Garmin Connect app to get DOT RACER

It looks like the DOT RACER feature from Garmin Connect web is about to be released on the Garmin Connect smartphone app.

I couldn’t even remember seeing this old feature on the web dashboard…but it is there now, so maybe that was relatively recently added too?

Note: Dot Racer was an old Garmin feature that was retired when the Connect App was launched about 11 years ago.

What is Garmin DOT RACER?

Garmin DOT RACER is a comparison feature in Garmin Connect that lets you compare between 2 and 4 workouts. These can be your own completed workouts or those of other athletes who are in your connections.

I’ll show you the main elements of this feature in a moment, but to summarise there are two key areas; 1) workout selection & 2) workout comparison. These are both ‘advanced’ features, for example, in the workout selection you can narrow down a potentially huge list of workouts to those that meet your preferred criteria such as sport type, distance range, time range and more besides. Then, when it comes to comparing them, you can compare lap details, summary details as well as a nifty ‘workout comparison player’ that lets you see how your position/DOT on the map compares to the DOT(s) representing the other workouts as they ‘race’ each other…hence the name of the feature: DOT RACER!

I remember seeing a few triathlon race results companies offer a similar feature a few years ago however those were always based on the average speed of you and your friends for each leg of a triathlon; the Garmin DOT RACER feature is much more advanced and is also based on the correct time/GPS position.

How to Use Garmin Dot Racer

DOT Racer doesn’t seem to have made it to my Connect app yet so here is how it works on the web

RECOMMENDED READING: Garmin Insider

Selecting The Workouts to Compare

On the ‘All Activities’ screen,  you can easily select up to 4 workouts after narrowing down the list of those selected. Here I chose 5km runs from this year between 19:00 & 20:00 (the end of this article has detailed instructions)

In the past I have never tagged my races as ‘Races’ and, if I had, this tool is a great way to quickly find & compare them

Comparing Workouts

You can compare anything with anything. So the workouts don’t have to follow exactly the same route…indeed, the routes can be totally different.

Here I have 3 similar workouts of some bike laps of my nearby Park – Richmond Park, which is one of the most popular areas for cycling in the UK as evidenced by the popularity of some of many of the STRAVA segments you will find there. The DOT RACER tool works well on these laps of Richmond Park as lap times are affected by many factors like wind & traffic. Providing you start pedalling as soon as you have hit the start button for each workout, then you can see how your dots jockey for position throughout the route – perhaps one dot slows down in the upwind section and you will see how they all slow down when going up the short hills. You can even adjust the playback speed.

 

On the image above you can see the high-level summary information is compared for each workout and there is MUCH more data available than what I have shown here that also includes elevation, maximum values, cycling/running dynamics and more besides. Simple pace/speed comparisons are also available for the individual laps.

The summary information can also include weather details as the following image shows, although perhaps humidity (air density) might be interesting for Garmin to add for cycling activities.

Take Out

This is due on Garmin Connect mobile any minute now. I am on v4.41, so I expect this will come next week on v4.5 after the Easter Holiday.

This is a good feature that’s generally well-executed, although the comparison doesn’t work on Firefox. It’s a great tool that can be used to cover a wide range of comparisons and it’s one that can be used relatively easily compared to some other 3rd party tools whose comparisons are more powerful but complex to use. Garmin has struck a nice balance here. Enjoy!

 

Further Instructions & Info

The web version of Garmin Connect allows you to compare activities you have recorded and uploaded to your account. 

To compare your personal activities in Garmin Connect:

1. Sign in to Garmin Connect Web from a web browser
2. Select Activities from the expanded navigation bar on the left
3. Select All Activities
4. Choose up to 4 activities by hovering over and clicking on them.  Chosen activities will turn dark grey
5. Select the blue Compare button  towards the top of the page

To compare your activities against your connections

1. Sign in to Garmin Connect Web from a web browser
2. Select Connections from the expanded navigation menu on the left
3. Select an activity from the connection’s timeline that you want to compare
4. From the upper right corner select the gear icon 
5. From the pop up select Compare
6. Choose up to 4 activities by hovering over and clicking on them.  Chosen activities will turn dark grey
7. Select the blue Compare button  towards the top of the page