Cadence IQ

CadenceIQ — Run by your stride, not just your watch. Speed and cadence only tell half the story. What really shapes your running economy is how far you travel with every step — your stride length — and whether it fits YOUR body. CadenceIQ turns that into a single, glanceable color while you run. WHAT IT DOES CadenceIQ is a data field that calculates your relative stride length in real time: it takes your stride length (derived from speed and cadence) and divides it by your height, so the result is personal to you instead of a generic number. That ratio is mapped to four color zones, and the entire field background changes color so you can read your form at a glance — no squinting at decimals mid-run. THE FOUR STRIDE ZONES • Zone 1 — Dark green: short, conservative stride. Common when warming up, climbing, or running easy. • Zone 2 — Green: relaxed, efficient stride for steady aerobic running. • Zone 3 — Gold: strong, powerful stride typical of tempo and threshold efforts. • Zone 4 — Red: long, aggressive stride seen at high speed — efficient for some, an overstriding warning for others. The big number in the center shows your current stride-to-height ratio as a percentage, so you always see exactly where you sit within the zone. WHY RELATIVE STRIDE A 1.60 m and a 1.95 m runner moving at the same pace are doing very different things with each step. By dividing stride length by your height (read automatically from your Garmin user profile), CadenceIQ normalizes the metric so the zones mean the same thing for everyone. Watch how your stride opens up as you accelerate, and learn to hold an efficient stride instead of just chasing cadence. RECORDED TO YOUR FIT FILE CadenceIQ doesn't just show data — it saves it. The active zone is written to every record in your activity FIT file, and the total time spent in each of the four zones is stored in the session summary (Z1, Z2, Z3, Z4, in seconds). After your run you can analyze your stride distribution in Garmin Connect or any FIT-compatible platform and track how your form evolves over weeks of training. BUILT TO FIT ANY LAYOUT The field adapts automatically: • Round and rectangular displays, full-screen or partial layouts. • Font size scales to the space available, staying readable even in a small one-third field, and respects the curved edges of round watches. • Foreground color flips automatically (dark text on gold, light text elsewhere) for maximum contrast in sunlight. SMOOTH, STABLE READINGS Raw speed and cadence are jittery. CadenceIQ applies a weighted moving average that favors your most recent steps, so the zone reflects your real effort instead of flickering on every GPS wobble or arm swing. CLEAR STATUS WHEN DATA ISN'T READY • "---" while you are stopped or just starting, before there is enough movement to classify. • "??" with a short note if your height isn't set in your profile — add it once in your Garmin settings and the zones come to life. HOW TO USE IT 1. Make sure your height is set in your Garmin user profile. 2. Add CadenceIQ to any data screen of your favorite running activity. 3. Start running. Watch the color and percentage respond as your stride changes with pace and terrain. 4. After the activity, review your time-in-zone in Garmin Connect. WHO IT'S FOR Runners who want to understand and improve their form — from beginners learning not to overstride, to experienced athletes fine-tuning stride length across easy, tempo, and interval work. No subscriptions, no account, no extra app. Just an honest, personal view of how you move. Add CadenceIQ and start running by your stride.