Glossary
Best efforts
Your fastest recorded stretch over a standard distance, found anywhere inside a run. Inertial tracks 4 of them: 1 km, 5K, 10K and half marathon.
What it is
A rolling search through your run for the fastest continuous stretch of a standard distance. It does not need to start at the beginning.
If you ran 12 km (7.5 mi) and the quickest 5 km inside it took 24:10, that is your 5K best effort for the day.
| Distance | What it usually reflects |
|---|---|
| 1 km | a hard interval or a finishing surge |
| 5K | a parkrun, or a tempo block |
| 10K | a race or a long tempo |
| half marathon | almost always an actual race |
What it is not
It is not a race result. A best effort found mid-run started from a rolling start, on your route, measured by your watch. A race is a standing start on a certified course with an official clock.
It is also not comparable across watches, because the distance each one thinks you covered differs slightly.
What moves it
- Racing. The obvious one.
- Where you put the effort. A fast finish sets 1 km bests easily.
- GPS quality. A noisy trace can flatter or spoil a best.
- The route. Downhill stretches produce bests that do not transfer.
When to ignore it
Ignore a best effort set on a downhill or with a tailwind. It will not repeat.
Ignore small changes. A two-second improvement over 5 km is inside the measurement error of the watch.