Moving Time vs Elapsed Time

Moving Time vs Elapsed Time Definition

Elapsed time meaning in running

Elapsed time on your watch or on Strava is simply the total length of the activity, disregarding any pauses. It's just the amount of time between starting and ending the activity.

So if you start your run activity at 10am and without any pauses, end the activity at 11am - your elapsed time will be 1 hour.

Elapsed time can be thought of as the same way Parkrun and most races calculate times for your run. They don't care if you stop halfway through, only when you start and when you finish. That's your elapsed time.

Elapsed time as a metric is a useful proxy for time on feet. A common way to measure training when preparing for longer distance races like ultras. Here, the training metric you care about isn't how long you were running for, you care about how long you spent out and about, walking or stops included.

Moving time meaning

Moving time is the total length of activity minus any pauses.

If you started the activity at 10am, paused the activity for 20 minutes in the middle, then ended it at 11am, your elapsed time would still be 1 hour but your moving time would be 40 minutes.

How best to utilise moving and elapsed time in your daily training

These metrics can be confusing and feel very similar, but they actually have different use cases.

Moving time is useful for:

• Knowing how much of an activity you spent actually running
• Best for runs when you don't really take any breaks and are probably after speed or a time

Elapsed time is useful for:

• Runs where you know you won't be running the whole thing, like interval sessions or ultra training
• When you care more about time on feet

Why is the moving time on my watch different to Strava?

This is often due to a wide variety of reasons, the most likely is that Strava processes the activity upload from running watches in a slightly different way. Strava might use the direct GPS feed to calculate it's own moving and elapsed time, instead of using the figures provided directly by the watch. This creates differences.

Without access to the precise way the platforms work however, it's impossible for us to know for sure, but we can make good guesses.

I didn't pause my watch, but my elapsed time and moving time are different?

Some watch brands have features that automatically pause your watch if it sees that you've stopped running. This can happen by accident when waiting to cross roads for example. It can also just happen if your watch gets it wrong.

On Garmin, this feature is called Auto Pause or Run Walk.

Coros calls this Auto Pause

On Apple Watches, this is called Auto Pause

Suunto and Polar also call this Auto Pause

Features like this are the most common cause of random differences between these two metrics. Check out your watch makers guides if you'd like to turn it off.

Why do watches show elapsed and moving time?

The distinction is helpful generally but more so when training for longer distances. Training for an ultra for example, knowing the difference between moving and elapsed time can help you know how much time you spent at rest stops or sorting your gear out.

It's also very useful for interval training that includes standing or slow walking rests where your moving time is the more helpful metric.

You can also use it so spy on people who lie about their PBs on Strava, but that's not for me to say.