Running power is the work you are doing when you run, measured in watts. Apple Watch estimates it from its own sensors during Outdoor Run workouts, with no extra hardware. There is no universal good number, because power depends on how much you weigh and how fast you are going. What makes it useful is that it reacts instantly, where heart rate takes a minute to catch up.
What is a good running power?
Heavier runners and faster runners produce more watts, so comparing your number with someone else’s says nothing. As a very rough guide, most recreational runners see somewhere between 150 and 400 watts, and the same runner might be at 200 on an easy day and 300 in a race.
Two comparisons are worth making:
- You against yourself. More watts at the same heart rate, or the same watts at a lower heart rate, means you are fitter.
- Watts per kilogram. Dividing by your body weight makes the number comparable across time if your weight changes.
Do not compare numbers between brands. There is no standard way to calculate running power, and Apple, Garmin, Stryd and others give clearly different values for the same run.
What is it good for?
Hills. Pace tells you nothing on a climb, and heart rate arrives late. Power shows straight away that you are working too hard up the hill and coasting down the other side. Holding power steady over rolling ground is the simplest way to run an even effort.
Intervals. Heart rate needs 30 to 60 seconds to respond, so for short repeats it is still rising when you stop. Power shows the effort from the first step.
Pacing long runs and races. Starting too fast shows up in power in the first hundred meters, not at kilometer five.
How do I find my own numbers?
Look at runs you already have. Your average power on relaxed easy runs is your easy range. Your average power from a recent all-out effort of 30 to 60 minutes, such as a 10K race, is a usable benchmark for hard sustained running. Everything else sits between the two.
Where do I see it?
During a run, power is one of the workout views in the Workout app on Apple Watch. It needs a recent watch and watchOS 9 or later.
Kiiro shows power as a graph for each run, with your average power, next to pace and heart rate from the same workout. That is where it earns its place: on a hilly run the pace line is all over the place while power shows how even your effort really was. For the other running metrics see What is a good cadence, ground contact time and vertical oscillation?.
Related questions
- What is a good cadence, ground contact time and vertical oscillation?: There is no single good value. All three depend on how fast you run, your height and your build. Here are typical ranges for recreational runners and how to use the numbers from your Apple Watch.
- How does Apple Watch set my heart rate zones, and can I change them?: Apple Watch gives you five heart rate zones, calculated automatically from your maximum heart rate and your health data. You can replace them with your own. Here is how, and why your zones may look different in Kiiro.
