Live tracking for races compared: Garmin, Strava, Find My

There are several ways to let people see where you are while you ride or run. Most were built for safety on a training day: someone at home can check you're moving. Race day asks more: where you are on the course, when you'll finish, and a way for people to find you and cheer. This page compares five options fairly, from each provider's own documentation, checked in October 2026.

Which should I use?

It depends on the day. Here's a short answer by situation; the details follow.

You can run more than one at a time. Each uses battery, so on a long day carry a power bank.

How do they compare?

This table uses each provider's own documentation. "Not stated" means their documentation doesn't say; it may or may not do it.

What does Garmin LiveTrack do well?

It works from a Garmin watch or bike computer, with rich data. Garmin describes it as a real-time view of your location during an activity, so friends and family can follow along.

Followers see your location, pace, elapsed time, distance and elevation gain, and in graphs your heart rate and cadence. On supported devices they also see your planned course, and with Spectator Messaging they can send you text or audio messages. Garmin says LiveTrack is free for any compatible product; texting the link, a personalised page and other "Enhanced LiveTrack" features need a Connect+ or Outdoor Maps+ subscription. It needs your phone with you, with a good mobile signal, unless you have one of the LTE watches Garmin lists.

What Garmin's docs don't describe on the LiveTrack page: a finish time, a whole-field map, or a way to find you by name. Its Android-only Live Event Sharing does text an estimated finish to up to 5 phone numbers. The detail is in Garmin LiveTrack alternative for race day.

What does Strava Beacon do well?

It's simple, and it's on your phone already if you use Strava. Strava says you can use Beacon when recording with the Strava mobile app.

You choose up to three safety contacts, and Beacon sends them a text with a unique link. They see your current location, where you've been and where you started, and when you started and how long you've been active, plus your phone's battery. Updates come about every 15 seconds, depending on signal. Recipients don't need the Strava app or an account. When you finish recording, they can no longer see your current location. From a watch or a Garmin, Strava lists Beacon as a subscriber feature.

What it doesn't do, by its own docs: show a race course or a finish time, or let anyone find you by name. The detail is in Strava Beacon alternative for races.

What about Find My and Google Maps?

They're built into your phone, and they're good for keeping family in the loop on any day. They don't know anything about a race.

• Apple Find My: share your location for an hour, until the end of the day, or indefinitely. Apple says both you and the person you share with need an iPhone with iOS 15 or later for Live Location.
• Google Maps location sharing: share for a set time or until you turn it off, with Google contacts, or by link for people without a Google account, for up to 24 hours. Google's page also says the recipient must have a Gmail account, so check it works for your family before the day. Viewers see your battery level and whether it's charging.

Both show a dot on a map. Neither, by its own docs, shows a course, your distance to go, your finish time or the weather where you are.

What does livedot do differently?

It's built for races. A rider on Windline or a runner on RunFast goes live from the app, and everyone else opens a link in any browser.

• The course and your progress: distance done and to go, the next place on the course and when you'll reach it, and your finish time.
• Your goal, as a ghost: where someone at exactly your goal time would be, and "4 min ahead of goal".
• The weather where you are: the wind for riders, the heat for runners, timed to each stretch.
• Race and club maps, and name search for people who choose Findable by anyone.
• Taps on the back, from any browser.

And its limits, plainly: going live needs the Windline or RunFast app on your phone, on Android today, with both iPhone apps with the App Store for review. It's for races, not every training day. It needs phone signal to send, though nothing is lost without it. It isn't official race timing. And it doesn't read Garmin or Strava. How to set it up is in how to share your live location in a race.

Can I use them together?

Yes. A Garmin watch can record your race while the Windline or RunFast app sends your live position, and you can send a Beacon to a safety contact too. Each one uses battery, and each sends its own link, so tell your followers which link is for what.

Which is easiest for followers?

A link that opens in a browser, with no account, is the simplest thing to send to a whole family group: nobody has to install anything or sign in. Whichever you choose, send the link before the day, and once more on race morning. For the follower's side, see how to track someone in a race.

Sources

Checked in October 2026, from each provider's own documentation:

• Garmin: LiveTrack feature, LiveTrack is free, Enhanced LiveTrack, Show Course, update rate, Spectator Messaging, GroupTrack.
• Strava: Strava Beacon, Beacon compatible devices, Beacon for Garmin.
• Apple: Share your location.
• Google: Share your real-time location.

Providers change their features, so check their pages for the latest. If something here is out of date, tell us through Windline's contact page, which livedot shares.