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Getting started
4 articles- Connection guide Step-by-step tutorial to connect the Running Workout MCP server to Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini and run your Garmin training from a conversation. Free.
- The AI Coach, in practice Running Workout teaches Claude how to coach: it reads your Garmin data, asks five questions, builds a 10K plan, pushes it to your watch and adapts it every week.
- How an AI coach works An AI coach works via an MCP connector: it reads your Garmin data, builds your sessions and pushes them to your watch, never inventing a VMA.
- AI coach or human coach? Availability, cost, personalization, form analysis: an honest comparison between AI and human coaching for running training.
Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini
5 articles- Add Running Workout to Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini The steps for each assistant: the connector URL, the Garmin authorization, and what you should see at the end.
- Check that the connection works The first questions to ask your assistant to confirm it really reads your Garmin account.
- Connection troubleshooting Missing connector, refused authorization, workout not reaching the watch: the common causes and their fixes.
- MCP servers for Garmin MCP servers connecting AI assistants to Garmin Connect: what they read, what they write, what credentials they ask for. A documented survey.
- Connect an AI to your Garmin data Giving ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini access to your Garmin activities: the available methods, what they are worth, and what they expose.
Training plans
6 articles- No-VMA restart plan 6-week restart plan, walk-run to continuous running, no VMA required. Pushed automatically to your Garmin watch.
- 6-week 5K plan 6-week 5K plan tailored to your VMA, 3 or 4 sessions a week. Pushed automatically to your Garmin watch.
- 8-week 10K plan 8-week 10K plan tailored to your VMA, 3 to 5 sessions a week. Pushed automatically to your Garmin watch.
- 10-week half marathon plan 10-week half marathon plan tailored to your VMA, 3 or 4 sessions a week. Pushed automatically to your Garmin watch.
- 12-to-16-week marathon plan 12-to-16-week marathon plan tailored to your VMA, 3 to 7 sessions a week. Pushed automatically to your Garmin watch.
- AI-driven multisport plan Building a running, cycling and swimming plan with an AI: what it does well, what it gets wrong, and how to get sessions onto the watch.
Workouts by sport
4 articles- Structured running workouts Intervals, threshold or long runs as structured Garmin workouts: which targets exist, how to choose them, and how to have an AI write them.
- Cycling workouts in watts Building a structured cycling workout on Garmin: power in watts, FTP and zones, what changes indoors, cadence and heart-rate targets.
- Pool swimming workouts Building a structured pool swim on Garmin: pool length, pace zones, CSS offset, stroke, drill and equipment. What the watch accepts.
- Pace, FTP and CSS benchmarks The four benchmarks that calibrate structured workouts: what they measure, how to test them yourself, and how often to redo them.
Prepare a race
22 articles- Paris Marathon 2027 Paris Marathon 2027: announced date, new organizer, bib lottery. How to build your preparation with an AI coach.
- Paris Half Marathon 2027 Paris Half Marathon 2027: announced date, new organizer, bib lottery. How to build your preparation with an AI coach.
- Valencia Marathon 2026 Prepare for the 2026 Valencia Marathon, Europe's fastest course: 12-to-16-week preparation calendar, pacing strategy and a plan pushed to your Garmin watch.
- New York City Marathon 2026 Prepare for the 2026 New York City Marathon: bridges, wind, late start and kilometre-by-kilometre pacing strategy, with a 12-to-16-week plan pushed to your Garmin watch.
- Chicago Marathon 2026 Prepare for the 2026 Chicago Marathon: flat record course, handling the lake wind, heat-adapted summer training, 12-to-16-week plan on your Garmin watch.
- Amsterdam Marathon 2026 Prepare for the 2026 Amsterdam Marathon: flat course along the Amstel, 12-to-16-week autumn preparation, pacing strategy and a plan pushed to your Garmin watch.
- Frankfurt Marathon 2026 Prepare for the 2026 Frankfurt Marathon: flat and fast course, ideal July-to-October preparation window, Festhalle finish, plan on your Garmin watch.
- La Rochelle Marathon 2026 Prepare for the 2026 La Rochelle Marathon: flat two-loop course, 12-to-16-week autumn preparation, handling the westerly wind, plan pushed to your Garmin watch.
- Nice-Cannes Marathon 2026 Prepare for the 2026 Nice-Cannes Marathon: point-to-point course facing the sea, Cap d'Antibes bumps, heat and wind, 12-to-16-week plan pushed to your Garmin watch.
- Toulouse Marathon 2026 Prepare for the 2026 Toulouse Marathon: flat course between the Garonne and the Canal du Midi, heat-adapted summer training, pacing strategy, plan on your Garmin watch.
- Rennes Green Marathon 2026 Prepare for the 2026 Rennes Green Marathon: slightly downhill point-to-point route, 12-to-16-week autumn preparation, wind management, plan pushed to your Garmin watch.
- Seville Marathon 2027 Prepare for the 2027 Seville Marathon: Europe's flattest course in February, 12-to-16-week winter preparation through the holidays, plan pushed to your Garmin watch.
- Tokyo Marathon 2027 Prepare for the 2027 Tokyo Marathon: flat course, 12-to-16-week winter preparation, cold and jet-lag management, plan pushed to your Garmin watch.
- Barcelona Marathon 2027 Prepare for the 2027 Barcelona Marathon: rolling course with an initial descent and final climb, 12-to-16-week winter preparation, plan pushed to your Garmin watch.
- London Marathon 2027 Prepare for the 2027 London Marathon: downhill then flat course, 12-to-16-week late-winter preparation, crowd and pace management, plan on your Garmin watch.
- Boston Marathon 2027 Prepare for the 2027 Boston Marathon: qualifying time, initial descents, Newton hills and Heartbreak Hill, 12-to-16-week plan pushed to your Garmin watch.
- Rotterdam Marathon 2027 Prepare for the 2027 Rotterdam Marathon: flat course with the Erasmus Bridge, 12-to-16-week late-winter preparation, pacing strategy, plan pushed to your Garmin watch.
- Nantes Marathon 2027 Prepare for the 2027 Nantes Marathon: rolling course along the Loire and the Erdre, 12-to-16-week late-winter preparation, pacing strategy, plan on your Garmin watch.
- Boulogne-Billancourt Half Marathon 2026 Prepare for the 2026 Boulogne-Billancourt Half Marathon: flat, fast two-loop course, 10-week plan set on your VMA, pacing strategy, sessions on your Garmin watch.
- Valencia Half Marathon 2026 Prepare for the 2026 Valencia Half Marathon, the world's fastest half: 10-week plan set on your VMA, heat-adapted summer training, pacing strategy, sessions on your Garmin watch.
- Lisbon Half Marathon 2027 Prepare for the 2027 Lisbon Half Marathon: start on the 25 de Abril bridge, downhill course along the Tagus, 10-week plan set on your VMA, sessions on your Garmin watch.
- Berlin Half Marathon 2027 Prepare for the 2027 Berlin Half Marathon: flat, wide avenues, 10-week plan set on your VMA, late-winter training, pacing strategy, sessions on your Garmin watch.
Getting better at running
20 articles- The 6-minute VMA test The 6-minute VMA test explained: protocol, maximal aerobic speed calculation, when to repeat it, and how your AI coach reads the result from your Garmin activity.
- Threshold pace Threshold pace explained: between 85 and 90% of VMA, how your AI coach calculates it, the plan's 3 × 8 min to 30-minute continuous sessions, and the mistakes to avoid.
- Easy endurance Easy endurance explained: 60 to 70% of VMA, 65 to 75% of max HR, why it builds the base, why your AI coach steers it by heart rate on Garmin.
- The long run The long run explained: the 15% rule, easy-endurance pace, marathon-pace blocks at the end of the run, and what your AI coach checks in your Garmin data.
- Short or long intervals Short intervals (30 s to 2 min at 95-105% of VMA) or long (3 to 6 min at 90-95%): what each develops, how the plan sequences them and how your AI coach reads each repeat on Garmin.
- Hill sessions Hill sessions in running: short, medium and long hills, what each develops, where the plan places them, and how your AI coach sends them to your Garmin watch.
- Training load (ACWR) ACWR explained: ratio between the week's load and the month's, calculated from your Garmin activities, the thresholds your AI coach applies and what it changes in your plan.
- The assimilation week The assimilation week explained: volume cut by 30 to 40%, paces kept, one week in four, and the Garmin signals that make your AI coach bring it forward.
- The pre-race taper The taper explained: three weeks for a marathon, two for a half, ten days for a 10K, reduced volume and kept intensity, a typical final week and misleading sensations.
- Running in strong heat Running in strong heat: the rule of paces reduced by 3 to 5% above 28 °C, heart rate as the target on the watch, timing and route, and how to read summer sessions.
- Running in winter Running in winter: the 5 °C warm-up rule, which sessions to replace below 0 °C, the long run versus ice, and how your AI coach reads your winter runs on Garmin.
- Running cadence Running cadence explained: what the watch measures, why 180 is not a universal target, when to work on it, and how your AI coach reads it in your Garmin activities.
- The warm-up The running warm-up: 10 minutes of jogging and progressive strides, its variants by session and season, what changes before a race, and how it reaches your watch.
- Recovering after a race Recovering after a race: the one-day-per-3-to-4-km rule after a 10K, a half or a marathon, what your AI coach puts on the watch during recovery, and how it restarts the plan.
- Going from 3 to 4 sessions a week Going from 3 to 4 running sessions a week: the three Garmin signals that say you are ready, which session to add, and how your AI coach watches the transition.
- Running your first 10K Running your first 10K: the 30-continuous-minute prerequisite, the 8-week plan at 3 sessions, paces set on your VMA, and the race-day instruction sent to your Garmin watch.
- 10K under 45 minutes Running 10K under 45 minutes: the VMA required (14.8 km/h minimum), the 8-week plan at 4 sessions with threshold and VMA, and the race-day pacing instruction on your Garmin watch.
- Half marathon under 1 h 45 Running a half marathon under 1 h 45: the VMA required (14.2 km/h), threshold up to 30 continuous minutes, the 10-week plan and the race-day pacing instruction on your Garmin watch.
- Marathon under 4 hours Running a marathon under 4 hours: the VMA required (13.2 km/h), base volume, the long run with 45 minutes at marathon pace, and the race-day pacing instruction on your Garmin watch.
- Marathon under 3 h 30 Running a marathon under 3 h 30: VMA of 15.5 km/h, 50 km a week, a 1 h 38 half, the 16-week plan at 5 sessions and the race-day pacing instruction on your Garmin watch.
Tools, watch and analysis
10 articles- Reading a plan week How to read a training plan week: each session's name and steps, targets in percent of VMA converted to actual pace, the "why" of each session and what you can change.
- Missed session: what to do A missed session in your plan: what your AI coach decides depending on whether it was an easy run, a quality session or a long run, why it never compresses two sessions, and how to prevent rather than make up.
- Moving the race date Moving a race date in your plan: what your AI coach adjusts when the race is postponed or brought forward, the minimum taper it protects, and when it prefers to start a fresh plan.
- Choosing your plan variant Choosing your training plan variant, from 3 to 7 sessions a week: what each variant contains, how your AI coach recommends it from your last 30 Garmin days, and when to change.
- Pace zones on the watch The pace and HR ranges your AI coach sends to the Garmin watch: calculated from your actual VMA, different from Garmin's default zones, how to read alerts while running and when they change.
- Creating a workout in one sentence Creating a structured Garmin workout through conversation: what your AI assistant builds from one sentence, targets converted from your VMA, what it asks when an element is missing, and what it refuses.
- Analysing an activity How your AI coach analyses a Garmin activity: first kilometre, second half, evenness for a race; pace and HR per block for a session; and the numbers it deliberately ignores.
- Cardiac drift Cardiac drift explained: calculation over the two halves of a long run, the 5 and 10% thresholds, what it says about pace and hydration, and what your AI coach changes when it is too high.
- Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini? Honest comparison of Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini for running coaching with Running Workout: what is identical (tools, rules, data), what changes (installation, confirmations, links), and which to choose.
- Useful phrases for your coach Twenty useful phrases to drive your AI running coach: start coaching, run the weekly review, push the week to the watch, create or move a workout, move the race date.
Data and technical
4 articles- The athlete data the coach reads VMA, max heart rate, training load: where these values come from, how to check and correct them.
- What the connector can do, and its limits The list of actions available through conversation — create, schedule, move, analyze — and the limits Garmin imposes.
- Writing a workout to Garmin via API The three ways to send a structured workout to Garmin Connect: the official Training API, a FIT file, or a third-party bridge. What each allows.
- The FIT file explained What a Garmin FIT file contains, what it adds over the activity summary, and the cases where you actually need it.
Account, privacy and contact
3 articles- Contact support Contact Running Workout support for any question about the app, the Garmin connection, or the MCP connector.
- Privacy Policy Privacy policy for Running Workout by Euclide Ltd. Data collected, retention period, access and deletion rights — GDPR compliance and data protection.
- Legal Notice Legal notice and terms of use for Running Workout. Hosting, intellectual property, liability — Garmin training service operated by Euclide Ltd.
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