Buzz
In my exploration of running apps (check out my reviews of Runna and Nike Run Club), I’ve mainly focused on apps built specifically for runners. However, some general fitness apps also cater to runners, and now it’s time to look at one of the major ones—the Peloton app. If you’re already entrenched in the Peloton ecosystem, this app is likely your first choice when incorporating running into your fitness regimen. So, how does it stack up? Let’s lace up and find out.
What Exactly is the Peloton App?
While Peloton is primarily known for its stationary bikes equipped with video screens, that's just a small piece of what the company offers. There's also a companion app, available for Android and iOS, featuring workouts for biking, strength training, running, yoga, and more. If you own a Bike, Bike+, Tread (the treadmill), or Row (the rower), your $44/month All Access subscription gives you full access to the app's features.
You can also use the app independently, without any significant equipment purchases. For $12.99/month (after a 30-day free trial), you can take outdoor running classes, which are audio-only, and follow along with strength training and yoga videos. Peloton’s “gym” workouts are also part of the package, offering guidance for workouts at a regular gym.
There's a middle tier: Peloton App+ costs $24/month and includes access to the platform’s signature cycling workouts, along with treadmill and rower workouts. You can use the app on your own off-brand bike, or take it to the gym to follow along with whatever cardio equipment they have available.
Keep in mind that much of Peloton’s “running” content consists of video classes designed to be used on a treadmill. With the lower-tier App One, you can access three of these classes per month, which could be sufficient if you only need a treadmill run occasionally, say, when the weather isn’t ideal.
For outdoor running, the lowest tier, Peloton App One, is all you need. If you want video classes for treadmill runs, you’ll have to opt for the $24/month App+ tier.
What the Peloton App Does Well (for Runners)
Tracks your exercise minutes within the Peloton ecosystem
Offers a wide range of guided runs with engaging coaches and popular music tracks
Provides both a beginner's program and a marathon training plan
Supports run exports to Strava
Strength training and yoga are also available in the same app
Where It Falls Short (for Runners)
No direct integration with Garmin
Lacks summary stats like weekly mileage
Maps do not sync with Strava
Only two training plans are available
No guided sessions for the long runs in the marathon programs
Setup
When you first launch the app, you’ll need to create an account with Peloton and verify your email address. After that, you can choose a publicly visible username and enter your birthdate.
Next, you’ll be prompted to select one of the app's subscription tiers, as mentioned earlier. (Pro tip: always cancel immediately, then decide later if you want to continue with the subscription.)
Following that, the app will ask you to “check your privacy settings” by selecting your country and state. Interestingly, the states are listed in reverse alphabetical order. There are no actual privacy settings available from this screen. (I’ll cover privacy in more detail later.)
Then, it inquires whether you consider yourself a beginner, intermediate, or advanced, and which types of workouts you're most interested in. The options include walking and running, both indoor and outdoor. This screen appears to help personalize your “perfect first class recommendations” that will appear on the app’s homepage.
Using the App
The app features five primary screens, which you can access via buttons at the bottom of the interface.
Home: This is where you'll find workout recommendations tailored to you.
Classes: Here, you can search for guided runs and classes you want to try.
Just Workout: This is where you can choose an activity like outdoor running to track without participating in a class.
The fourth spot either promotes an upgraded membership or, with a full account, provides access to a social feed.
Profile: This is where you can review your past workouts, set personal goals, or check out the badges you've earned.
During my trial of the App One tier, only a limited selection of workouts was available. Under the Outdoor tag, I found 15 audio classes (seven runs, five walks, three walk+run), and under the Running tag, which covers treadmill workouts, there were five. If you uncheck “free classes” from the filter, you'll discover a wider variety.
Running with the App
To run with the app, you first select an outdoor run (make sure to choose 'outdoor' or look for the 'audio' tag) and tap 'start' when you're ready to hit the road. The instructor leads you through the session, which may include warm-up exercises like high knees. Background music plays throughout, and the playlist is integrated into the class. The instructor may even discuss the song playing and why it was chosen.
The app uses your phone’s GPS to track your pace and location. While it’s typically less precise than a dedicated running watch, it's accurate enough to ensure you're logging your mileage correctly.
The instructor will guide you to adjust your speed according to an RPE (rate of perceived exertion) scale, where 0 means resting and 10 is pushing yourself to the max. You might be asked to run at a 7 and recover with walking or light jogging at a 2. Your pace, measured in minutes per mile, isn't critical. You can choose to ignore the instructor’s pace recommendations and go faster or slower if you wish, and the app won’t track or react to these changes.
If you prefer not to follow a guided run but still want to track it in the Peloton app, you can use the center button to select “Just Run” (previously called this, now just labeled ‘Outdoor Running’). You can use this option for other activities as well.
During your run, and after completing it, your phone will display key metrics including distance, elevation gain, calories burned, and pace. You'll see your current pace, average pace, and your fastest (best) pace during the session.
After finishing your run, when you check your workout in your profile, the pace displayed is your average pace, and your speed is shown in miles per hour (the same as pace, just in different units). You’ll also be able to view charts showing your pace, speed, and elevation over the course of the run.
Training Plans
You can find training plans in the 'programs' section of the classes screen. (I couldn't access it during my free trial, but it’s available in the paid All-Access version of the app.)
Peloton’s training programs can be a little tricky to follow. They’re organized week by week, so you can’t view the entire plan at once to get a sense of overall mileage. The workouts are based on time rather than distance, with options like 30-minute classes rather than set 3-mile runs. The only exception is the long run—more on that shortly.
When you start a program, the first workout unlocks. You must complete it (or skip it) before moving on to the next one. This means you can't reschedule workouts or skip ahead; you either do each one in order or bypass it entirely.
You must also follow the weekly schedule. You have seven days to complete the workouts for the current week. Once the week is over, you move on to Week 2. So if you finish early, you can't start the next week ahead of time. And if you miss a workout before the week ends, it's gone—you won't be able to do it once the week is over.
Peloton offers two programs for treadmill users and two for outdoor runners:
You Can Run (treadmill)
You Can Run Outdoors (outdoor)
Road to Your 5K (treadmill)
Road to Your 26.2, parts 1, 2, and 3 (outdoor)
The You Can Run programs include two 20-minute sessions each week, beginning with run/walk workouts. Over time, you’ll gradually do more running.
The Road to Your 26.2 programs are designed for those aiming to train for a marathon. They incorporate strength training, which is beneficial. However, the rigid schedule, as I mentioned earlier, would be an issue for me if I were using it to prepare for a marathon I had already signed up for and paid for.
Some runners have shared on forums like Reddit that the midweek runs in the marathon program don't provide enough mileage to build strength for a marathon, and suggest adding extra runs on your own to supplement the training.
The most common complaint about the marathon program, by far, is that although it offers guided runs, it doesn't provide any guidance for the long runs, which are the foundation of marathon training. Peloton only gives a 10-minute warmup, then you're expected to complete the scheduled mileage on your own. This feels odd, especially when guided runs are typically the reason many people choose this type of training to help get through the long and tiring sessions.
Social features and privacy
When participating in a Peloton video class, your username appears on the leaderboard, visible to others, along with your approximate age and gender, such as 'F - 40s'.
Peloton explains that 'profile pictures, leaderboard names, tags, and badges are always public.' However, you can choose to hide certain information. Here are the available privacy settings:
You can set your profile to 'private' so only approved followers will be able to view the full details of your profile.
You have the option to control who sees your workout history. If your profile is private, you can choose between 'My followers' or 'only me'. If it's public, your options expand to 'Anyone on Peloton' or 'only me'.
You can make yourself invisible in search results.
You can opt out of being suggested as a contact when someone syncs their contact list.
You can disable the contact syncing feature, preventing others from finding you via their phone contacts.
You can hide the maps of your outdoor run routes.
You can remove your age and gender from class leaderboards.
You can toggle the “personalized experience” feature on or off, as well as control whether marketing and ads are based on your activity.
These options are all found within your profile under preferences. While some of these settings can be a bit confusing, you'll need to turn a toggle on to hide your data for some, and off for others. And just a few months ago, Peloton introduced the ability to block users.
What you can do with and without a subscription
Without a subscription, you're limited to a free trial that only includes a few classes. With an App One subscription ($12.99/month), you get access to outdoor runs (both guided and Just Run), along with strength and yoga classes. To unlock full access, including the ability to take more than 3 treadmill classes per month, you'll need the App+ subscription ($24/month).
What this app does well
The biggest advantage of Peloton's running features is their seamless integration with the Peloton ecosystem. If you're aiming to meet your minutes for the annual challenge, tracking your runs here keeps everything consolidated. Plus, if you have friends who are also in the Peloton community, you can train for marathons together or chat about your favorite guided runs and instructors.
Beyond that integration, I’m hard-pressed to see why anyone would want to run with the Peloton app, unless you're really dedicated to guided runs from your favorite instructors. The guided runs come with a friendly voice and curated music, which can add variety, but is it worth the $12.99/month or more?
Here’s a positive note: even at the lowest subscription tier, the app includes strength and yoga classes, with a good selection designed specifically for runners. Since runners are notorious for skipping strength training (just as lifters tend to skip cardio), this could be a convenient way to ensure you always have a workout option at hand.
Downsides and drawbacks
The primary downside of using Peloton as a running app is that it’s not really a running app! It only tracks basic metrics (time, distance, and pace), and its training programs are pretty underwhelming. You can find better guided runs and training plans with Nike Run Club—and that app is free!
To be honest, running on this app is more of an extra feature to a broader fitness platform. If you’re into the other aspects, like strength training and yoga, and don’t need detailed running metrics or coaching, it’s handy to knock out your runs within the same app. However, if you’re after an app that specializes in running and tracking performance, I’d recommend looking elsewhere.
