The Apple Watch’s Coolest Feature for Runners Is One You’re Probably Not Using

I wouldn’t call myself a serious runner. Sure, I run a few times a week — typically between three and five miles per run — but I’m not training for anything in particular. There’s no marathon in my future. It’s just my way of exercising.

As somebody who has been wearing an Apple Watch for years, I use it to track my runs as well. I like to see metrics like distance and pace, but again, I’m not super competitive about it. I’m not sharing my activity or challenging friends to see who can close their Activity Rings fastest. My runs are for me — and me alone.

That said, there is one Apple Watch feature that I use on most of runs that I absolutely love. It’s called Race Route and it allows you to compete against yourself during your runs. It’s perfect for people like me who run the same routes over and over again.

If you’ve been running with an Apple Watch for years, you might not be aware of Race Route. It only became available in late 2022 — rolling out with watchOS 9.2 — and it’s admittedly a little bit hidden within the Workout app.

Race yourself

To start a Race Route, you do the same thing you would when starting an outdoor run workout on your Apple Watch. You go to the Workout app and scroll to the Outdoor Run. But instead of selecting Outdoor Run, you instead select the three-dot ellipsis button in the top-right corner.

From here, you can scroll down and see your different Race Route options. The Workout app can only save two different routes, which is awesome if you have two different running routes you frequent (but a bit of a bummer if you like to switch it up more than that).