivial or cheap in terms of effort, cost and risk.

Except obviously the data structures are there, as second-by-second data for every activity logged is accessible by API. Perhaps they're not optimized for frequent scanning, but to put together a ranked list would take exactly 1 scan through the data, and thus doesn't require the effort, cost, OR risk of developing an optimized data structure.

It may require an opt-in so people are aware their data are being scanned, but that's the only hard stopper.

If you still haven't figured out that Garmin Connect does not scan uploaded/imported FIT files for post-processing, then I question your nous about industry. Have you even worked commercially for a medium-sized enterprise or a large corporation as a programmer?

Aw, lookit you using my own words against me! Aren't you a peach?

Yes, I have a Bachelor's in Mathematics and Computer Science, and a Master's in a scientific field. I have worked as a programmer both in research and commercial capacity, and I've processed a lot of data in the last 15 years.

If you have read the documentation, the only time that GC will actively detect a PR is if the Distance in a newly uploaded/imported activity very closely matches one of the preset distances for that activity Type and it betters the corresponding PR for the user. It is the Garmin wearable device's job to scan for the best mile/5K/10K etc. while it is recording, and you will not get Garmin to change the firmware on every device model to record the best mile/5K/10K etc. for every activity record regardless of whether the user achieved new PRs for those distances.

Except, that's not how it works at all, as I can run a 10K and it will already pick out my fastest mile if I achieve it in that run. It scans as it goes, and yes, compares against the on-device PR to decide whether to save it or not. There's nothing preventing them from having a best time for X distance this run. Which could then get uploaded to GC and ranked...

I'm not even sure why we're arguing the feasibility of this, when it's 100% feasible. It's not about "can't" so much as "probably won't." I was fully aware of this before you decided to point out the obvious. That's not going to stop me from suggesting it on the off chance they might decide to run with it...