Adding your next event to your Garmin device is surprisingly powerful—learn why with this guide.
Garmin’s Primary Race widget is much more than just a simple countdown to your next big event.
Using it unlocks a personalized and dynamic training plan designed to prepare you for the start line in optimal condition, whether you’re gearing up for your 20th marathon or your first 5K.
It can also instill confidence that you’re on the right track, providing dynamic projections of your race time along with your selected goal.
Below, we’ll explain how to set up the Primary Race glance on Garmin and follow the plan from your watch, as well as which Garmin watches currently offer the feature.
Which Garmin watches have the Primary Race widget?
- Forerunner 165 series
- Forerunner 255 series/265 series/570 series
- Forerunner 955/965/970
- Enduro 2/3
- Fenix 7 & 7 Pro series
- Fenix 8 series
- Epix (Gen 2) and Epix Pro (Gen 2) series
- Venu 3 series
How does Primary Race glance work?
The training plan that arrives once you’ve set up your race (as detailed below) is specifically tailored to you and continually adapts based on your training.
Your Garmin VO2 max estimate, training history, training load, running miles, and the number of long-distance runs are all considered in the plan, as well as the accompanying race prediction.
As with most metrics tracked by Garmin, the Primary Race projections and training suggestions also become more accurate over time spent recording activity with your watch.
Using the Primary Race glance to train smarter
Setting up a primary race is straightforward, but you will need Garmin Connect handy to get started. Follow the steps below to complete all the requirements.
Step 1: Find and add your next event
To get started with the Primary Race widget, you’ll need to fire up Garmin Connect either on your iOS/Android device or your desktop.
The next steps depend on which version of Garmin Connect you’re using, but there are a couple of routes to try out.
The easiest is to simply open ‘Calendar’ from the bottom set of tabs, tap a date and then ‘Add event’ through the triple-dot icon in the top-right.
Or, you can find ‘Training & Planning’ from the sidebar menu, then ‘Races & Events’ and follow the steps to either find your event or create it manually.
Finding your event through Garmin is our recommended option, as doing so will mean most details have already been entered, such as the start time, course, and destination.
Step 2: Set your goal
Garmin allows you to either set your goal as simply finishing the race, or you can aim for a specific time.
If you do add a time goal, you’ll then be able to see how the time estimation compares during training.
Step 3: Sync to your Garmin watch
If you’ve established the event in your Garmin Connect calendar, select it and then tap on the triple-dot menu in the top-right corner.
Here, you’ll have the option to send to a specific device, and then you can manually sync by tapping the watch icon on the My Day screen.
Once this is complete, the Primary Race glance will automatically populate at the top of your My Day list on the watch.
In it, you’ll see a countdown, a race day weather forecast and a race prediction that charts your trend over the last four weeks.
Step 3: Begin training for your race
Once the above is all set up, Garmin’s Firstbeat Analytics engine will leverage the details in Primary Race to power daily workout suggestions.
The plan will be broken down into several stages, which include ‘Base’, ‘Build’, ‘Peak’, ‘Taper’, and ‘Recovery’ phases, outlining when exactly they’ll take place in the build-up.
These daily suggestions will appear as part of your Morning Report, and, like with most Garmin features, wearing your watch around the clock only adds to the reliability of the Race Widget training plans.
