Distance Estimation
If you’re using a treadmill without Bluetooth functionality, Runna will automatically estimate your distance based on the workout’s time and set speed.
For example, if your workout is set at 10 km/h and you run for 1 hour, we’ll estimate that you’ve covered 10 km.
In reality, the treadmill belt may take a few moments to accelerate, so you might actually travel slightly less distance (e.g., 9.9 km). Since treadmill speeds vary and we don’t want you to appear off pace due to belt acceleration, we use the planned distance to calculate your average speed - ensuring your stats reflect your effort.
Time Adjustments
When you complete a workout on a treadmill with full FTMS, Runna processes your treadmill data throughout the session to account for the acceleration and deceleration of the belt, which can vary between machines.
Without these adjustments, your average pace would include the time the treadmill takes to speed up or slow down. On short, fast laps, this could cause lap pace readings to be up to 15 seconds/km off your target. To prevent this, Runna assumes you reach your target speed immediately at the start of each step, eliminating the effect of acceleration and deceleration. Since the time to speed up is offset by the time to slow down, your overall effort balances out over the workout.
For a visual representation of what this looks like at the start of your workout, see the accompanying graph below. After processing, the final average lap time aligns with the treadmill speed; without processing, you would see a clear deviation from your target pace.
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