The rollout officially brings Running Tolerance and more to the Fenix 8 and Venu X1
Garmin is rolling out the software features that debuted with the Forerunner 970 and Forerunner 570 back in May to a broader range of its wearables.
The update, which is beginning its stable release after a period in public beta a couple of months ago, brings a host of new training and wellness tools to popular watch lines, including the Fenix 8, Venu X1, and Enduro 3.
Since it requires no additional hardware to work, the most notable addition is the Running Tolerance feature. This helps users understand the impact of each run on their body and provides a dynamic recommended weekly maximum mileage to help train effectively without overexertion.
Other key additions include free, adaptive Garmin Triathlon Coach training plans, the Evening Report, which summarizes your sleep needs and tomorrow’s schedule, and the Smart Wake Alarm, which aims to wake you at the optimal time in your sleep cycle.
Two shiny additions to Running Dynamics… with a catch
The update also includes two new advanced running metrics: Running Economy and Step Speed Loss. However, there’s a significant catch—these features require the separate Garmin HRM 600 heart rate monitor to function, creating a notable barrier to entry.
Even for those with the required hardware, our experience with testing these new metrics has been mixed so far. While the data is interesting for long-term analysis, we’ve found the real-time guidance on how to improve your running economy to be very generic, leaving the onus on the user to interpret the data.
Still, this is a welcome free update that brings some genuinely useful new tools to a broader audience of Garmin users. The software is now rolling out, and the update can be downloaded by syncing with Garmin Connect. And if you don’t want to wait next time, you can always learn how to access Garmin features like these earlier than anyone else.
