What To Watch

Get the most out of your high-tech timepiece:

When you don’t have a clear view of the sky or you’re running in a new location, your watch will take a long time to acquire a GPS signal.

Taking it off and setting it on a flat surface will help it lock in the signal faster. The watch’s GPS receiver locates satellites more quickly when it is completely still.

The formulas most watches use to determine your max heart rate may be unreliable – but you can do it yourself.

Find a hill (or a treadmill with an incline set to at least five per cent) and run 3 x 800m repeats at a fast yet sustainable pace. On the final 800, run the last 400 as hard as you can. The highest number recorded should be close to your max.

Out of the box, shoe pods are generally accurate. That said, do a kay or two at the track periodically to calibrate them.

Calibration modes vary by watch – you’ll input the track distance either before or after your calibration run, directly on the watch or via software.

Repeat every few weeks and when you buy new shoes.

In the market for a new running watch? Read our running watch reviews here.