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Guide

How to add pace and heart rate to your running video

Export your run as a FIT file from your watch's app (or connect Strava), open your video in Telemetry Studio, add the run and click Auto Sync This Clip. Pace, heart rate, splits, cadence and your route then follow the video second by second. Export it wide for YouTube or 9:16 for Reels and TikTok.

It works with runs from Garmin, Coros, Suunto, Wahoo and Apple Watch (or anything on Strava), on Mac or Windows. The 14-day free trial covers everything below.

A vertical running clip with splits, heart rate, map, pace and elevation.

What you need

  • Video of your run: a phone, a GoPro, a DJI Osmo or anything else that films.
  • The same run recorded on a GPS watch, or on Strava. Heart rate needs a watch or chest strap; phone-only runs give you pace and the route.
  • Telemetry Studio for macOS or Windows (free 14-day trial).

01Get the FIT file of your run

FIT is the file your watch records, with every reading: pace, heart rate, cadence, elevation and GPS. GPX works too, but usually carries only the route and time, so you lose heart rate and cadence.

WatchHow to get the file
GarminGarmin Connect on the web: open the run, gear icon, Export Original. You get a .zip with the .fit inside.
CorosCOROS app: open the run, ••• menu, Export, choose FIT.
SuuntoSuunto app: open the workout, ••• menu, export as FIT (all data) or GPX.
Apple WatchApple has no export. A third-party app such as HealthFit exports the workout as FIT.
Any watch on StravaConnect Strava inside Telemetry Studio and pick the run from your list. No file needed.

02Open your video and add the run

Open your video, then click Add Telemetry 1 and choose the FIT file, or drag it onto the Telemetry row 2. Telemetry Studio reads the sport from the file and switches to running overlays: pace instead of a speedometer, steps per minute instead of pedal cadence.

The editor with a video open and the Add Telemetry button highlighted

03Auto Sync the clip

Right-click the clip on the timeline and choose Auto Sync This Clip 1. It uses the time the camera started recording to find the right moment in your run. If your phone or camera had the wrong time, use Sync to Map: click a landmark in the video, then the same spot on the map.

The clip menu on the timeline with Auto Sync This Clip highlighted

04Add pace, heart rate and splits

Open the Overlays tab and add what you want to show 1. The running ones:

The Overlays tab with the add overlay button highlighted
  • Pace and average pace, in min/km or min/mi.
  • Splits: a table of each kilometre or mile, with the live one highlighted.
  • Grade-adjusted pace: what your pace on a hill is worth on the flat.
  • Finish projection and pace vs target, for race videos ("on pace for 3:29:47").
  • Heart rate, heart rate zone and a heart rate graph.
  • Cadence in steps per minute, elevation gain and loss, an elevation graph, the map, distance and time.
Running video frame with splits, heart rate 167 bpm in zone 5, map, pace 8:41 per mile and speed overlays
Splits, heart rate zone, map, pace and elevation on a vertical clip.

05Export, vertical or wide

Choose File › Export Video…, pick the format and quality, and export. Choose 9:16 for Reels, Shorts and TikTok. Exports go up to 4K. Editing in Premiere, Final Cut or DaVinci Resolve? Export only the overlays with a transparent background and put them on top of your edit.

The Export Video window with Format, Quality and Export highlighted

If something looks wrong

  • Pace jumps around: GPS is noisy at running speed, under trees and between buildings. Pace is averaged over 15 seconds to smooth it out.
  • No heart rate: the file has none. A GPX export or a phone-only run doesn't record it. Use the FIT file from your watch.
  • Cycling overlays instead of running ones: set the sport to Running in the top bar.

Other ways to do it

Garmin VIRB Edit used to do this for free but is no longer developed (see VIRB Edit alternatives). Telemetry Overlay is the other paid option (how it compares). Relive makes 3D route videos from your activity, but it doesn't put your data on your own footage. Riding instead? Here's the cycling guide.

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