𝐃𝐨 𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬?
Running power meters provide numbers showing how hard you’re working when you run – your effort.
𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭?
No.
Running power meters provide numbers that 𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡 your effort.
𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬?
No.
Running power meters provide usable information … as long as the power numbers are repeatable and valid:
🔹 Repeatable? The same effort under the same conditions gives the same result.
🔹 Valid? The numbers are highly correlated to an existing ‘gold standard’.
At least 10 independent studies have tested the Stryd footpod, finding that the footpod produces repeatable numbers that are highly correlated with O2 consumption (a gold standard for measuring exercise energy consumption).
Wrist-based power has not been independently validated. However, I ran my own (N=1) study during 2024 and 2025, comparing wrist-based power from Garmin, Coros and Apple to power numbers from a Stryd footpod. I found they produce repeatable numbers that, for recreational runners, are correlated to the Stryd footpod.
𝐒𝐨 𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬?
Far from it.
You can use running power numbers to measure your effort when you run.
And once you can measure your effort, that’s when the real magic begins.
𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆 𝑹𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓?
For more information on independent testing of the Stryd footpod, see Steve Palladino’s article Stryd Power and VO2
For more information on my N=1 study into wrist-based power, see Running with Power – 2G+AW+COROS
Do running power meters produce meaningful numbers?
