I realized recently that it was my mind, not my body, preventing me from trying to run a full marathon race. So, I set out to run a marathon and completed the challenge a few months ago. To paraphrase a certain footballer from Ted Lasso, running is life now, and I’ll never stop running marathons as long as my body can take it.
I couldn’t have done it without ChatGPT and my Apple Watch SE 2. The latter was exceptional at keeping track of all my runs in the past two years. While it’s a 40mm model, and the battery health isn’t great anymore, it can at least last for a full marathon on one charge. I say that as an injury has actually been slowing down my times, thus prolonging the amount ot time I need the Watch battery to last.
You need this context to understand how annoying an annoying issue with the Apple Watch, and why I discovered it so late in my running experience. I just ran my fastest 10K ever, beating my previous time by two minutes. I know this because I tracked it with the Apple Watch. However, I never got the Awards for it, even though the Fitness app on my iPhone got all the data.
How did it happen? I used a third-party app to track my run, and the Apple Watch did not give me the Awards I expected.
The Awards in the Fitness app are a clever way to motivate you to push your limits. You can’t expect personal bests for everything you do, but they happen. That’s why the app will tell you when you ran your fastest 5K, 10K, half-marathon, and marathon races.
The app also gives you Awards for each of these milestones, so you’ll always know how many races in specific distances you’ve completed while using Apple devices. For my 10K runs, the iPhone owes me two 10K runs it never registered, including a new personal best. This discovery is driving me insane.
I’ve been a longtime Apple Watch user and a longtime runner. I’ve always used Apple’s default app to track my runs and have had no problems with it. Yes, I know some runners prefer more accurate devices than the Apple Watch, but it works for me.
I only got into more serious running in early 2023, once I coopted ChatGPT as my trainer and set new goals. That’s why I’ve only started finding these Apple Watch issues now, after years of using the wearable for running.
So why did I switch to a third-party app to track my runs? I had to compete in a virtual race, which could increase my chances of getting into a harder-to-enter marathon race. Of course, I accepted the challenge, installed the app, synced it with the organizer, and went on my first run to ensure everything worked as expected.
I did a 12K practice run before the virtual race to test the third-party app. That’s when I saw the first problem. The Fitness app registered the run correctly, but the iPhone didn’t give me the 10K Award I expected. It is my Award; I won it, and I need it. It’s silly, yes. But thanks to the Fitness app, I know how many running sessions of at least 10K I have done since using the Apple Watch. Or I thought I did.
Moving on to the 10K race, I thought I’d do my best. The actual time would not improve my chances of getting into that marathon, but the effort would fit well with my current training regimen for a different marathon. So I went all out late on Sunday evening to avoid the heat.
After about 4K at full effort, I thought I’d die from it, so I had to slow down. Still, I settled into a much faster pace than usual. After 6K I realized this would be a personal best if I kept the same pace, which only kept me motivated to push or keep it steady at least.
After 10K, I realized I could have kept going at that pace, which proves that the mind plays a big part in running. But I was also happy to see that I had beaten my personal best.
That’s when reality sank in. If I didn’t get a 10K Award for that 12K race, I would not get Awards for this 10K and my fastest 10K. I hated it.
What’s the point of those Awards if they don’t work with third-party apps? I know other Apple Watch users must have discovered this issue long before me if they’ve been training with third-party apps. But it’s a problem that Apple should fix. As long as the Fitness app registers the training event it should give you the proper Award.
I’m not annoyed about the shiny illustration of an award per se. I just wanted the Fitness app to record my fastest 10K even if I use a different running app. And no, the name of the third-party running app doesn’t matter. It’s all about how the iPhone’s Fitness app works.
I’ll also say I’m running iOS 18 beta on the iPhone and watchOS 11 beta on the Apple Watch. I hope these are not to blame for the Awards issues. I wouldn’t know since I’ve never used third-party apps for tracking running sessions before.
Finally, I’ll note that the September Challenge Award requires 10 running workouts lasting at least 5 minutes each. I ran my fastest 10K ever on September 1st. I’m pretty sure it lasted more than 5 minutes, but Fitness did not acknowledge it. I have zero out of 10 runs at the time of this writing.
I’ll get back to tracking my runs with the default Apple Watch app. But I’ll surely compete in other virtual races in the future, and I’ll have to use third-party apps for that. Hopefully, Apple will fix this Awards issue in the future.
