Guides

Vanoor guides

How to do things in Vanoor, step by step, with screenshots. For running advice and app comparisons, see the blog.

• 1 of 20 guides

  01Routes

  Import a GPX route into Vanoor

  Open a GPX file in Vanoor on your iPhone, save it as a route, let it sync to your Apple Watch and start it from your wrist.

  Start here →

• 02Routes

  Draw a route with the Vanoor route planner

  Tap points on the map, snap each leg to streets and paths, close the loop and save. The route then syncs to your Apple Watch.

  Open the guide →

• 03Routes

  Use the Watch map and offline maps in Vanoor

  Switch the Watch map between Apple Maps and Offline, see what the offline copy covers, and learn the map gestures and panels on Apple Watch.

  Open the guide →

• 04Workouts

  Build an interval workout in Vanoor

  Build a workout on iPhone from distance or time splits with pace or heart-rate targets, repeats and fuel cues, then run it split by split on Apple Watch.

  Open the guide →

• 05Workouts

  Import an AI training plan into Vanoor

  Paste Vanoor's instructions into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini, get a .vanoor file back and import the whole plan as workouts that sync to your Apple Watch.

  Open the guide →

• 06Workouts

  Plan your race pacing in Vanoor

  Pick the race distance and goal time, choose how many splits, then drag the curve for a negative, even or positive split that your Apple Watch paces.

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• 07Workouts

  Set your heart-rate zones

  Vanoor sets five heart-rate zones from your age. Change your age or type your own limits in Settings → Profile, then see them on the Watch and in Activity.

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• 08On the run

  Set up your Watch run screens

  Choose, order and edit the data pages you see during a run, from the iPhone. Plus how the run is laid out on the Watch: Controls, data pages, Now Playing.

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• 09On the run

  Alerts and voice cues: pace, heart rate, route, turns and distance

  Vanoor alerts and spoken cues stay off until you switch them on in Settings → Alerts. What each does, how turn-by-turn works, and muting for one run.

  Open the guide →

• 10On the run

  Auto-pause and pausing by hand

  Turn auto-pause on or off, choose Conservative or Standard, see how Vanoor decides you have stopped, and the three ways to pause a run yourself.

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• 11On the run

  Mark laps during a run

  Press Lap on the Watch to split a run into your own sections. How laps are counted, how they differ from kilometre splits, and where they show up after.

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• 12On the run

  During a run on your Apple Watch

  Where everything sits during a Vanoor run: Controls, data pages, Now Playing. How to pause, mark a lap, get back to the start, end and rate the run.

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• 13On the run

  Run with your iPhone, no Watch needed

  Start a free run, follow a route turn by turn or run a workout with only your iPhone. What you see, what you hear, and what a Watch adds. Needs iOS 26.

  Open the guide →

• 14On the run

  Turn-by-turn directions on your Apple Watch

  Vanoor warns you before each turn on your route with a card, a buzz and a spoken line if you like. It is off by default: switch it on in Settings → Alerts.

  Open the guide →

• 15On the run

  Voice cues: what Vanoor says and how to set it up

  Every spoken cue in Vanoor starts off. Switch them on in Settings → Alerts, hear them in AirPods or on the Watch, and mute the voice for a single run.

  Open the guide →

• 16On the run

  Record a walk or a hike

  Pick Run, Walk or Hike under the big Start button on the Watch. Walks and hikes save to Apple Health and Strava as that type, with their own Activity filter.

  Open the guide →

• 17On the run

  Run to a beat with the cadence metronome

  Add the Metronome page to your Watch, pick sound, a tap on the wrist or both, and set the beat in steps per minute while you run.

  Open the guide →

• 18After the run

  Save runs to Apple Health and upload them to Strava

  Every Vanoor run saves to Apple Health. Connect Strava once and runs upload with route and heart rate. Or share a FIT or GPX file from any run.

  Open the guide →

• 19After the run

  Your runs on iPhone: the Activity tab

  Every run you save on the Watch lands in the Activity tab on your iPhone, with a map, splits, laps, charts and heart-rate zones. Share it as FIT or GPX.

  Open the guide →

• 20Race day

  Run the perfect race your family can follow live

  Vanoor paces the race on your Apple Watch, Cheerlify shares it live with family and friends. What to set up in race week, what to carry, battery tips.

  Open the guide →