Lumo Run

Runners who want to run faster often focus first on metrics such as pace, distance and heart rate in training. 

They look at how well the engine is performing and try to improve that, developing more pace, power and performance through specific training runs or gym sessions.

However, there’s a whole lot more to being a better (and faster) runner than building your fitness, as form plays a pivotal role too. That’s where Lumo Run comes in.

This portable, personal running coach clips onto your shorts and analyzes your running form. It then uses this information to give you real time feedback and help iron out the kinks in your technique that keep you from scoring that personal best.

This small lozenge has a range of on-board sensors delivering lab-grade biomechanic measurements and real time tips, via your headphones, to help you improve on a range of vital running form metrics, including cadence, braking, bounce, pelvic rotation and pelvic drop. It sounds advanced, but it's accessible to a great many runners.

Each time you run, Lumo suggests an area you need to work on, along with advice on how to improve on your past performance. Post-run it also delivers video drills to help correct the aspects of your form that were most in need, all based on the run you just completed, and all for $99.99/£89.99 (around AU$130).

Design

• Light and unobtrusive on the run
• Simple USB charging, no bespoke dock

There’s not a huge amount to say about the Lumo Run’s design, as it’s really quite a simple device.

The 50 x 28.5mm lozenge sensor – which looks a lot like the shoe pods Garmin and Polar used to sell – slots into a soft silicone holder and clips to the belt of your shorts or leggings at the back.

Alternatively, you can invest in shorts and running leggings designed to house Lumo, but in our test we used the clip-on alone.

Weighing just 25g it’s barely noticeable while you’re on the move, even to the point we’d argue it could be quite easy to lose or chuck through the wash. 

The clip does fix tightly to your clothing, but because it’s so unobtrusive you find yourself checking it’s still there every so often.

There’s one LED light that tells you if there’s enough charge in the Lumo for the run you’re about to do. We’re big fans of the fact that it charges via micro USB plugged directly into the sensor, so there’s no bespoke dock to worry about here.

You simply remove a small cover at one end of the sensor and plug in any USB cable. If we had to find fault it’s that the USB cover itself feels like it could easily break off, though it didn’t in our test.

The sensor is also sweat and water resistant, so if you get a particularly sweaty back or you have to run in the rain, you’re covered. Though you won’t want to be accidentally going for a swim or popping this on a 40-degree wash.

Set up, sync and sharing

• Slick and simple set up
• Ready to go instantly for every run
• Only syncs with Strava

Set up is extremely simple and can be done using your smartphone, there's no need for a laptop. We’d love to have seen the Lumo Run come charged out of the box, ready to use, but unfortunately you’ll need to charge it before you run.

Beyond that it’s a question of a quick app download and - provided your Bluetooth is switched on - the sensor and app should sync automatically, without the need to meddle in the Bluetooth settings, which is always a bonus.

Once you’ve paired the Lumo Run once it automatically connects next time you want to run, again making it brilliantly fuss-free.

During set up Lumo will ask for your basic height, weight, age and gender information so that it can tailor its insights more effectively to you. You can also manually adjust the audio settings, to tell Lumo which in-run updates you’d like, choosing from Pace, Distance, Time, Run Goal and Posture Reminders.

You can also connect Strava to Lumo so that your route, pace and distance data is synced seamlessly to your Lumo app. The bonus for Strava-using GPS watch owners is that you can actually run phone-free.

With the likes of the Polar M430, Garmin Forerunner 235 and many others now syncing automatically to Strava, you can use your GPS watch to track your run and the data will flow into Lumo via Strava, though you still won’t get the Lumo’s real time coaching without carrying your phone and firing up the app.

Also, sadly Strava is the only third-party platform the Lumo app plays nicely with and it’s one-way sync. Data you gather from Lumo runs where you have your phone won’t feed back into Strava. 

We’d like to see Lumo play nice with more watches so we could see our current stats on the wrist, but that’s not currently the case.

Tracking and coaching skills

• Great range of running dynamics tracked
• Excellent coaching videos
• Training plans would be an improvement

While Lumo Run provides distance, pace, duration, splits and a route map, the truth is this running wearable is different from many of the run trackers out there that help you with a race specific running goal.

Instead of focusing on schedules, distance, pace or heart rate, the Lumo coaching approach is all about improving technique, ironing out the kinks in your form that are costing you in running efficiency and even potentially causing you to get injured.

The range of metrics, or running dynamics, it tracks is as broad as any tracker on the market. It includes cadence (foot strikes per minute), bounce (vertical oscillation), braking (change in forward velocity), pelvic rotation and pelvic drop (side to side drop of the pelvis).

Lumo uses an algorithm to crunch the numbers from your previous run and recommends a metric for you to work on during your next outing, though you can override this and choose your own if you’re curious or you know there’s an area that needs specific work.

The great thing about the goals Lumo suggests is that you can incorporate these targeted goals into your usual training runs. For example, you can work on your cadence during your long Sunday run or your pelvic drop during an interval session.

Before you head out, you also get pre-run tips based on your data from previous runs. Because these appear on the New Run screen it’s great for focusing your mind on key improvements for your upcoming session.

They also go beyond most virtual coaches, with a good description of why you’re being given this goal and a short video of the technique you’re aiming to mimic, making it simple to follow.

During your run, Lumo’s coach issues guidance in the form of voice reminders and vibrations. We much preferred the former, though you can easily change the audio settings from the pause screen. Even during a run this wasn’t a chore, which is great if at any point you decide you want more or less information over the ear.

What really makes Lumo stand out though is the quality of the coaching advice. It goes beyond telling you your cadence is too low and offers form fixes to help you get back on target. This includes things like “get your chin up and face forward” or “roll your shoulders back," and it's great that this is real-time feedback.

App and compatibility

• Very in depth
• Nicely presented and easy to use
• Only works with iPhone

The Lumo Run app is clean, crisp and easy to use, with useful and easy to understand explanations throughout that mean you don’t need a degree in sports science to be able to delve into your data.

The coaching area in the app is one of Lumo’s killer unique selling points. A repository for a range of video drills all designed to help you improve your running form and efficiency, along with tips to help you improve and explanations of all of the key metrics Lumo tracks, this is a brilliantly executed guide to how to become a better runner.

From here you can select drills to work on (though these will also be recommended at the end of your run sessions) and the app will also tell you when you last worked on your high knees, legs taps or front skips.

You can also track trends over time for all of the key running dynamics as well as the more common stats such as distance and pace.

Finally, there’s a Personal Records section that logs all of your fastest runs over a mile, 1k, 5k,10k, half marathon and full marathon. You can also see your best performance for each of the running dynamics and your longest overall run distance.

Post-run stats are nicely comprehensive and well presented with route map, pace and distance splits, and the ability to add some subjective information such as mood and effort. You also get your performance against the running goal for that session and recommended exercises ahead of the next session.

For every run there are also detailed results for all of the form metrics and you can delve into these deeper with metric splits too. 

This is great for things like seeing how your form changes during the latter part of runs where you might be more tired, or perhaps during the early part of a run where you may not be warmed up.

There's one big downside to the Lumo Run app though, namely that it's only available on iOS and requires an iPhone 5S or newer, which means the Lumo Run isn't much use if you have an Android phone.

Battery life

• Lasts around a week
• Charges quickly

According to Lumo’s official claims you get 20 hours of in-run time and 7 days on standby from the sensor. 

In our tests we easily got a week of usage, including a 2-3 hour long run and four daily hour-long sessions, before we needed to recharge.

We also love the fact we could get enough charge for a run in around half an hour, so even if we did find it was out of juice we could load it up in the time it took to stop procrastinating about whether to actually go and run.

Verdict

The Lumo Run is an excellent training tool and you don’t have to be marathon mad to benefit from the insights it delivers.

Whether you’re just starting out running or you’ve gone ultra, this wallet-friendly wearable takes some quite complicated coaching advice and makes it easy to understand and simple to apply. It would be a welcome addition to any runner’s kit.

Who's this for?

If you’re a casual runner logging miles for general fitness, the Lumo is probably more tracker than you need.

If, on the other hand, you’re a serious miler chasing personal bests or training more seriously for a half, full marathon or ultra then there are real benefits the Lumo Run can offer that most watches and apps don’t, and for a low price.

Should you buy it?

If you're serious about improving your running form then absolutely. The Lumo Run is packed full of genuinely useful features, sensors and advice.

For those just starting out it's probably surplus to requirements, and the lack of a smartwatch app, Android support and GPS is a shame, but otherwise this is a good buy.

There are other trackers that are worth considering, such as the following options:

Oakley Radar Pace Prizm

A voice-activated coaching system in the shape of a pair of classic Oakley sunglasses with detachable in-ear headphones, Radar Pace provides real time feedback on your running metrics including distance, pace, climb, average pace, calories and cadence.

But if you want to unlock extra metrics such as heart rate, you have to bring your own third-party Bluetooth or ANT+ sensors. Lack of optical heart rate feels like a missed opportunity, but the voice controls are about as responsive as we’ve tested.

Stryd

A little more than just a form-fixing tracker, Stryd’s shoe-worn pod tracks a whole range of metrics to help improve your running. 

The impressive array of stats include power, form, leg spring, stiffness, ground time, vertical oscillation, cadence, pace, distance and a run stress score.

It converts all of this data into one single number to quantify your performance and progress and unlike Lumo it’ll sync with a range of watches including Suunto, Garmin, Apple Watch and lots of training platforms, such as TrainingPeaks and Zwift, but sadly no Strava yet.

Garmin Running Dynamics Pod

Smaller and lighter than the Lumo Run, the Garmin Running Dynamics Pod follows the waistband clip design that Lumo launched with first. It tracks largely the same running dynamics though, including: cadence, stride length, ground contact time and balance, vertical oscillation and vertical ratio.

There’s no real time coaching or videos, but it does play nice with the Garmin Forerunner 935, Garmin Forerunner 735XT and Garmin Fenix 5, as well as the Garmin Quatix 5 and Descent watches, putting your stats where you can see them on your wrist.

First reviewed: November 2017

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