The 5 Run Settings I Change Before I Trust a New Garmin

5 run settings I change on every new Garmin

A new Garmin works out of the box, but the defaults are built for everyone. These are the five settings I change before my first run, so the watch shows what I need and stays out of my way.

All five live in the Run activity's own settings, or in its focus mode, not in the general system settings. Open the Run activity, open its menu and go into the run settings.

1. GPS mode

Decide for yourself which satellite mode you need, under Satellites:

• GPS Only is perfect on open roads and in fields, and it's the easiest on your battery
• All Systems + Multi-Band is the one for dense forests or cities with tall buildings, where signals bounce around and your track starts cutting corners. It costs more battery

Watches with multi-band GPS also have Auto Select (SatIQ), which switches to multi-band only when conditions call for it and back again under open sky, so you get close to multi-band accuracy on less battery. Every GPS mode explained →

2. Data fields

I want four fields on my main screen: lap pace, heart rate, distance and time. Set them under Data Screens.

Lap pace, not instant pace. Instant pace jumps around with every GPS wobble and makes you panic for nothing. Lap pace averages the current lap, so it's steady enough to actually run on.

Want a fifth? Cadence is the one almost nobody adds →

3. A heart rate alert

Under Alerts, add a heart rate alert for when I drift above Zone 2. The watch buzzes, I slow down. That's it. No staring at the screen to keep an easy run easy. Setting up the Zone 2 alert →

4. Auto Lap

The 1 km Auto Lap (under Laps) is fine for easy runs: you get a split every kilometre without thinking about it.

For intervals, I turn it off. A lap that ends halfway through a rep mixes your fast and slow running into the same split, and your interval data becomes useless. Let the workout or the lap button do the job instead.

5. Always-on, but only during runs

Mid-run I want to glance at my watch, not flick my wrist and wait. So the display stays on during runs only, and outside activities I leave it on gesture to save battery.

On newer watches you set that in the Activity focus mode: Watch Settings → Focus Modes → Activity → Display & Brightness → Always On Display. The full setup, including older watches →

One thing to remember

Because these settings belong to the Run activity, they don't carry over to Trail Run, Treadmill or Track Run. If you use those, set them there too.

Want more? These 10 Garmin tips make your runs better →