Early last year, I got back into long-distance running, aiming to start running half-marathon races. I used ChatGPT to get back into shape, and the experience has been amazing. I now run a half-marathon almost every week. It’s just another day at the park.
I also decided to move on to marathons last year, something I had never done before and never thought I’d be able to do. I employed the services of ChatGPT once again, and I’ve now completed two official races. If all goes well, more will follow.
I ran my first marathon using an Apple Watch SE 2 model that was about 18 months old at the time of the race. The battery health was at 83%, and the Apple Watch SE barely made it through the marathon.
Six months later, I used an Apple Watch Series 10 to run my second marathon. I’ve been wearing it since late September, and the battery health is still at 100% after about two months. The Apple Watch Series 10 would have easily lasted the entire marathon race even if the battery health were slightly lower. Even if I were slower, it would have made it.
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I knew the Apple Watch Series 10 battery life was amazing before the race. I never had any doubts. As I explained more than once, the Apple Watch Series 10 can last up to 36 hours with mild activity. It routinely lasts for 30 hours, even on harder training days. And I always use the Watch to track my sleep.
But knowing all of that, the Apple Watch Series 10 battery still blew my mind, and it’s not just because of the stellar longevity.
I’ve never run professionally, so I’m not one of those runners who can pull off sub-3-hour marathons. Yet.
I’m also unable to run a marathon under 4 hours, though that was my intention this time. I’m telling you this because the longer a wearable has to track activity, the more battery it will consume.
The 40mm Apple Watch SE 2 depleted almost its entire battery to track my first marathon. I finished the race in around four hours and 30 minutes. The Watch died about an hour after I crossed the finish.
The 42mm Apple Watch 10 had about 27% battery life when I finished the run. That was at around four hours and 16 minutes. I was faster, yes, even though I didn’t achieve my goal. But the point I’m trying to make here is that the Apple Watch Series 10 battery life was simply amazing.
I’m sure it would have lasted a six-hour marathon race, assuming I’d have been much slower. Or if I had to walk a lot following an injury.
It’s not just the battery life that’s amazing, but also the battery charging time. The Apple Watch Series 10 charges much faster than any previous model.
Charging the Apple Watch Series 10 before and after a marathon race. Image source: Chris Smith, BGR
I put the Apple Watch 10 on its charger for about an hour at around 10:00 PM the night before the race (image above). It still had over 50% charge, but I couldn’t risk it.
I removed it with a 98% charge, which dropped to 90% by the morning of the race. Again, I’m always sleeping with the Apple Watch Series 10 on, looking to track my vitals as long as possible. Comparatively, I topped up my Apple Watch SE 2 the morning of my first marathon, knowing I’d need every bit of juice for a race that could have lasted up to six hours.
The Apple Watch used up to 63% of its battery life for the marathon race. I say “up to” as I walked about 2km to the venue and then forgot to check the battery capacity at the start of the race. Obviously, I had to walk the same distance back home, which took what felt like forever. Human feet don’t work similarly after a marathon.
I put the Apple Watch Series 10 on its charger at around 2:00 PM, when it dropped to around 24%. After about an hour, it reached 96%, and I removed it to wear it.
Again, I want to keep the Apple Watch Series 10 on a charger as little as possible, especially on days when I have races scheduled. I want the wearable to collect as much data as possible, which might come in handy at some point in the future.
The Watch battery lasted 16 hours, including the entire night and the full marathon race. Given the intensity of the effort, I couldn’t be happier.
I know some runners prefer to use wearables from Garmin and other companies. I’m happy with the Apple Watch because I use it to track all my health data. I figure it’ll offer similar performance during training and at rest. That’s even if some runners say the Apple Watch isn’t as good for running as other wearables. I’d have no way of knowing.
Also, the Apple Watch Series 10 I wear had issues recording my heart rate correctly during the first weeks of use, which appear to have been mostly resolved by now. I’m also on the latest watchOS 11 beta.
I’m telling you all that so you have the complete picture. The bottom line is that the Apple Watch Series 10 is so efficient that you’ll have no problem using it for longer activities that require tracking. Whether it’s a marathon race or a hike that lasts several hours, the Apple Watch Series 10 will be ready to record your parameters. And it’ll only need about an hour of charging to go from about 25% to over 95%.
Put differently, you don’t need an Apple Watch Ultra to get you through a marathon. If Apple gives a future Watch SE the same chip and battery tech as the Watch 10, you could just get that and be on your way.
How will the Apple Watch Series 10 perform once the battery health drops? That’s a story for a different marathon. Then again, I’m trying to get faster myself, so hopefully, I’ll finish future races well before the wearable dies.
