Skip to main content

Don’t stop now! The Polar Running Program helps you train for a marathon

If you’re training for a marathon or another long-distance run, it’s often useful to have a personalized trainer — of either the human or software variety. Unfortunately, while plenty of fitness trackers on the market offer guidance, few of them tailor their suggestions to your needs and your performance for specific situations like marathon runs. Polar is hoping to change that.

The company has just launched the Polar Running Program, a free training service available through the Polar Flow app, designed specifically for those training for a 5K, 10K, half marathon, or full marathon.

Recommended Videos

“We show users what their data means, and we use it to provide guidance on how to improve performance and meet training goals,” said Marco Suvilaakso, global product director at Polar. “The running program takes this coaching to the next level and creates a personal running plan that fits beginners as well as more seasoned professionals.”

To begin, you select one of the four events, after which the app will select a training program that depends on your activity level, the event you want to complete, and so on. The number of days per week that you train will also vary depending on things like current fitness level and training history. As you proceed with the training, the Running Program will adapt to your progress, helping you achieve your goals and improve your fitness.

polar-running-program-2
Image used with permission by copyright holder

As the service works through the Polar Flow website and app, you’ll need a Polar fitness tracker to take full advantage of it, and if you use the Polar M400 or the V800 you’ll get live advice as you train. You’ll also be able to see things like target heart rate zones and target training durations. Other Polar fitness trackers, including the Polar Loop, Polar Loop 2, and Polar Beat are compatible with Polar Flow, but may not offer all the same features, such as real-time suggestions.

Polar is likely hoping that the new service will give the Polar Flow app a little more credibility — the Android version sits at three stars and the iOS version at a lackluster two stars. MapMyRun, by comparison, also offers training plans for runners and has 4.5 stars on both the App Store and Google Play.

It’s certainly an interesting idea to have a service for a specific sporting event. Sure, there are fitness apps out there that help you achieve your fitness goals, like Runtastic Pro, but it’s nice to see another option tailored to helping you train for a specific achievement rather than to generally get or stay fit. The new service is available now for any Polar Flow users.

Polar Flow available on:

Christian de Looper
Christian de Looper is a long-time freelance writer who has covered every facet of the consumer tech and electric vehicle…
GlassesUSA Black Friday Sale: Get 30% off prescription glasses
GlassesUSA frames close up with multiple styles.

Need a new pair of glasses? Want to stock up for your holiday trips before you head to meet up with your relatives? Typically, you'd have to wait until the official Black Friday event, the day after Thanksgiving, or maybe even Cyber Monday, but that's not the case this year. Alongside a variety of the best online glasses deals, GlassesUSA is hosting a huge Black Friday sale early, allowing you to save big on prescription glasses and frames with no waiting necessary. Of course, we always recommend browsing the sale of your own accord to see what's discounted because we couldn't possibly cover everything, nor could we know precisely what you're looking for. That said, we've called out quite a few of the best deals below.

What to shop in the early GlassesUSA Black Friday sale
Rightfully dubbed the Black Friday Early Bird sale, now's an excellent time to save up to 30% on prescription glasses. Moreover, GlassesUSA is truly dedicated to helping you find the perfect pair. Not only are there a ton of brands and styles to choose from, but you'll benefit from free shipping and returns and a money-back guarantee if you're not satisfied. You can even take to find the correct pair for your face. Ray-Ban, Oakley, DKNY, Prada, Ottoto, Muse, they are all here and available to shop, most discounted even. Men's and Women's eyewear are on sale, too, so there's something for everyone.

Read more
The best DNA testing kit Black Friday deals you can shop now
Daughter gifting Ancestry Gift Membership to family

DNA tests are awesome holiday gifts for your family. Together you can all build your family tree and discover your genetic makeup. Unfortunately the tests are pretty expensive, but at least you only need to test once. There are some nice Black Friday deals going on today that will save you a significant amount of money on single tests or bundles. Check out our favorite below, then more more deals worth checking out under that.
The best DNA testing kit Black Friday deal
AncestryDNA Genetic Test Kit -- $59, was $99

The single person AncestryDNA Genetic Test Kit is our pick for the best Black Friday deal already available. The kit normally costs $99, but right now it's down to just $59. That's a nice discount of $30 on one of the best DNA tests available. We're not sure how long this deal will last, so you should grab it soon.

Read more
The 5 best DNA test kits for 2024
We spit in a ton of test tubes to find the best and most unique DNA tests
A 23andme DNA kit.

Despite the fact that tons of competitors have sprung up in recent years, 23AndMe still makes the best DNA test on the market. It's the quickest, it's very comprehensive, and the way the company presents your genetic data is simple and easy to digest. However, depending on what kind of information you're looking for, there are other, more specialized DNA tests that might be better suited for you. Whether it's ancestry, fitness, disease risk, or something else entirely, there's likely a DNA kit that'll uncover that data.

With the rising popularity of these tests, we decided to take a closer look and see which ones are worth the investment. To do this, we secured a mail-in kit from as many DNA testing services as we could find, then shipped them a spit tube full of our precious genetic code for analysis. After looking through all the data and personally trying all of these services, there were a few that stood out from the pack. Here are our favorites:
The best DNA test kit in 2024

Read more