Use of Wearables: Tracking and Retraining in Endurance Runners

Isabel S. Moore, Richard W. Willy*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

30 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Wearable devices are ubiquitous among runners, coaches, and clinicians with an ever-increasing number of devices coming on the market. In place of gold standard measures in the laboratory, these devices attempt to provide a surrogate means to track running biomechanics outdoors. This review provides an update on recent literature in the field of wearable devices in runners, with an emphasis on criterion validity and usefulness in the coaching and rehabilitation of runners. Our review suggests that while enthusiasm should be tempered, there is still much for runners to gain with wearables. Overall, our review finds evidence supporting the use of wearables to improve running performance, track global training loads applied to the runner, and provide real-time feedback on running speed and run cadence. Case studies illustrate the use of wearables for the purposes of performance and rehabilitation.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)437-444
Number of pages8
JournalCurrent Sports Medicine Reports
Volume18
Issue number12
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2019

Cite this