Using Garmin Course Points to Optimise Your Ultramarathon Strategy

An ultramarathon is a moving target. Plan A becomes Plan B, Plan B becomes Plan C, and a big part of getting through 100 miles is adapting to whatever the day gives you. One of the simplest ways to make that manageable is to stop thinking about the whole race and focus on the next checkpoint.

That makes a few questions important over and over again: What is the next checkpoint? How far away is it? When am I likely to get there? How am I going against cutoff? What did I plan to do when I arrive?

Traditionally, runners solve this with a printed race plan, a laminated table, a pace card or a sheet of paper in a plastic bag. That can work, but it still asks you to find it, read it in the dark, work out where you are in the plan and do race math in your delirious head. The deeper you get into an ultra, the less you will want to do that and so often you just won't.

At 2 am, after more than 20 hours on your feet, you should not need to pull out a laminated race plan and start doing race maths. The useful information should already be sitting on your wrist, ready when you need it.

Garmin has solved this problem with Course Points, a Course Point is a named location placed along a Garmin course, such as an aid station, water point, crew access point or checkpoint. Instead of the course being only a line on a map, the watch can use those named points during navigation so you can work your way through the race one checkpoint at a time.

On compatible Garmin devices, the native course experience can keep the next Course Point in context as you move through the race, including distance to the point and timing information such as estimated arrival on supported models. Garmin Course Planner also supports checkpoint information such as cutoff, Rest Break and Notes. 

This is especially useful at checkpoints where your crew is not present. A short note such as collect poles, change socks, refill both flasks, put on HiViz, get torch or take warm layer can be waiting on your wrist at the checkpoint rather than relying on memory late in the race.

The Track3D Race Planner now lets you build that plan once, including the course, checkpoint locations, checkpoint timing, official cutoffs, planned stops and Watch checkpoint notes. You can then export the saved Race Plan as a Garmin compatible FIT file, import it into Garmin Connect and sync it to a compatible Garmin watch for race day.

Why Garmin Course Points matter in an ultra

When you are fresh, thinking about 100 miles can feel manageable. Twenty hours later, it is usually much easier to think about the next 8 km, the next climb, the next aid station or the next place you will see your crew.

Course Points turn a long route into those smaller, useful targets. Each checkpoint becomes something the Garmin course can recognise and present as you progress.

The point is not to make the watch run the race for you. It is to remove unnecessary cognitive load. The decisions are still yours, but the basic information you need to make them is easier to reach when you are tired, cold, hungry or dealing with a plan that has already changed three times.

From Track3D Race Plan to a course on your Garmin

Track3D Race Planner gives you one place to build the practical plan for an ultra: the course, checkpoints, target timing, official cutoffs, planned stops and checkpoint information. That plan can also drive Track3D race tracking so crew and followers can understand where the runner is and when they are expected at the next checkpoint.

The Garmin FIT export extends that same plan onto the runner's watch. From My Plans, choose Export Garmin FIT. Track3D creates a Garmin course file from the saved Race Plan. Import that file into Garmin Connect, sync the course to a compatible Garmin device, and use Garmin's normal course navigation on race day.

What Track3D puts into the Garmin FIT course

Watch checkpoint note is deliberate. Track3D keeps the optional Watch checkpoint note separate from the longer general checkpoint and crew notes. Only the watch specific note is intended for the Garmin Course Point.

Why this is useful in an ultra

• Think one checkpoint at a time. Focus on the next target instead of constantly recalculating the whole race.
• Reduce race maths. Distance, timing and cutoff context are easier to reach when fatigue makes simple calculations harder than they were at the start line.
• Carry your plan without carrying paper. Important checkpoint instructions can live with the point on the watch rather than on a separate laminated sheet.
• Use the watch you already race with. Garmin continues to handle maps, navigation, activity recording, sensors and battery management.
• Reduce duplicate setup. Build the checkpoint plan once in Track3D and export it rather than manually recreating the same course and checkpoint information in Garmin.
• Keep Track3D and Garmin focused on what each does best. Track3D builds the race plan and tracking context. Garmin handles the runner's native navigation experience.

How to export your Race Plan and create the Garmin course

1. Finish and save your Race Plan. Check the course, checkpoint positions, cutoffs, planned stops and any Watch checkpoint notes you want to use.
2. Open My Plans. Find the saved race you want to transfer.
3. Select Export Garmin FIT. Track3D downloads a .fit course file using the saved Race Plan.
4. Import the FIT file into Garmin Connect. Use Garmin Connect's course import workflow to create the Garmin course.
5. Review the Course Points. Confirm the checkpoint names and any race information shown by Garmin Connect.
6. Sync the course to your watch. Use the normal Garmin Connect course sync process for your device.
7. Navigate normally on race day. Start the activity type you normally use, select the course and use Garmin's native navigation.

Current workflow: Track3D exports the FIT file and you import it into Garmin Connect. A future direct Send to Garmin workflow is being investigated, but it is not required to use the FIT export.

A useful detail: Garmin stores cutoff as elapsed course time

Race Planner presents an official cutoff as the race clock time that runners and crew normally think about. Garmin Course Planner represents the same cutoff as elapsed time from the start of the course.

Track3D performs that conversion in the FIT export. Do not add the race start time again when reading Garmin's elapsed cutoff.

Garmin navigation and Track3D tracking are complementary

The Garmin FIT export does not replace Track3D tracking, and Track3D tracking does not need to replace Garmin navigation.

The result is a cleaner division of responsibility: the runner uses Garmin for the on wrist course experience while crew can follow the race through Track3D.

Compatibility and current validation

Garmin device features vary by model and software version, so native Course Point presentation, arrival information and access to Course Planner details can differ between watches.

Track3D has physically confirmed that a Track3D generated FIT course imports into Garmin Connect with the Track3D Course Points in the correct locations and that Garmin reconstructs the checkpoint cutoff. Garmin generated FIT evidence has also confirmed the Course Planner representations used for Rest Break and checkpoint Notes, and Track3D's exporter implements those mappings.

What this changes about Race Planner

Race Planner started as a way to understand an ultra before race day: where the checkpoints are, how the terrain affects the pace, when the runner should arrive and how much margin remains before a cutoff.

It now connects more of the race day workflow. The same saved plan can support planning, Track3D tracking and a Garmin course export. The goal is not just to create a better plan before the race. It is to make that plan useful when you are deep into the race and need the next piece of information quickly.

Frequently asked questions

Garmin Course Planner compatibility described here is based on Track3D physical testing and observed Garmin FIT behaviour. Garmin product capabilities can vary by device and software version.