MAMIL Cycling : Garmin HRM-RUN Product Review

Aside from the standard elevation, Pace, temperature and Heart Rate measurements, there’s a number of measurements that I hadn’t previously been party to because I didn’t have the right sensor. But now I was being presented with additional readings for :

Stride Length
Run Cadence
Vertical Ratio
Ground Contact Time Balance

So I’ll take you through each of these so you can understand the data that it’s presenting.

Stride Length
As the name suggests, stride length is the stride distance for every stride whilst you are running. This is useful data to know in case you need to shorten or increase your stride length to optimise your running.
You can also overlay stride length data with other data to see how my stride patterns alters going either uphill or downhill.

Run Cadence
Garmin has researched many runners of all different levels. In general, more experienced runners tend to have higher cadence. An often-cited target for running cadence is 180 steps/min. Higher cadences are associated with lower vertical oscillation and shorter ground contact time. Taller runners tend to have somewhat slower cadence.

Vertical Ratio
Vertical ratio is a cost-to-benefit ratio where the cost is the vertical oscillation and the benefit is the distance travelled. Garmin has researched many runners of all different levels. Testing has shown that more experienced and faster runners tend to have lower vertical ratio. Vertical ratio is independent of the runner’s height.

Ground Contact Time
Many coaches believe that a symmetrical gait is most desirable for performance and injury prevention. Garmin has researched many runners of all different levels to determine typical ground contact balance ranges. Testing has shown that for many runners GCT Balance tends to deviate further from 50 - 50 when running up or down hills. Some runners report that injuries are reflected in their GCT Balance.

If you are a serious runner, even buying it individually is highly recommended. Just make sure you have a Garmin device that supports it because not all forerunner devices support it.

The list of devices currently supported (correct at time of uploading this video) is :
fēnix® 2 Special Edition
fēnix® 2 Special Edition
D2™ Bravo
D2™ Bravo
epix™
epix™
fēnix® 2
fēnix® 2
fēnix® 3
fēnix® 3
fēnix® 3 HR
fēnix® 3 HR
fēnix® 3 Sapphire
fēnix® 3 Sapphire
fēnix® Chronos
fēnix® Chronos
Forerunner® 620
Forerunner® 620
Forerunner® 630
Forerunner® 630
Forerunner® 735XT
Forerunner® 735XT
Forerunner® 920XT
Forerunner® 920XT
tactix® Bravo
tactix® Bravo
VIRB® Ultra 30
VIRB® Ultra 30
VIRB® XE
VIRB® XE

You can also read more about the HRM-RUN, Other Garmin Products, other cycling reviews and activities from me at www.themamil.co.uk

свернуть