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The Garmin Forerunner 970 is stacked with more sensors, metrics, and training tools than most runners will ever touch. It’s an excellent watch, but it’s not immediately as user friendly as it really could be. Out of the box, this is the kind of watch set up to track virtually everything—which could lead to information overload for most people. When you’re drowning in data screens you don’t need, you might be leaving real performance insights on the table.
I’ve previously shared my favorite race-day features available on this watch, like Auto Laps and Garmin’s PacePro. I’ve also shared my experience using the Forerunner 970’s coveted Running Economy metric. While I love these features, they’re pretty obvious selling points. Below are five underrated tips and tricks I wish I knew when I first unboxed my 970, turning this from a “watch that tracks my runs” into a “watch that actually helps me run better.”
Reprogram your Garmin 970 buttons for the workouts you actually do
Like with most Garmin watches, the 970’s buttons are customizable, and it’s worth messing around with the defaults. If you’re a regular interval trainer, try assigning your lap button to also trigger auto-pause. It sounds small, but it eliminates the fumbling that happens during that exhausting last lap when you still have to manually stop and restart the clock.
To customize your shortcuts, hold the Up button from the watch face to open the menu. Navigate to Watch Settings > System > Shortcuts, pick a button combination (like Hold Down or Start + Down), and select the feature you want to assign.
For instance, I love running in the rain, so I decided to assign the combo of “Hold Start + Up” to go to “Touch Screen Toggle,” which allows me to quickly lock my screen in inclement weather.
Another favorite shortcut is to have the Down button toggle to “Do Not Disturb.” The default would be holding the LIGHT button, which opens the Controls Menu, and then selecting the Do Not Disturb icon—which is just a few too many steps than I want to deal with when I’m in a “do not disturb” mood.
Similarly, I recommend stripping down your data screens. Your Forerunner 970 can show you a lot of information, but sometimes less really is more. Mid-interval, pushing an intense pace, your brain does not have the bandwidth to process eight fields of numbers. Build your own custom screens instead. Pace, heart rate, and cadence is plenty for most workouts. Everything else (elevation, calories, lap count) can live on a secondary screen you glance at during recovery jogs, not hard efforts. You can go into your Garmin Connect app, or you can customize directly on your watch:
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Press the START/STOP button and select the activity profile you want to edit.
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Press and hold UP (or swipe down/up) to open the Activity Settings.
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Select Data Screens.
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Choose the screen you want to edit and select it.
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Select Layout to choose the number of data fields you want on the screen (e.g., 1 to 8 fields).
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Select Data Fields to change what metric displays in a specific box
Don’t rush your Strava upload from the Garmin 970 right after a run
Every runner I know has had to grit their teeth through syncing issues between Garmin and Strava. If you’re the type to hit “sync” the second you stop your watch (like I know I am), here’s my tip: Slow down. Give Garmin Connect two to three minutes to finish processing the activity file before it pushes to Strava. That processing window is when Garmin finalizes GPS smoothing and segment matching. When you upload too early, you can end up with jagged pace spikes or missed segment credit that never seems to correct itself.
Along the same lines, if you train with TrainingPeaks, it’s worth setting up the Garmin Connect integration so your “Training Stress Score” pulls in automatically after each run. Instead of manually logging TSS after the fact, your training plan can adjust according to a more automated feedback loop.
Give Garmin plenty of time to actually learn your body
Lactate threshold, race predictor, running economy—these are major selling points on the 970, but none of these numbers are trustworthy on day one. They’re generated from algorithms that need real data points to calibrate, not just your resting heart rate and a few easy jogs. Run at least two to three hard, varied workouts (think: a tempo run, an interval session, a hilly long run) with all the auto-detect features enabled. Give it a few weeks before you start working with any of its estimates.
And for the 970 especially, make sure you turn on “Performance Condition” for every run, not just races. It gives you a live read on how your body is performing relative to your baseline fitness. This number ticks up or down in the first ten minutes of a run and keeps adjusting. On an easy day, it tells you if you’re more fatigued than you feel. On a workout day, it tells you early whether today is a “push it” day or a “back off” day.
And when it is a “back off” day, you really should listen to your watch. Almost every runner runs their “easy” days too hard. My top tip here is to use Garmin’s virtual pacer to keep your easy days honest. To do this, turn on the virtual partner or Garmin Coach pacing guidance for recovery runs specifically, and let the watch hold you to a pace instead of your ego.
Use “Record Only” mode on the Garmin 970 as a breadcrumb trail on unfamiliar routes
If you’re heading out on a trail route you don’t know well, you might be tempted to rely on full navigation mode, which burns through battery fast with the constant GPS recalculation. Instead, use Record Only mode to lay down a “breadcrumb trail” of where you’ve been. If you get turned around, you can retrace your own path back without needing turn-by-turn guidance the whole way. It’s a lighter-touch safety net that doesn’t cost you nearly as much battery.
And when it comes to battery, think about protecting it from degradation the same way you protect your muscles during training. Full charge cycles accelerate battery degradation. So, during normal training blocks, cap your charges around 80% instead of topping off to 100% every time.
On top of that, if you’re not racing or doing a hard session, turn off Always-On GPS for easy runs, and save the higher-precision tracking for workouts and races where accuracy actually matters. Your watch will hold its battery health longer, and you won’t be scrambling to charge it the morning of a big effort.
Build a negative-split workout into your Garmin 970 to control your pace
If you have a goal race on the calendar, don’t leave your pacing strategy to feel. Luckily, the beauty of your 970 is that it’s a true training partner—one that gives you the power to control your plan. I recommend building a custom workout in advance with your actual planned splits programmed in (perhaps the first half at your target pace, and the second half a few seconds faster per mile). Send this workout to your watch, and it’ll cue you at each transition automatically. It’s a simple hack, but it’s one of the most effective ways to stop yourself from doing what almost every runner does on race day: going out too hot and paying for it in the final miles.
