Zwift’s iOS release includes an “Easter egg” (hidden feature) granting access to Zwift’s running mode which is still in pre-beta testing phase. With a Zwift Runners group forming on Facebook and runners seen on course regularly, our guess is Zwift running will be officially released within the next few months.
Getting Started
Want to start running on Zwift? All you need is Zwift on iOS and a sensor which outputs running pace. (Of course, a treadmill is also a good idea, although I tested it with an outdoor run and it worked fine there as long as you’re willing to leave Zwift open on your phone.)
Pace Sensors
I have tested Zwift running using Stryd and Milestone footpods and both work fine (reviews coming soon). Any Bluetooth foodpod should work. Some runners are using Wahoo’s “Gym Connect” module which can plug into certain treadmills and broadcast pace metrics. There are other footpods which can also be used–anything which broadcasts pace over Bluetooth should work.
Getting into Running Mode on Zwift iOS
Once you’ve got your iDevice and pace sensor, the only tricky part is getting Zwift iOS into running mode. This involves tapping repeatedly on a certain area of the pairing screen, which we have highlighted below (the areas are different for different devices, but the areas below work on our iPad Air and iPhone 6s respectively.)
You’ll know you’ve tapped the right place when the top-left box changes to “Run Speed” with a treadmill, as shown below:
Pairing screen in running mode
Tap the “Run Speed” box and Zwift will search for sensors putting out a pace signal via Bluetooth.
Search screen shows it has found my Milestone pod.
Milestone pod is paired and ready for running (the “No Signal” notice is a bug in Milestone’s beta firmware… the pod broadcasts just fine.)
Once you are paired up you are ready to go! Just click “OK”, choose a course, and start running.
Strava Weirdness
Strava is currently labeling Zwift runs as “Virtual Rides.” The folks at Strava say they’re working on a fix, but until then you either have to live with this or hack your fit file and manually upload it to Strava. (Some folks have uploaded their fit file to Garmin Connect, set it as a run, then downloaded the file or had it sync to Strava).
Here’s a note from Strava on this issue:
From our end, we are waiting for Zwift to offset the GPS data on all run files. This would mean that all GPS data is shifted by some degree so as not to match run segments. Then Zwift data can upload as a normal run. For now, we are enforcing all Zwift data to upload as Virtual Ride.
From this comment is sounds like Strava is having Zwift “shift” the GPS coordinates of runs so they don’t match up with Zwift ride routes.
A Note About Pace
One big difference between running and riding on Zwift currently is running speed is based off of your pace (regardless of terrain in game) while riding uses your power and computes speed based on in-game terrain.
So if your running pace is 7MPH, you will be running at 7MPH up Box Hill, down steep hills, and on flats. Because of this, you may find yourself passing riders on steeper climbs!
At $25 ($22 at some online establishments), it seems as the Milestone will be the cheapest avenue into the Zwift footpod market, no? The Stryd is $200 and the Polar is $60-70. Seems like a cheap enough way to get started.
Yeah, the price is right! They’re still pretty early in their development, though, so just realize you’ll probably run into some firmware bugs. And it won’t do all the extra stuff that something like Stryd can do. But it seems to work great as a basic treadmill pace footpod… again, I’m working on a review with more details.
I’ll be ordering one this weekend regardless. Thanks as always!
Ordered one as well just to try with Zwift. Read some of their blog posts online though and the rate of impact metric is pretty useful as well. Looking forward to trying it out!
http://www.milestonepod.com/blog/find-shoe-replacement-sweet-spot-milestonepod-diy-guide/
Do you know if Zwift will be releasing Zwift Running on the PC platform? I have my own treadmill with PC set up in front of it and i don’t own an ipad and i never want to own an ipad.
It seems like nobody want’s to reply to this, you are not the only one that has asked, and there is no response to either of you. Sometimes it seems like people building technology forget that Apple is not the only game in town, infact they don’t have the majority market share.
Given that Zwift is already available on Windows platforms, it’s inconceivable that the running sub-game won’t be included in the Windows client. But the vast majority of likely users will be employing a phone or tablet on their treadmills, which makes it entirely logical that the first releases will be on Android and iOS. Windows’ share of that market is tiny.
I have my PC connected to a projector that projects on the wall in front of my treadmill / trainer, but I suppose I am the oddball here.
No you are not an oddball.
What about swimming? It would be nice in Watopia world! 🙂
Just tried it with a Yahoo TickrX. Zwift recognises the device as a stride counter, but seems not to be able to interpret the output (though the HR side of it works fine). Shame – this would be a great match if it can be made to work.
I tweeted wahoo about this back in early December and I seem to think they are waiting on zwift for directions as they immediately retweeted zwift asking for an update.
No idea on eta’s.
Interesting. I’ll contact Zwift and Wahoo and see what they say.
There is an exploit that allows use of the TickrX – fire up the Wahoo app in running mode, connect the Tickr to it, then fire up Zwift, check that the TickrX is connected, then close Wahoo.
Garmin watch forerunner 920 ct does NOT work, even with Bluetooth capabilities
Sorry, mean Forerunner 920 XT watch
Indeed, Garmin forerunner watches are Bluetooth receivers not transmitters. The same is true for most, if not all, sports watches. You really need a device like a footpod that transmits pace data over Bluetooth. Note that the Garmin footpod uses Ant+ so that will not work.
Ideally at some point in time in the near future, “smart” treadmills (like Woodway’s Prosmart, hopefully) will be able to adjust the incline based on the route in Zwift. Users could fine tune their preference for the effect similar to how “trainer difficulty” is currently adjusted for cycling. Most treadmills won’t be able to do the decline… but some, including my 4Front can at least do a 3% decline. Then all the user/runner will need to do is control for speed/pace, either manually adjusting it or setting the treadmill to adjust it based on a parameter such as heart rate or wattage (if using a Stryd).
That would be pretty cool. Most of the technology exists and is roughly in place… just needs the platform to tie it all together. Unfortunately treadmill manufacturers are much slower at integrating new features vis-a-vis manufacturers of cycling trainers (and more risk averse with regards to third parties meddling with their speed and incline settings). It wouldn’t surprise me if TACX ends up leading this with their new treadmill… while Woodway and the others find themselves trying to play catch up, even with better physical treadmills.
Fingers crossed.
I don’t think raising the incline up and down would work well, since you can’t do downhills properly on a treadmill. In a normal race you will go a lot slower up a hill with a shorter stride length and much quicker down with a longer stride length. You’ll never make up the time you lose on an uphill so your overall speed will be slower than it should be over a race. Better would be the power idea as in cycling, where you go at a fast steady pace and the Zwift program adjusts your speed according to the changing incline. It would also stop any cheating.
Wow. Amazing feature. Even my Wahoo Tickr Run works pretty good in Zwift as a foot-pod and of course heart rate sensor too. Only one problem – Strava shows my Run as a Ride hope they will fix it soon.
They posted a workaround for this. You download your Zwift workout from their dashboard, then upload it to Garmin Connect, then download that workout as a .gpx or .tcx, and then reupload to Strava. You’ll have to delete the auto upload from Zwift to Strava first or it will recognize it as a duplicate effort. Worked for me short of one thing, the stamped time of the run was Watopia time and not my local time.
Strava now automatically shows my Zwift run yesterday as a Run. The only problem now is that it says I climbed over 1000m in less than an hour after I did just a bit more than one Volcano loop. I think it is being driven from the actual GPS elevation data which doesn’t match the Watopia landscape. Strava has me burning 1333 calories in 51min, but I only expended about half as much.
Is there any plans at all to make a pc version for running?
Cannot get Milestone cheap in Europe, only option is Polar for 70 EUR. Would be weird to buy it when I already have Garmin footpod and a great laptop connected to TV next to my treadmill.
You mention the Garmin Footpod but as far as I know it’s ANT+ only, isn’t it?
You’re right! Just removed it from my post.
Shouldn’t remove it without a comment ?I’m tearing hair off trying to get my Garmin Footpod (paired w/fenix3HR) to connect to Zwift. Just now after reading through the comments section I see that there is an issue with Ant+.
Just got my Milestonepod but Zwift is’t finding it. It’s synced to the milestone app. Do I need to do anything else?
Disconnect it from the Milestone app. And make sure you’ve updated its firmware.
Thanks Eric, I don’t see any option to update the firmware and I was trying to pair it to an ipad after I turned bluetooth off on my iphone to be sure the pod was disconnected.
I read today on the Zwift Running Facebook group that you need to email Milestone after you’ve paired the pod with your phone and they’ll send you some kind of a beta or test firmware.
Thanks Rick, I found something like that after my last posting. Email sent.
UPDATE: Even though I emailed Milestone around 6pm CST I received a reply with the firmware upgrade a few hours later and was up and “Running” on Zwift in no time. Everything seemed to be working fine on my very short walk/run in Zwift.
Kudos to Meir from Milestone and Eric for running this great blog.
Just did this and received my reply in less than 20 minutes. Pod is updating now.
I got my firmware update within 24 hours (it was the weekend and support still replied to me overnight). My first run ended over 1-mile short of what my treadmill said, but the Milestone App let me calibrate it after-the-fact. I haven’t run again since but hopefully calibration factor applies to Zwift as well.
Thanks for the article, made the 70 minute treadmill run a lot more enjoyable.
With a stryd footpod there’s a resonable difference between treadmill pace (~8:10), raw stryd/Zwift pace (~9:05) & garmin/scaled stryd pace (~8:50).
Nb. The run used 120MB of cellular data, and 38% of the iPad mini (2) charge.
Hi,
I tested this morning Zwift for runner. It’s seems promising but the most important feature, running speed, is inacurate.
I’m using a Garming FootPod bought in 2012 (model:01397) and the speed of my treadmill (and my speed feeling) is constantly faster than what the pod report.
For example, 8kph is reported as 5kph, 10kph as 6kph and 15kph as 10kph. This is quite annoying.
Would anyone have noticed the same thing?
Fred
There’s an imperial to metric conversion issue going on with the latest version of running. Sounds like an update will be out within a week or so to fix it. It appears to be reporting numbers in miles, but calling them km!
One thing I notice..all the runners have compression/lycra cycling shorts like duathletes and triathletes. Are they now considered de rigueur or can we choose to run in ordinary loose runner’s shorts? I don’t see Mo Farah in this gear!
Also, shouldn’t runners be on the opposite side of the road, facing rider traffic? I prefer to look fellow Zwifters in the eye before they run me over.
Not in races where there are a group of people running and certainly not if there is a pedestrian lane for you to run on, on the right hand side of the road…some elite runners go as fast as touring cyclists e.g. 13mph. It is recommended in the UK for safety that groups of runners should keep the same side as cars and cyclists. It is so much easier and safer for cars to lay up behind runners and wait for an opportunity to pass. In a car, if you meet a group of runners coming at you on the same side of the road, you have nowhere to go. Stop and they have to go round you causing even more danger. Personally, even on my own, I never run on the same side of the road as oncoming traffic. You have no view round a bend. If you are a runner in the USA going round a blind left hand bend on the left hand side of the road, with no verge, and you meet a car coming at you at speed, good luck to you! That’s happened to me…never again.
While I generally would agree with races (on non-closed roads)…
If I am a solo runner running the same direction as traffic and am just around a blind corner, then I leave all accident avoidance to a hope that the car behind me (coming around a blind corner) will see me… as I would certainly not see them.
There may not be an obvious fully safe option here, but my personal preference is to still run facing traffic. I mostly run in areas I have some familiarity and have to be aware of surroundings and places where jumping into the shoulder is not an option if needed.
Fair comment. There is no completely safe option for runners to take round a bend. However if a car is coming at you round a blind bend at 40mph and you are running towards it at 10 mph the combined speed of impact would be 50 mph and there would be significantly less reaction time and braking distance for the car driver, increasing the chance of a fatal collision. If you are running away from the car at 10mph the combined speed would be only 30mph, allowing significantly more braking distance for the car. So a collision would be less likely and hopefullyt a lot less serious. Of course, you also rely on the sound of an approaching car coming from behind or from ahead and at night the headlights will light up the road..adding to the safety margin.
I’m wondering if, ideally, you would prefer to cycle into motor traffic as well…and if not, what would be the reason…just speed of travel or breaking the law? Is there not an equal chance of being mowed down from behind while on a bike as when running on foot? in the end you have to trust the driver. As bikes could be going 40mph, going round a bend facing oncoming traffic would be even more lethal, with a combined speed of 80mph if the car driver was nice enough to go as slow as 40mph!
I agree that local knowledge is important and along certain stretches of road I do sometimes switch and swap sides to find the safest option. Coming to the brow of a hill, though, would be very dangerous facing the traffic. Better that the approaching traffic has a view of you from behind as no view at all from ahead. I use every bit of relective Hi Viz I can lay my hands on at night, though preferably running only on sidewalks in the dark.
I am using the Treadtracker – bluetooth smart rollie wheel thing – fits under treadmill. its by the guys from runsocial, but works great for me in zwift too. as close to 100% accuracy as you will get as its not doing some stride length estimate thing that the footpods do. my tickerx was always all over the place with pace. this is great so far in Zwift running – not cheapest but most awesome. http://store.runsocial.com/products/treadtracker – Marcus
Excellent Marcus! That seems to be the best way to run with the max. accuracy! I have to check if this Treadtracker fits below my “Run Excite 700” from Technogym…. I never see that it’s open below the treadmill…
Which brand of treadmill do you have?
Swift recognizes your bluetooth Treadtacker like he recognizes a bluetooth Footpod?
Looks great…
😉
Hi all. Does anyone know if it works with a TomTom Spark watch set in treadmill mode? Thaks
I bought the Milestone pod and initially it worked 25% of the time, now it works 0% of the time. The heart rate monitor I use (Tickr) works fine so it isn’t my ipad’s bluetooth that is the problem, it seems to be squarely isolated with the hardware of the pod. I’ve been in touch wiht the milestone people who are great at responding in timely but sadly unhelpful way till now. I guess you get what you pay for.
Hi Coley, As you know, Meir has been in communication with you for some time. Please understand that our real time FW is BETA, and with beta comes glitches. But our beta testers are the key to making a great final FW product. We have a newer beta version than you have now, if you can please ask Meir for an update.
I am trying to run my zwift off my ipad2. It says incompatible device. What can I do?
All you can do is… get a newer iPad! Sorry about the bad news.
Zwift for iOS requires iOS 9.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone SE, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPad Air, iPad Air Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad mini 2, iPad mini 2 Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Air 2, iPad Air 2 Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad mini 3, iPad mini 3 Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad mini 4, iPad mini 4 Wi-Fi + Cellular, 12.9-inch iPad Pro, 12.9-inch iPad Pro Wi-Fi + Cellular, 9.7-inch iPad Pro, 9.7-inch iPad Pro Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad (5th generation), iPad Wi-Fi + Cellular (5th generation), and iPod touch (6th generation).
When will this be available for Windows or android?
It’s been available on Windows for… over a year. Zwift doesn’t run on Android… yet.