Five Race-Day Smartwatch Hacks Every Marathon Runner Should Know

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I love my Garmin Forerunner 970, but the fact is, most runners don't need all the features it has to offer. In fact, for most road races, you can get by with whatever smartwatch you already own—as long as you know how to use it. If you've got a marathon or half-marathon coming up, these five tricks will only take a few minutes to set up, and they can save you from one of many of the small-but-avoidable disasters that can derail a good race.

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Get a GPS lock early for more accurate tracking

Nothing spikes pre-race anxiety like standing in a corral of hundreds of people watching your watch fail to latch onto a signal. Tall buildings, crowded starts, and a sea of other devices make the first minute of GPS unreliable, which can leave your opening mileage pace wildly off.

The fix is simple: start the GPS search early. Step outside, into the open, as soon as you've dropped your bag, and select your run activity at least 10 to 15 minutes before the starting gun. If your watch supports multi-band or dual-frequency GPS, turn it on in the activity settings, since it's noticeably better in dense downtown starts. Then, don't press start until the gun goes off (or you cross the line, if you want chip-accurate pacing).

Bonus tip: If you're in a start corral with a long wait, you can lock the signal and then pause the activity screen. Just remember to hit start when you actually take off.

Build a race-day data screen that tells you only what you need

Multiple data screens are great for training, but overwhelming during a race. Too many numbers invite overthinking, and seeing the "wrong" number at mile two can lead you into a very stressful mile ten.

My recommendation is to build a dedicated race screen with three to four fields at most:

• Lap pace or average lap pace (not instant pace, which jumps around constantly with GPS)

• Distance or lap distance, so you know where you are relative to the mile markers

• Heart rate, especially in the early miles when adrenaline tempts you to go out too fast

• Elapsed time, for splits against your goal

Keep it clean and stripped down, and avoid the temptation to add cadence, power, vertical oscillation, and everything else. You can always review those stats during your cool-down.

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Silence your notifications and create race-specific alerts instead

A text from your boss at mile 14 is nobody's idea of a good time. Before race day, switch your watch to Do Not Disturb or Airplane mode, or turn on a dedicated activity mode that blocks notifications. This also saves battery, which matters if your marathon is going to take you four-plus hours.

After blocking the outside world, you can set race-specific alerts, like a high heart-rate alert to keep you honest in the first half. I also know runners who set a recurring time or distance alert for fueling—say, every 30 to 40 minutes, or every 5 miles—so remembering to down a gel or a sports drink doesn't depend on your fading brain.

Use the lap button to fix GPS drift at the mile markers

Here's one thing I learn the hard way, every time: Your watch will almost always say you've run farther than the race course says you have. Race courses are measured along the shortest possible route, but along the way, you'll weave around people, take wide turns, and generally add extra distance. I've run marathons where my watch reads closer to 26.6 miles (nearly an extra half mile), so my "on pace" watch is actually behind my chip time.

The hack: Ignore the watch's auto-lap and press the lap button manually at each mile marker (or at every kilometer marker, if that's what the course uses). This gives you pace data aligned to the official course, not the satellite's best guess. It also gives you a quick mental check against your plan. If you've set up your watch for it, display average lap pace, then glance at it a few hundred meters after each marker to see how you're tracking. And don't panic if your watch beeps for a mile before you pass the marker—trust the course and your lap presses, and do your best to ignore the mismatched distance adding up.

Lock your touchscreen ahead of race day chaos

Rain, sweat, high-fives, and a hasty cup grab at an aid station can all trigger accidental taps on a touchscreen watch. Few things are worse than discovering at mile 18 that you accidentally paused, ended, or switched screens on your activity. So before the race, turn on your watch's screen lock, so a stray touch doesn't do anything.

If your watch has a configurable wake gesture, consider turning it off to save battery, and set the backlight to a short timeout. While we're talking watch-wearing protocol, remember to wear it snugly, one finger-width above your wrist bone, for a better heart-rate reading as you sweat. Finally, if your watch has one, use the post-race auto-save reminder. (Otherwise, do your best to hit stop after you cross the finish line.)

Again, you don't need the most premium running-specific watch ahead of race day. If you have time, test these hacks on a long run, so that you're not wasting any precious mental energy during the big day.