Global Running Day: How Smartwatch Makers Are Making Running And Fitness Inclusive For Women

Some of the smartwatch makers are providing actionable insights into menstrual tracking and introducing "super lightweight" smartwatches to make a difference for female runners and fitness enthusiasts.

Garmin's menstrual cycle tracking aims to empower women to monitor their health better and optimise training.

Source : Garmin

From temperature-based ovulation insights for menstrual cycle tracking that Samsung introduced this year to Apple Watch's advanced monitoring that flags abnormal period symptoms, smartwatches have come a long way in making wellness and fitness more "inclusive". Fitness programmes, mental health awareness sessions and running groups became more inclusive after the pandemic. Smartwatch and activity tracker manufacturing giant Garmin and homegrown brands Boult and Noise intend to encourage more people to get into the activity of running and fitness by introducing running-centric features and launching "super lightweight" smartwatches to make a difference for female runners.

As the world celebrates Global Running Day today (June 7), we speak to Garmin Running Club's Coach Gagan Arora and Boult's co-founder Varun Gupta and find out how they are making health tracking and running inclusive for women. New Delhi-headquartered Boult was initially a manufacturer of True Wireless Stereo (TWS) products we forayed into the smartwatch category last year, has a dedicated running sports mode in some of its smartwatch models along with insightful data that encourages users to monitor their progress and improve their performance based on the collected data. Domestic brand Noise recognises the physical and psychological benefits of adopting a healthy lifestyle and designs products aimed at users across demography, age and gender.

Similarly, US-based wearables maker Garmin has a range of smart wearables with women-centric features such as menstrual cycle tracking that aims to empower women to monitor their health better and optimise training. 

"The Menstrual Cycle Tracking feature on Garmin Connect app allows a user to track their period, log symptoms, and get educational health insights.
With the Garmin Run Club, we strive to create an inclusive environment where everyone, regardless of gender, can pursue their running goals with confidence," Gagan Arora, Garmin Run Club Coach told ABP Live.

Olathe, Kansas-headquartered Garmin, which also produces consumer, professional aviation and marine devices that make use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) for navigational assistance has an array of smartwatches specifically designed for women with better feel, style, fit and holistic health tracking.

Garmin makes "S" variant in many smartwatch models for women. Some of their smartwatches designed for women include Garmin Forerunner 265S, Garmin Venu 2S, Garmin Venu Sq 2 and Garmin Lily, among others. Keeping in mind the comfort of a female runner, these smartwatch models feature comparatively smaller dial sizes and can fit comfortably on the wrists of most women.

Asked about how tech advancements support beginners (especially women) when it comes to running, Arora explained: "Beginners need motivation'. The idea is to get your first KM run under your belt without stopping is a great motivator for a beginner and getting the exact time/pace/optimal heart rate are key things that can give further motivation and new targets to any armature athlete."

Meanwhile, 'professionals require precision'. "Competitive athletes or even experienced amateurs get really into the sport to beat their personal best and need to dig deeper into their cadence, stride length, vertical oscillation, exact time spent in aerobic and anaerobic zones etc. There aren’t many options available to give you that precision and is a complete running watch like the Garmin Forerunner 265 and Garmin Forerunner 965 series that are specifically designed for athletes," Arora added.

Homegrown brand Boult intends to create a balance between innovation and consumer demands. It focuses on manufacturing lightweight smartwatches in interesting colours.

"We have introduced a range of products that are dedicated to women fitness enthusiasts. We found out that women like interesting colours such as candy cane and blue moss and we have released products in these colourways. We understand that running long distances can be physically demanding, so we utilise advanced materials and engineering techniques to create lightweight wearables so that women can enjoy running," noted Varun Gupta, Co-Founder, Boult.

The domestic wearables maker is currently focusing on expanding its presence in India. It is aiming to localise 70 per cent of raw materials by the end of 2023 and increase women’s participation in our domestic manufacturing workforce.

According to Noise's Co-FOunder Amit Khatri, the company's products are designed to cater to the varied lifestyle requirements of all users across demography, age and gender.

"Noise’s versatile Health Suite offers a range of tracking features such as step count, calories burned, heart rate, SpO2 level, body score and sleeping patterns with a detailed analysis of these metrics and how your fitness regimen is helping you optimise and level up your game," Khatri added.