Guide · Ghost Runner

How to race your past run on Apple Watch

Ghost Runner turns your Apple Health runs into Routes. Pick a past run on a Route and race its ghost on your Apple Watch: the Watch shows how many seconds you are ahead or behind. You need an iPhone with iOS 18 and a paired Apple Watch with watchOS 11.

Steps

1. Install Ghost Runner. It’s a free beta through Apple’s TestFlight: install the beta on your iPhone, then install the Watch app from the iPhone’s Watch app, under Available Apps.
2. Connect Apple Health. Open Ghost Runner on the iPhone and tap Connect Apple Health. Your outdoor runs appear, sorted into Routes, older runs included. No runs yet? Do a Free Run with your Apple Watch: it saves as your first ghost and your first Route.
3. Choose the run to race. Open a Route. Its GHOSTS tab holds the lineup: up to six ghosts, its fastest runs by default. To race a particular run, open its ⋯ menu under RUNS and choose Add to lineup.
4. Send it to the Watch. Tap Send to Watch and wait until the Route shows it is on the Watch.
5. Start at the beginning. Go to the start of the Route. On the Watch, open Ghost Runner, choose Race under Choose a Run and tap start. The Watch checks that you are near the start before the countdown.
6. Race. The Watch shows how many seconds you are ahead of or behind the ghost and, with several ghosts, your place. Swipe left for pace and heart rate, and up for the full route with every ghost. You can leave the iPhone at home.
7. Finish and save. At the finish, tap SAVE RUN. The Watch shows your result against the ghost, and the workout saves to Apple Health. On the iPhone, open the run for its race report.

Other ghosts to race

• Past you: how you’d have run the Route on a day in the last 12 months, from your fitness then, hills and all. It needs a few runs with heart rate. Tap ADD GHOST in the GHOSTS tab.
• A goal pace: an even-pace ghost, also from ADD GHOST.
• A friend: send a run as a challenge, then race the times your friends post. See the FAQ.

To follow a Route without a ghost, choose Run Course on the Watch instead.