Ultramarathon Tracking Explained: GPS Watches, Phones, Satellite Trackers and PLBs

Ask a group of runners what they use for tracking and you can get very different answers. One might say their Garmin watch. Another might say an inReach Mini. Someone else might use Strava Beacon, an Apple Watch, a SPOT, a ZOLEO or whatever tracking service their race provides.

They can all be described as “tracking”, but they are not doing the same job.

• A GPS watch can know exactly where you are without telling anyone else.
• A phone can share your position frequently while it has mobile coverage and then disappear from the map when reception ends.
• A satellite communicator can continue transmitting beyond mobile coverage, but perhaps only every five or ten minutes.
• A Personal Locator Beacon can summon search and rescue through satellite but does not provide your crew with normal race tracking at all.

The most important distinction: GPS is not tracking

Most modern running watches and phones contain a GNSS receiver. GPS is one of several Global Navigation Satellite Systems used to calculate a position.

Receiving signals from navigation satellites tells the device where it is. That does not automatically transmit that position anywhere.

There are really four separate jobs involved in remote race tracking:

A device can do one of these jobs without doing the others. That is why saying “my watch has GPS” tells you almost nothing about whether a crew can track you remotely. It is also why satellite can mean several completely different things.

What runners call a “tracker”

At a practical level, most ultramarathon tracking falls into several categories.

The important word in that table is depends. Two products can both advertise GPS, satellite and SOS while behaving very differently on race day.

SOS, messaging, location sharing and tracking are not the same thing

These terms are often mixed together. They should not be.

Emergency SOS

An emergency function designed to request assistance. Depending on the product, an SOS may connect to a professionally staffed emergency coordination centre, directly enter the international search-and-rescue system, or simply alert nominated personal contacts. Those are materially different services.

For example, COROS states that its Safety Alerts notify the contacts nominated by the runner and do not contact local emergency services. By contrast, Garmin inReach can initiate an interactive SOS through Garmin Response, while Australian 406 MHz distress beacons are detected through the international Cospas-Sarsat search-and-rescue system.

Sources: COROS Safety Alerts · Australian Maritime Safety Authority

Messaging

The ability to send information to another person. This might be a normal SMS, a message through a proprietary app, a preset “I'm OK” message or full two-way satellite messaging. Messaging does not necessarily provide automatic tracking.

Location sharing

Sending your current position to someone. This can be automatic or manual.

Apple Watch Ultra provides a useful example. Apple's documented Ultra 3 satellite implementation allows the wearer to manually update their Find My location when outside mobile and Wi-Fi coverage, but the update must be initiated and can only be sent once every 15 minutes. That is satellite location sharing, but it is not continuous automatic race tracking.

Source: Apple Support Australia — use satellite features on Apple Watch Ultra

Automatic tracking

A device periodically transmits positions without the runner manually sending each one. Dedicated satellite communicators such as Garmin inReach Mini, ZOLEO and SPOT can provide this type of breadcrumb tracking, although their available intervals, plans and network technologies differ.

Live race tracking

This is another layer again. A location might tell a crew: the runner is at this latitude and longitude.

Race-aware tracking can instead answer: How far through the course are they? Which checkpoint is next? How far away is it? When are they likely to arrive? How are they tracking against cutoff?

Option 1: Your GPS watch and phone

For many runners this is the simplest tracking setup because they already carry both devices. The watch records the activity and obtains the runner's location. The paired phone provides the communications path to the internet.

Garmin LiveTrack is a straightforward example. Garmin states that a compatible watch normally needs to remain paired to Garmin Connect on the runner's phone, the phone must be carried during the activity and it requires adequate cellular service. LiveTrack can share current location, elapsed time, distance, pace, elevation and other activity information.

COROS uses a similar architecture for its current Live Tracking and Safety Alert functionality. The watch and phone must remain connected via Bluetooth, the COROS app must run in the background and the phone requires cellular connectivity for remote updates and alerts.

A phone can also do the entire job itself. Strava Beacon, when recording through the Strava mobile app, currently attempts to update the runner's shared location approximately every 15 seconds. Strava states that Beacon requires cellular service and stops updating when the runner is outside coverage until service returns. Beacon is free when used through the Strava mobile app; use through compatible connected devices is a subscriber feature.

Sources: Garmin LiveTrack support · COROS Live Tracking and Safety Alerts · Strava Beacon

Track3D's Garmin Watch approach follows the same principle

Track3D does not ask the Garmin watch to stop being a Garmin. The runner continues using a normal supported Garmin activity for recording and navigation. The Track3D Connect IQ path can contribute location observations approximately every 60 seconds of active activity time when the paired phone has suitable connectivity.

Track3D then matches those observations to the runner's Race Plan rather than replacing Garmin's own activity or navigation functions. When mobile connectivity disappears, the watch continues recording, but new Track3D watch observations cannot reach the online service through that path until connectivity returns.

Track3D reference: Using a Garmin Watch for Ultramarathon Race Tracking

Option 2: A cellular watch

Some watches can establish their own cellular connection instead of relying entirely on a paired phone. That removes one dependency but does not automatically solve the remote-race problem. Cellular tracking still depends on a terrestrial network being available.

Garmin's fēnix 8 Pro and fēnix 9 Pro models with inReach connectivity illustrate this well. They can use LTE-M for Garmin services including messaging and LiveTrack without the paired phone when compatible LTE coverage is available. Garmin notes that LTE-M network availability varies by location and provider.

This can be extremely useful. But LTE is not satellite, even when both capabilities exist inside the same watch.

Option 3: “My watch has satellite”

This statement now needs a follow-up question: For what?

Satellite navigation? Satellite SOS? Satellite messaging? Manual satellite location sharing? Or automatic satellite tracking? They are not interchangeable.

Garmin fēnix 8 Pro and fēnix 9 Pro: satellite does not mean satellite LiveTrack

The fēnix 8 Pro and fēnix 9 Pro with inReach connectivity are useful examples because they genuinely contain satellite communication capability.

Garmin documents both generations as supporting functions such as text messaging and SOS through a satellite connection. But Garmin also documents the key limitation: LiveTrack and Garmin's other safety/tracking functions are available through the paired phone or LTE connection, not through the watch's satellite connection.

For fēnix 8 Pro, Garmin's feature table lists safety and tracking features including assistance, incident detection and LiveTrack as available through the phone or the watch's LTE connection, but not through its communication satellite connection. Current fēnix 9 Pro documentation makes the same distinction and states that LiveTrack location sharing is not supported over satellite.

The satellite implementation is also different from a dedicated Garmin inReach Mini. The watches require an appropriate view of the sky and the wearer to establish the satellite connection rather than simply acting like a continuously transmitting race tracker.

There is an especially important Australian limitation at the time of writing. As of 11 September 2026, the satellite functionality of both the fēnix 8 Pro and fēnix 9 Pro is not available for normal use in Australia. Garmin's Australian fēnix 8 Pro material states that satellite features are not available in Australia or New Zealand. For the fēnix 9 Pro, Garmin currently lists satellite coverage in the continental United States, selected parts of Canada and most of Europe. LTE availability is separate and depends on supported LTE-M networks.

Sources: Garmin fēnix 8 Pro manual · Garmin fēnix 9 Pro manual

Apple Watch Ultra: another kind of satellite location sharing

Apple takes a different approach. Apple Watch Ultra 3 supports Emergency SOS via satellite and Find My location sharing when outside cellular and Wi-Fi coverage.

For Find My, Apple documents the process as a manual location update. The runner needs a clear view of the sky, initiates Update Location and may need to adjust their position while the satellite communication completes. Apple allows one satellite location update every 15 minutes.

That can be genuinely useful for letting family or crew know where someone is. But it still is not equivalent to a dedicated satellite device automatically transmitting a breadcrumb trail throughout an ultra.

Apple announced the Apple Watch Ultra 4 on 9 September 2026, with Australian availability beginning 18 September. Apple lists satellite Emergency SOS and Find My among its capabilities. At the time this guide was researched, Apple had not yet published an Ultra 4-specific support document establishing a different automatic tracking behaviour, so this guide does not assume that its Find My satellite function has become continuous race tracking.

Sources: Apple Support Australia · Apple Newsroom — Apple Watch Ultra 4

Your phone having satellite does not necessarily solve tracking either

The same issue is now appearing on phones.

Google's Pixel Satellite SOS is available in Australia on supported Pixel models, but Google describes it as an emergency capability for circumstances where no Wi-Fi or mobile network is available. It should not be interpreted as a normal continuous race tracking service.

Australia also now has direct-to-phone satellite connectivity through Telstra and Starlink. Eligible Telstra customers with compatible phones can send and receive messages outside normal terrestrial mobile coverage across most outdoor areas of mainland Australia and Tasmania. Telstra has also begun supporting a limited set of satellite-optimised applications.

That is a major technology development and may eventually change how runners are tracked. But the current service is deliberately limited. Telstra states that it is intermittent, does not provide full internet access, does not support traditional voice calls or always-on services, and is not designed to be an emergency service. A normal application cannot simply assume that full mobile-data functionality continues because the phone displays a satellite connection.

Sources: Google Pixel Satellite SOS · Telstra Satellite-to-Mobile

Option 4: Dedicated satellite communicators

Dedicated satellite communicators are currently the most straightforward option when the requirement is: automatically keep sending the runner's position after terrestrial mobile coverage ends.

They are designed around remote communications rather than adding satellite capability to a general-purpose watch or phone. Three useful examples for Australian runners are Garmin inReach Mini, ZOLEO and SPOT. They are not identical.

Garmin inReach Mini

Garmin's dedicated inReach Mini communicators use the Iridium satellite network for messaging, SOS and tracking rather than relying on terrestrial phone towers. Garmin describes the network as providing global connectivity, and its Australian subscription documentation states that inReach service extends throughout Australia.

Garmin's current Mini 3 generation launched in late 2025. Garmin quotes up to 350 hours of battery life in 10-minute tracking mode and a starting Australian RRP of A$799, illustrating one advantage of a device designed specifically for extended remote communication.

The tracking interval depends partly on the Garmin inReach service plan. Garmin's Australian Critical Information Summary currently lists minimum tracking intervals of 10 minutes or longer on Enabled, Essential and Standard, and two minutes or longer on Premium. Tracking points cost A$0.20 each on Enabled and Essential while Standard and Premium include unlimited tracking.

The result is a very different tracking system from watch + phone. Updates are generally much less frequent, but the communications path does not disappear simply because the runner leaves mobile coverage.

Sources: Garmin — Iridium satellite network · Garmin Australia — inReach Mini 3 announcement · Garmin Australia — inReach Critical Information Summary

ZOLEO

ZOLEO also uses the Iridium satellite network.

Its optional Location Share+ service provides automatic breadcrumb sharing from every six minutes through to four hours, with the runner selecting the interval. ZOLEO's current Australian service plans include its web-based ZOLEO Track system, while Location Share+ is required for the automatic breadcrumb trail.

ZOLEO also provides two-way satellite messaging and monitored SOS functionality. This is another good example of why messaging, SOS and automatic tracking should be assessed separately: the base service can communicate and send check-ins, while continuous breadcrumb sharing is a specific additional feature.

Source: ZOLEO Australia — service plans and Location Share+

SPOT Gen4

SPOT Gen4 uses the Globalstar satellite network and takes a different approach again.

Its standard tracking options are five, ten, thirty or sixty minutes. An optional Extreme Tracking service allows a 2.5-minute interval.

SPOT Gen4 also provides SOS, Help, Check In and predefined/custom message functions, but unlike a two-way satellite messenger such as Garmin inReach Mini or ZOLEO, Gen4 is primarily a one-way communication device. SPOT X is the company's separate two-way satellite messaging product.

Again, the brand name alone does not tell you what the device actually does.

Source: SPOT Australia — service plans and tracking intervals

Option 5: A Personal Locator Beacon is not a race tracker

PLBs deserve their own section because this distinction matters for safety.

An Australian 406 MHz Personal Locator Beacon is a distress beacon. When activated, its signal is detected through the international Cospas-Sarsat satellite search-and-rescue system and routed to the appropriate Rescue Coordination Centre. If a GPS-equipped beacon is used, position information can be transmitted as part of the emergency alert.

In Australia, registration with AMSA is free and should be kept up to date.

What a normal PLB does not do is send a breadcrumb every few minutes so your crew can follow your race. There is no monthly tracking plan because that is not its purpose.

Depending on the race, terrain and individual safety plan, a runner may have a reason to carry either or both. Follow the event's mandatory gear requirements rather than treating one device as an automatic substitute for another.

Sources: AMSA — how distress beacons work · AMSA — beacon registration

Option 6: The race tracker may not actually know where you are

Official race tracking introduces another source of confusion. A race timing system can know that a runner crossed a checkpoint without knowing their continuous location between checkpoints.

Modern timing systems can use passive or active transponders detected at timing points around the course. For example, RACE RESULT systems can transmit transponder detections from remote Track Boxes, producing live splits and race visualisation without the timing chip itself containing GPS.

If the runner passed CP4 at 11:37 am and has not yet reached CP5, the system knows those timing facts. It does not necessarily mean there is a GPS position following the runner through the section between them.

Other event platforms can combine timing and GPS information. LiveTrail, for example, supports checkpoint data and predictions while also allowing a runner's smartphone to act as a GPS beacon where an event enables that functionality. It can also integrate third-party GPS services.

Sources: RACE RESULT tracking and timing · LiveTrail

How often does the position update?

Update interval matters more in an ultra than it initially appears. Consider a runner moving at 10 minutes per kilometre.

These numbers assume constant movement at 10 min/km and successful delivery on schedule. They are not predictions of actual tracker performance.

The point is that tracking interval changes what “live” means. At a five-minute interval, the runner may have moved half a kilometre before another scheduled observation. At ten minutes, it may be a kilometre. For a crew watching someone approach a checkpoint, that can make a meaningful difference. A faster runner covers considerably more.

Scheduled does not mean guaranteed

A five-minute tracking setting should not be interpreted as a guarantee that somebody watching remotely will receive a perfect new point every five minutes.

Satellite transmission needs an adequate communications path. Trees, cliffs, deep valleys, buildings, device orientation and other obstructions can affect satellite communication. Mobile-connected tracking has the equivalent problem with cellular coverage.

What does satellite tracking really cost for one race?

Headline monthly prices can be misleading. For an occasional ultra runner, the useful calculation is often: What is the minimum amount I have to spend to activate automatic tracking for this race?

Hardware purchase needs to be considered separately because somebody who already owns an inReach Mini should not treat its full purchase price as the cost of their next race, just as somebody who already owns an expensive watch should not pretend watch tracking costs the full purchase price each time they use it.

The figures below therefore compare service cost, excluding hardware, phone plans and Track3D.

Australian service-cost snapshot — checked 11 September 2026

Garmin figures come from Garmin's Australian Critical Information Summary for current Personal Subscription Plans. ZOLEO figures come from its current Australian service-plan documentation. SPOT's Australian website currently denominates its service prices in US dollars, including GST.

These are not equivalent plans. Message allowances, SOS arrangements, networks, tracking intervals and other inclusions differ. The purpose of the table is to expose the cost structure rather than declare a winner.

Sources: Garmin Australia inReach Critical Information Summary · ZOLEO Australia plans · SPOT Australia plans

A useful Garmin example: the cheapest monthly plan is not always the cheapest race

Garmin's Australian inReach pricing demonstrates why the arithmetic matters.

Enabled costs A$13.50 for the month after the A$70 initial activation, but 10-minute tracking points cost A$0.20 each. That is six tracking points per hour, or A$1.20 per hour of tracking.

For a 24-hour event, assuming a point is transmitted every ten minutes for the full 24 hours, that is 144 tracking points costing A$28.80.

This ignores messages, weather and other usage.

The surprising result is that Standard can become cheaper than Essential during a long race even though its monthly fee is twice as high, because Standard includes unlimited tracking.

Under the published pricing, Essential reaches the Standard cost at roughly 20 hours 50 minutes of ten-minute tracking. Enabled reaches it at roughly 30 hours 25 minutes. Those durations are very relevant to ultramarathon runners.

Garmin has also changed its suspension rules over time. Current Garmin support documentation says eligible consumer subscriptions can be suspended for up to 12 months without a reactivation fee after the initial paid period, so the first activation cost should not automatically be treated as the cost of every subsequent race.

So is watch tracking cheaper?

Usually, if you already own the watch and phone. But that does not make it equivalent.

A runner who already has a compatible watch, smartphone and mobile plan may have essentially no new hardware cost to begin live location sharing. The trade-off is coverage.

A dedicated satellite tracker costs more because you are paying for another communications network and usually another physical device and battery.

On some races the answer may genuinely be nothing. On others, especially remote 100 km and 100 mile events, that independence may be the feature you are actually buying.

Should you use a watch or a satellite tracker?

There is no universal winner.

Always understand exactly who receives an emergency request and what communications path it uses, and follow the mandatory safety requirements of the event.

Using a watch and satellite communicator together is not necessarily redundant

At first glance, carrying both can look like duplication. It is not necessarily.

The systems can fail differently. A watch linked through a phone can provide relatively frequent race observations while mobile coverage is available. A dedicated Garmin inReach Mini can continue sending less frequent positions using a separate satellite communications path.

Track3D's existing Garmin Watch + inReach Mini architecture is based on this principle. Both sources can contribute observations to the same Race Plan rather than forcing the runner to choose a permanent “primary” and “backup” tracker.

The downside is obvious: another device means another battery, another configuration and another thing that should be tested before the start. Redundancy only helps if both systems actually work.

Track3D reference: Garmin Watch + inReach for Ultramarathon Race Tracking

Test the whole path, not just the device

A tracker showing a GPS fix does not prove your crew can see you.

Before relying on any setup, test the complete path you expect to use on race day:

For a mobile-connected watch, deliberately test what happens when cellular data disappears and returns. For a satellite communicator, take it outdoors and send real tracking points under realistic conditions. For a satellite watch or phone, understand whether communication is automatic or requires the runner to stop and initiate it.

And remember that a runner having satellite connectivity does not magically give their crew connectivity. If the crew is sitting at a remote checkpoint with no internet access, an online tracking service cannot display a newly received remote update until the crew can reach that service.

Privacy matters as well

Live tracking is location data. Understand who can see it.

Strava states that anybody given the generated Beacon link can view the runner's location during the recording. LiveTrail notes that GPS positions can be shown publicly on an event's live tracking map depending on event settings and the runner's choices.

A tracking link shared with three crew members can also be forwarded elsewhere. That may be entirely acceptable during a public race. It should still be an informed choice rather than an accidental one.

Where Track3D fits

Track3D is not a satellite network. It does not replace Garmin, Iridium, Globalstar, Apple, a race timing system or emergency services.

The tracking source answers one part of the problem:

The Track3D Race Plan supplies another:

Before the race, Race Planner brings together the course, checkpoints, cutoffs, expected timing and crew information.

During the race, valid tracking observations can be matched to that course so Track3D Crew can turn a position into race progress, the next checkpoint, Adaptive ETA, Finish ETA, cutoff context, alerts and the information prepared for the crew.

That is why Track3D treats the tracker as a source of evidence, not the whole race-tracking system.

A map can tell the crew where the runner is. Race context helps tell them what to do about it.

The tracking source should suit the race

There is no single “best ultramarathon tracker”. A watch and phone may be the right answer for one race. A dedicated Garmin inReach Mini, ZOLEO or SPOT may be the right answer for another. For some runners the best setup may be both. For others the important additional device is a PLB rather than another live tracker.

The decision becomes much easier once you stop asking which product has the longest feature list and instead ask:

Choose the technology for the race you are actually running. Not simply the device with the word satellite printed on the box.

Frequently asked questions

Research notes and primary sources

Research snapshot: 11 September 2026.

Tracking technology is changing quickly. Prices, regional availability, supported phones, satellite networks and subscription terms should be confirmed against the manufacturer immediately before purchase or race use.