The London Marathon: A Global Record For Running

“We’re super-excited to be alongside runners right now, meeting the moment with London when running is experiencing a global boom,” said Julz Arney, senior director of fitness technologies and Fitness+. “People are lacing up who never would have called themselves runners, and marathons are aspirational in a way nothing else is. That’s exactly why we're partnering with the London Marathon. It's the most in-demand race on the planet. It's inclusive, it's full of community, it's buzzing with energy and no matter what kind of runner you are, London is high on everyone's list.”

There were 1.1 million applications to take part in the latest London Marathon, a world record, which may have contributed to Apple thinking now is the right time to get involved. “You simply can’t find a bigger, more exciting expression of it being a big moment in running than the London Marathon," she added. "Also, it’s personal for us. So many of our customers are out there running with Apple Watch on their wrists, with AirPods in, with Apple Music going, and we wanted to be there alongside them, cheering them on, right in the middle of it.”

“The beauty of the London Marathon is the sheer range of it,” she went on. “Daddy Pig from Peppa Pig is running, Paula Radcliffe, one of the greatest marathon runners, has her podcast. That spectrum, from pure fun to elite performance, that's the scale we play at Apple, too, when it comes to fitness and running specifically. And so, I think that's why we feel like this partnership just fits right now.”

Apple believes the Apple Watch Ultra 3, of all its products, is a good fit for the marathon because of its bright display and super-accurate GPS, which offers greater accuracy than many rivals. But as Eric Jue, director of Apple Watch product marketing, told me, there’s more to it than that.

“So with Ultra, we took what has been the standard in this kind of technology for decades, which is the L1 signal,” he explained. “And we added a second newer frequency, or constellation of satellites, called L5. That L5 technology really helps in challenging environments. For instance, if you're running through the heart of London, you've got giant buildings around you, what ends up happening is those signals get reflected off of glass and steel buildings. But L5 gives us a better signal and better fidelity, and we can use that to then make sure that we're getting the most accurate GPS. More than that, if you were to get into a dead zone, like a tunnel, we can actually predict the trajectory that you're on. There’s a lot of other things happening in the background to make sure that we're giving you the best experience with GPS.”

“We also have the benefit of really accurate Apple Maps data,” Jue added. So if you’re running on the sidewalk, Apple Maps can make sure it keeps you on the sidewalk. “We do some really smart matching of the data we’re getting to kind of give you that accurate map,” Jue explained.

Pro Tips: Tapering, Training Load, Sleep Tracking And Playlists

With the London Marathon just days away, runners will have plenty on their minds. Sleep is an important part, it seems. Apple Fitness+ trainer and global run community figure Cory Wharton-Malcolm has run many marathons, so has been in this position and is in a great position to give tips.

“At this stage, the most important thing for any runner to do is trust your training, all of the hard work has been done, so make sure you have a good time,” he said. “Make sure you’re getting lots and lots of sleep. But to elaborate specifically about the Apple Watch and the products that can help you, it's metrics like training load which can really help with your tapering. Sleep tracking is important. You can build custom workouts to make sure that you're staying in the right heart zone, and also pace alerts, which is something that people may not think about. It also quite nice to be able to build out Apple Music playlists that are relaxing. So you're not pushed to run incredibly fast.”

“You can get everything that you need for a marathon from Apple Watch,” Julz told me, whether that’s checking metrics in the Vitals app each morning, monitoring your sleep score and so on.

Of course, not every wearer will have an Apple Watch Ultra 3. Many will have the lightest, most affordable model, the Apple Watch SE 3. “There’s going to be tons of people that will run in our SE3 or Series 11,” Jue said. “They're very capable watches that provide a lot of the features that these runners will need. The SE3 is such a popular watch for us because it is the most approachable price point, but it really does have a lot the software features like being able to track your metrics. Sleep tracking, health features and tracking stuff is all there. And even the battery life on SE3 is good enough for a marathon.”

Of course, there are rival products which are even lighter than Apple’s smartwatches, such as small-screen fitness trackers or even smart rings such as the Oura.

Inclusivity And The Science Of Movement

Finally, Dr. Sumbul Desai, Apple’s vice president of health and fitness, summed things up neatly. “We’re proud to be part of the London Marathon, an event that celebrates what running is all about: movement, community and inclusivity.”

Dr. Desai has talked about movement and its importance a lot over the years. “At Apple, we know movement is one of the most powerful things you can do for your health, both physically and mentally. Running is one of the most popular ways to be active, and is a favorite of mine. With Apple products and services, including Apple Watch, we’re always innovating to make sure we're there for runners of every level with science-based features, during their training, race day and beyond.”