Device compatibility

What works with RunNerd

RunNerd™'s coaching depth depends on the data your device shares. This page shows exactly what's available with each setup — and how to get the most out of RunNerd no matter what you run with.

The matrix

What works with what

Coaching outcomes by device path. Capability rows describe what coaching feels like on each setup, not raw data fields. Cost row at the bottom is the honest price of each path — green is free, amber is paid.

Apple
Watch		 Just your
iPhone		 Garmin
(direct)		 Garmin
(native bridge)		 Garmin via
intervals.icu		 Other devices
via intervals.icu
Run summaries
Effort & zone analysis ⁵ ¹
Lap-by-lap breakdown ⁵ ²
Cadence coaching ⁵ ²
Personal records ⁵ ¹
Weekly plan calibration ¹
Real-time sync after run ³ ³
Cost to user Free Free Free Free Free⁴ Free⁴

1 Heart rate aggregated to ~15-minute intervals through Garmin's native Apple Health bridge.

2 Cadence and lap markers don't transfer through Garmin's native Apple Health bridge.

3 Sync delay of 5–15 minutes after each run depending on intervals.icu refresh.

4 intervals.icu is donation-supported. Free to use; donations are optional and benefit them, not RunNerd.

5 No watch required: RunNerd's in-app GPS tracker records pace, distance, and route from your iPhone. Heart rate and cadence need a watch, so zone analysis, cadence coaching, and heart-rate records need one too.

How RunNerd reads your data

Most of RunNerd's coaching is built on top of Apple HealthKit — the system that collects workout data from your Apple Watch and other connected devices into a single place on your iPhone. When your watch records a run cleanly, RunNerd reads the full picture: pace, heart rate every second, cadence, lap markers, GPS route, elevation. That detail is what lets the AI coach analyze your effort the way a real coach would.

Some devices route data through Apple Health with all that detail intact (Apple Watch is the cleanest example). Others lose pieces in transit — Garmin's native Apple Health bridge, for instance, drops cadence and aggregates heart rate, which is why RunNerd also connects to Garmin directly. The matrix above shows which paths preserve which capabilities, and the sections below cover setup for each.

RUNNERD-NATIVE RECOMMENDED · WORKS NOW · FREE

Apple Watch

If you run with an Apple Watch, you're set. RunNerd reads your runs directly from Apple Health with full fidelity — cadence, lap structure, per-second heart rate, GPS route, elevation. Every coaching feature works as designed.

Setup Install RunNerd, sign in with your Apple ID, grant Health permissions during onboarding. New runs appear in the app within a few minutes of finishing.

Garmin

RunNerd connects to Garmin Connect directly, and that's the path we recommend for every Garmin runner. Garmin's Apple Health bridge and intervals.icu also work, and they're covered below if you'd rather use one of them.

RUNNERD-NATIVE RECOMMENDED · WORKS NOW · FREE

Option 1: Connect Garmin directly

Sign in with your Garmin account from inside RunNerd, and your runs sync straight from Garmin Connect, usually within a minute or two of saving them on your watch. Lap structure, cadence, per-second heart rate, GPS route, and elevation all come through, so every coaching feature works the same as it does with an Apple Watch.

Runs you record after connecting sync automatically. If a run also reaches RunNerd through Apple Health, the two are merged into one run, using Garmin's data where it's more complete. You can disconnect at any time. The covers what's stored and what's deleted.

Setup Open RunNerd → Profile → Connections → tap Connect next to Garmin → sign in to Garmin and approve access. You're returned to the app and new runs start syncing automatically.
NO GARMIN SIGN-IN · FREE · LIMITED DETAIL

Option 2: Use Garmin's native Apple Health bridge

If you've enabled "Write to Apple Health" in Garmin Connect, your runs already flow into Apple Health automatically. RunNerd reads them from there. There's nothing to install and no account to connect.

The catch: Garmin's native bridge drops several metrics that matter for detailed coaching, including cadence and lap-by-lap structure. Heart rate arrives as 15-minute averages rather than per-second detail. Run summaries, weekly plans, and audio briefings still work — but effort analysis is approximate rather than precise, and cadence coaching is unavailable.

If you'd rather not connect your Garmin account, this still covers the basics. For the full coaching experience, use Option 1.

Setup In Garmin Connect → Settings → Apple Health, enable the categories you want shared. Turn on at least Workouts, Heart Rate, and Distance.
THIRD-PARTY TOOL FOR INTERVALS.ICU USERS · FREE

Option 3: Connect via intervals.icu

RunNerd is not affiliated with intervals.icu. intervals.icu is an independent third-party tool we're documenting because many runners already use it to collect their training data in one place.

intervals.icu is a free, donation-supported training platform used by 160,000+ athletes. It pulls your Garmin data automatically with full fidelity (lap structure, cadence, per-second heart rate — everything) and exposes that data through an open API that RunNerd can read. If you already use intervals.icu for training analysis, connecting it gives RunNerd the same detail.

Trade-off: there's a sync delay of roughly 5–15 minutes after each run (the data has to travel from your watch → Garmin Connect → intervals.icu → RunNerd), and you'll need a free intervals.icu account. The direct Garmin connection skips that extra step.

Setup Open RunNerd → Profile → Connections → tap Connect next to intervals.icu → approve in Safari. You're returned to the app, your runs from the last 30 days come in, and new runs sync automatically after that. If a sync is ever missed, tap Sync now on the same row.

Visit intervals.icu

Polar, Coros, Suunto, Wahoo, and others

If you run with a device other than Apple Watch or Garmin, the intervals.icu path described in the Garmin section works for most major brands. intervals.icu supports Strava, Polar Flow, Coros, Suunto, Wahoo, Zwift, and more — meaning if your device syncs to any of those services, RunNerd can read your runs through the same intervals.icu integration described in Option 3.

Setup is the same: create a free intervals.icu account, connect your device's native service to it (Polar Flow, Coros, etc.), then in RunNerd open Profile → Connections and tap Connect next to intervals.icu.

We haven't individually tested every device-to-intervals.icu combination, so data quality may vary.

A note on independence

RunNerd is built and maintained by Aaron, a solo founder in Smyrna, GA. We are not affiliated with Garmin, Apple, intervals.icu, or any of the third-party services mentioned on this page. intervals.icu is documented here because it's a useful route for devices RunNerd doesn't connect to directly yet. We don't earn anything from referring users to it, and we'll keep this page updated as new devices are added.

If you have questions or want to share what's working (or not working) for your setup, is the fastest way to reach me.

— Aaron