Discover the Hidden Gems of SuuntoPlus

The Suunto Race 2 is an impressive watch that offers many of the same features as pricier Garmins at a lower price. As the bigger brother of the Suunto Run, it boasts capabilities that its predecessor doesn’t have, such as the ability to access the SuuntoPlus store. This treasure trove of features allows you to download apps and integrations, making your watch do more than just the default features.

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One of the most useful features of the SuuntoPlus store is the ability to download offline maps. This is particularly useful for outdoor enthusiasts who want to navigate without relying on their phone’s GPS. To download maps, tap the watch icon at the upper left of the screen and scroll down to Offline maps. You can choose from various selections, such as state-by-state maps in the U.S. Once you have the maps on your watch, you can view them without starting an activity or navigate during a run.

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Learning to Use SuuntoPlus

Even though I knew SuuntoPlus was a big plus of Suunto’s higher-end sports watches, it took me a long time to realize just what a treasure trove it was. It’s not super clear how to actually use it or what it’s for, so here are the basics. First, you have to find the SuuntoPlus apps you want. Tap on your watch icon, as you did above, and scroll down to My SuuntoPlus sports apps. If you know the name of the app you want, search for it here; otherwise, browse around.

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To use a sports app, you’ll need to select an activity, like a run. Before starting the activity, scroll down and you’ll see a menu called SuuntoPlus. From here, you can select up to three sports apps to run during your activity. Each app will have its own screen in the carousel of data screens. (To move between these screens during the activity, press the dial.)

Setting More Accurate Zones with a Threshold Test

If you’ve ever thought your heart rate zones might be incorrect (and they probably are), there’s a SuuntoPlus app that can help. Search for the one called Anaerobic Threshold, and follow the instructions. But be warned: they will lead you through a tough workout. After a warmup, you’ll be asked to run as fast as you can for 30 minutes. At the end, the app will tell you the heart rate that seems to correspond with your lactate threshold.

Now here’s the cool part: on your watch, go into Settings, then Training, then Intensity zones. Choose either the Default HR zones for all sports (what I’d recommend if you aren’t sure) or choose a sport under the advanced setting. Here, you can set the boundaries between your zones. The boundary at the bottom of zone 5 (and thus the top of zone 4) should be set to the number you got from the threshold test. If you’d like to tweak the other zones, Suunto has more information on how to calculate numbers for the other zone boundaries.

Using the Cadence Coach to Work on Your Running Form

Cadence is one of the easiest aspects of running form to change on purpose. Cadence means how many steps you take per minute (either per leg, or total). The quicker your steps, the shorter your stride, and the easier it is to keep your landing leg underneath you rather than overstriding. I’ve heard tons of running coaches say that quickening your cadence tends to fix a lot of form problems.

A SuuntoPlus app called Cadence Coach gives you a handy way to work on this, and you may find it useful for your warmups. Install the app, and make sure it’s enabled for your run. By default, the app sets a target of 80 to 90 strides per minute. (That’s 160 to 180 total footsteps per minute.) It will beep at you if you’re running faster or slower than this, so you can use this screen to drill your form.

Using the Sprint App to Automatically Record Your Strides

This is my favorite hack, by far. Stride workouts are a great way to add some speedwork into your routine without needing to measure anything specific, but there’s no easy way to review a stride session after the fact. At least, there isn’t on most watches! The Sprint app on SuuntoPlus gives us a great tool for this exact purpose.

The Sprint app starts by giving you a 10-minute warmup. Whatever pace you run (or walk) during these 10 minutes, the app will assume this is your non-sprinting pace. After this point, just run or walk normally. Anytime you speed up to a sprint (25% or more faster than your warmup pace), the watch will recognize the speed change and mark a new lap for you. It will mark a lap again when you slow down.

There’s a short lag, between five and 10 seconds, each time—so you won’t get surgical precision, but you will get a record of how many strides you did, how long each one was, and approximately how fast you were going during each stride and during the time in between them. The only way I know how to do this on other watches is to either pre-program your strides, or manually press the lap button every time. But this app lets you play them by ear, fartlek-style.