Over the summer, fitness social network Strava introduced Beacon, a safety feature designed to offer peace of mind to the friends and families of long distance runners know they’re stating out of harm’s way, such as giant boulders and dogs as demonstrated in the informational video. Essentially, the Strava premium add-on sends real-time updates to a select list of contacts, so a runner can be located, should anything occur.
Formerly available as a standalone iPhone and Android app, the feature is now being offered to Strava Premium members who one of a handful of Garmin fitness trackers, including the Edge 520, Edge 820, Edge 1000, Edge Explore 820, Forerunner 230, Forerunner 235, Forerunner 630, Forerunner 735XT, and Fenix 3.
Beacon syncs up directly with Garmin’s LiveTrack feature, so up to three contacts can check in on the wearer during a session, including map location and the battery power remaining on their device without having to set up a Strava account of their own. The feature is available today on the aforementioned devices.