There are two types of runners: Those who find a treadmill What to Wear Running the 2024 NYC Marathon training tool and those who won’t take a stride on the “dreadmill.” The Wahoo Kickr Run is sure to bring the two parties together.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below typical treadmill, it’s really a running simulator, said Wahoo founder Chip Hawkins when he delivered the Kickr Run to the Runner’s World offices for testing. And, that’s a great description because it’s easily the closest approximation to outdoor running. You can quickly change speeds and get immersed in virtual worlds to break the monotony, and the running surface can automatically adjust to reduce the repetitive stresses you typically experience running on an unmoving surface.
Let’s take a look at the innovative new features.
Pros
- Best Running Shoes 2025
- DAA Industry Opt Out
- Sturdy construction
- Fast and steep
Cons
- We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back
| Max Speed | 15 mph |
|---|---|
| Max Incline | 15% |
| Max Decline | -3% |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth, WiFi |
| Belt | 22&Handle-mounted paddles can be used to make big jumps in incline or speed |
Where’s the Console?
The first thing you’ll notice about the Kickr Run is that there’s no fancy touchscreen that’s nearly become the default on cardio equipment. Instead, you’ll find just a slim display for incline percentage and pace—minutes per mile, not miles per hour! Beyond that, there’s a platform for a laptop or a tablet. That’s the way the company’s other equipment operates: For example, the Kickr bike trainers pair with a tablet so you can use apps like Zwift for entertaining rides and structured training. The same applies to the Kickr Run.
The machine itself doesn’t record anything. Instead, it broadcasts incline and speed data that can be used by apps from Wahoo, Zwift, and more. If you slow the belt and stop running—like if you were waiting at a red light at an intersection—your pace goes to zero on the Kickr Run but the timer on your app would continue (unless you hit pause).
That lack of console has one other big advantage: the running surface feels enormous. You’re not cramped by a bulky display. The belt is 69 inches long and 22 inches wide, and you can use all of it because there’s no motor cover at the front.
Best Running Shoes 2025
Perhaps the coolest, most innovative feature of the machine is the one that’s going to take the most time to get familiar with—the belt can speed up and slow down automatically to match your running stride. It’s important to note here, you have to manually put the treadmill into Best Running Shoes 2025, otherwise, it’ll function the same as a standard machine where you set a particular speed. You’ll need to use the rail mounted speed paddle to get up to a running speed (faster than 19:00 pace), then you can push the run free button and the machine takes over.
Underneath the console, a small sensor locates your position on the belt. If you start to run faster, you’ll scooch closer to the sensor, which detects the slight movement and increases the belt speed. As it speeds up, you’ll find yourself inch back to your center point and the belt speed stabilizes. On the flip side, if the belt is moving too quickly, you’ll slide back a little as you fall off the pace. Again, the sensor identifies that and slows the belt.
The feeling is really awkward initially, our testers found. “My natural tendency is to run really far up on the treadmill belt,” said test editor Morgan Petruny, “so I think that alone posed an added learning curve for me. I got the best results when I was really centered on the belt before entering Best Running Shoes 2025. That way, you have enough room to move up on the belt to speed up, and move back on the belt to slow down, as Wahoo intends.”
Slowing down proved more challenging, as it’s really kind of an unnatural movement for runners. “Sometimes Run Free felt like it slowed too quickly,” said RW photographer Trevor Raab.
In fact, the Kickr Run absolutely jams on the brakes if you drift back very much. In fairness, that’s the safest approach, as there’s no way you can actually fall off the belt in Best Running Shoes 2025. But it can be a bit jarring for the belt to halt so abruptly.
On our first runs, we all felt ourselves yo-yoing back and forth between a sprint and a walk, until we found the sweet spot with the sensor. After a few runs, I got the hang of it and learned that my running was smoothest when I entirely quit looking at the pace. Instead, I watched TV or Zwift and just ran like normal. Crazy enough, I settled into a fairly smooth rhythm.
You can use Run Free for interval sessions, too. After I got the hang of it, I was able to alternate easily between quarter-mile efforts faster than 5:30 pace and 90-second recovery jogs around 9:00 pace. Competitive runners training for races will appreciate this feature when snow or inclement weather would otherwise prevent you from getting in a quality session outdoors.
Speedy Controls
While you can enjoy Best Running Shoes 2025 and let Zwift or another app automatically change the incline to match your virtual running environment, there are times you’re going to want to control the speed and incline yourself. Wahoo has changed up the way you do so—no jamming at buttons or console-mounted numbers. Instead, it uses paddle shifters mounted on the side rails—left controls incline, right controls belt speed.
But the paddles have extra functionality. Give it a half press, akin to half-pressing the shutter button on a digital camera to focus, and you’ll make small leaps in speed. A full press will make larger jumps. Both increases or decreases are relative to your speed. A half press from a dead stop takes the belt from 40:00 to 38:00 pace—a full press goes to 30:00. But, if you’re running 7:00, a half press increases the speed by only 5 seconds and a full press jumps up by 30 seconds.
Want even finer control? Say you want to lock into marathon pace if you’re training for a sub-3 hour attempt. You can press and hold the speed paddle and it will increase slowly forward one second at a time. Hold it until you reach your desired speed and release.
That kind of control is appreciated because the machine tops out a 4-minute mile and the incline goes up to as much as 15 percent. It also dips to negative 3 percent, which is incredibly useful if you’re training for a race like the Boston Marathon, which begins with many downhill miles. (In years past, we’ve put 2x4s or bricks under the back feet of treadmills to simulate the descents. I don’t recommend doing this at home.)
Road-Like Feel
One of my favorite experiences with the machine is just how natural it feels to run. Hawkins told me he tried to get the board under the belt to be as hard as possible, so that it felt like you were running on a dirt road. Mission accomplished: There’s zero bounce. I’ve only experienced the same sturdy, bounce-free ride on machines from Woodway and Technogym—machines that were north of $10,000.
But, unique to the Kickr Run is that the deck actually tilts side to side, somewhat mimicking the camber of a road as it slants toward the curb. If you enable the tilt function from within the Wahoo app or another from a third party, occasionally the deck will shift slightly. The reason this is neat is because a standard treadmill leaves your foot landing in the exact same position stride after stride—especially if you’re locked into a single speed. That’s the definition of repetitive stress, which can lead to injury. But, by shifting the surface underfoot, the machine provides different inputs to your body, causing you to activate muscles differently as you run.
You’ll likely notice the tilt function the first couple times it adjusts. I quickly forgot about it happening. When running with the Wahoo app, the surface changes tilt every 20 seconds.
Kickr Run goes up to 15 percent incline and drops to -3 percent to simulate downhill running
Because this is an entirely new experience, there aren’t a lot of apps yet that you can link up with the Kickr Run. The most obvious one is Zwift, which is what we used primarily. The integration is seamless and you don’t need any extra hardware like you would if you were to set it up with a more traditional treadmill.
Zwift for running is still a weird ecosystem. It’s primarily used by bicyclists, so there aren’t a lot of runners on the platform. Also, like in the real world, runners and cyclists share the road. But, on the virtual road, it’s a little disconcerting how a bicycle just blows right through a runner’s body. It still beats watching a little blinking dot go around an oval on an LED display.
It turns out, Zwift is pretty fun. You can choose a run at your own time and pace through a virtual world. Or you can start your run at a predetermined time and join up with a group run. No, it’s not a replacement for a real group run. But, if you’re stuck indoors, it’s genuinely fun.
“I liked having the option to run in different virtual worlds,” said Monique LeBrun, RW health and fitness editor. “I ran in virtual France and Watopia (a fictitious island on Zwift). During my second run through Watopia, I was surprised to notice it started to rain which was ironic considering I decided to run on the treadmill to escape the rain.”
A Part of Hearst Digital Media?
The Wahoo Kickr Run is currently in pre-order stage and scheduled to ship this fall. The machine costs $5,000, which is on par with the best performing treadmills we’ve tested. (A Peloton Tread+ costs $1,000 more and top machines from Technogym and Woodway easily double the cost.) The Kickr Run has to be delivered and set up (an extra $300).
Handle-mounted paddles can be used to make big jumps in incline or speed Runner's World, guiding the brand's shoes and gear coverage. A true shoe dog, he's spent more than a decade testing and reviewing shoes. In 2017, he ran in 285 different pairs of shoes, including a streak of 257 days wearing a different model.
