I came up with the idea to run with my Wahoo Elemnt Bolt GPS cycling computer while thinking through my plan of attack for the 50 Mile Rebecca Mountain Trail Race. While thinking through what I need to carry for the run, the issue around tracking the long run rose to the top. I have an iPhone 8 and an Older Garmin Forerunners. I have an iPhone 8, a Wahoo Elemnt Bolt, and an older Garmin Forerunner 25, which are all great GPS devices in their own right.
iPhone 8 – fairly new so the battery should last all day in airplane mode. But would like to save it for emergencies.
Wahoo Elemnt Bolt – awesome GPS cycling computer, great battery life (15hrs), compact and offers turn by turn navigation. Can charge while using.
Older Garmin Forerunner 25 – excellent running watch that can accurately record up to 6ish hours at a great price.
All three have limitations when it comes to recording a trail run that may last up to 12+ hours.
- The iPhone’s battery will moderately decline with GPS tracking, and I would like to have enough battery saved for emergencies and be able to take pictures during the run. I could combat the battery drain with an external battery pack.
- Then the Wahoo Bolt does not record accurately when stuffed in my running backpack. It does record, don’t get me wrong, however the GPS points are off and the timing is widely incorrect. It does have great battery life at 15 hours and you can charge it while it is on.
- The Garmin Forerunner just isn’t able to record super long runs and offers no way to charge it during the run. It can’t be charged and recording at the same time.
My two ideas of how you can run with a Cycling GPS Unit:
Watch Idea:
I looked into the thought of wearing the bolt like a watch and found people who have made watch mounts and straps for their Edge 500, but it just looks like it would feel too clumpy to run with. It is definitely doable.. just not my style. Follow the link to see Garmin’s watch mounting kit that hilljunkie used in the picture below.
The Bolt Sack:
After spending a few days on the watch idea, I figured there could be a way to attach the Bolt to the outside of my running backpack, thus giving it the line of sight that it needs to record my run accurately. So I sketched a few designs and figured I could sew a pouch-sack like thing. From there the design took off to incorporate velcro patches, a carabiner, webbing and a slot to allow it to be charged while secured on the outside. (insert sketch).
Design Details:
– Webbing & Carabiner – to allow it to hang off the backpack’s top loop.
– Velcro – to secure it from bouncing around during the run ( keeps the line of sight the same)
– Charging Cord Slot – allows for the Bolt to be charged by a smaller external battery pack during the run. add slot for rubber tab.
– Open face design to allow us to see how we are doing without taking it out of the pouch.
Below is how I mount it on $30 Ultra-Tri Vest Hydration Pack. It works the best up on my shoulder like a pirate’s parrot. You’ll see in the last photo that I sewed a strip of Velcro to the back of the pack, but after testing it on a few runs, the Bolt was not able to lock onto the GPS signal. It would lose signal every 50 steps.
Now, I have had the Bolt Sack for a few months, I can say that it works great! I do think this is a great alternative for someone who does not want to buy a $400 GPS watch for their long runs. Plus it is lighter than a Garmin Fenix 5!
-thebidon
Hi,
Great idea and well executed! Are you able to choose hike/run in the Wahoo before starting the exercise? Or you just edit the information after uploading?
Any chance of sharing the design pattern? 🙂
Thanks
Thank you! Right, you can only change the type of activity after it uploads to Strava or another similar app. With it connected via Bluetooth, it uploads instantly and then you can change the type right away. It’s not really an issue at all.
I didn’t make a design pattern that I kept. I traced the sides on paper and used that as my template for the pieces of fabric that I needed.
Appreciate the comment! Good luck on yours!!
-thebidon
Nice idea, thanks for sharing. Do you think the Bolt would record downhill skiing if you had it in top front phone pocket of ski jacket, or would it drop GPS signal?
When I first ran with my Bolt, I stored it in the outermost accessory pocket of the red bookbag that you see on this post. It would record but the gps would jump around occasionally. So it might be able to record some of it, but a phone might do better in that pocket.
I know the bolt was designed to work best when it’s perpendicular to the ground when laying flat.
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
-David
A little late to the game, but I came across this post while doing a search for running with the Wahoo Elemnt Bolt. A few days ago I was going on a run but realized I had not charged my phone and it was down to 5%, it would never make it the 5K distance. So I grabbed the bolt, fired it up, and slid it into the armband phone holder and took off. It worked perfectly, no GPS issues and most of the running trail is through the woods with thick tree cover.
When I got home it uploaded to Strava, and I edited the activity to make it a run. However I noticed the calories was way off. 60 calories for a 5k run wasn’t even close. What I had to do was export the activity to a TCX or GPX file from Strava, erase the activity in Strava, then manually import it. After that it indicated 532 calories! Everything else was the same as before.
I should note I did not take my HRM with me on this run, so I don’t know what affect that will have. I’ll post back if it is of any significance.