Run Clicker
Find your rhythm. Hold your cadence.
A metronome for your Apple Watch that ticks every few steps at the cadence you choose, through your AirPods or the watch speaker. It measures your actual cadence as you go, can fall silent while you’re on pace, and works alongside the Workout app.
Coming soon to the App Store.
Requires Apple Watch with watchOS 27.2 or later.
How it works
Choose your cadence.
Turn the Digital Crown to set your target steps per minute (SPM), anywhere from 90 for a gentle walk to 190 for a fast run.
Press Start and run.
A short tick plays every few steps (every 3rd step by default), so you can match your stride without counting every footfall.
Glance to check.
Your live cadence shows on screen, with a ✓ when you’re on pace, or ⌃ / ⌄ to speed up or slow down.
Features
A tick you can lock on to.
A crisp, sample-accurate tick every few steps, not every step, so it guides your rhythm without nagging. At 180 SPM with a tick every 3 steps, that’s one tick a second.
Live cadence.
Run Clicker measures your real cadence from the watch’s motion sensors and shows it big and clear, with a ✓ when you’re within 3 SPM of your target.
Quiet on pace.
Once you’ve held your target for 15 seconds, the tick falls silent. Drift off pace for 10 seconds and it comes back. You get to run and breathe naturally, and you learn to hold the pace yourself.
Exhale cue.
Turn each tick into a breath: the tick marks the start of breathing in, and a softer, lower “tock” marks breathing out. With a tick every 5 steps you get the popular 3-in, 2-out rhythm.
Crown volume.
While it’s ticking, turn the Digital Crown to change the volume, just like Now Playing.
Siri.
Start, stop and change your cadence by voice: handy with AirPods in.
Works with the Workout app.
Track your run in the Workout app as usual; Run Clicker keeps time alongside it.
Double tap.
On supported Apple Watch models, double tap your index finger and thumb to start or stop without touching the screen.
Always On.
Your cadence stays visible with your wrist down on Always On displays.
Getting started
- Install Run Clicker on your Apple Watch from the App Store.
- Put your AirPods in (optional, as the watch speaker works too).
- Open Run Clicker and tap the gear to choose your settings (see the guide below), or just go with the default of 180 SPM, ticking every 3 steps.
- Start a run in the Workout app if you’d like to track it, then open Run Clicker and tap Start.
- The first time, allow Motion & Fitness access so Run Clicker can show your live cadence.
- Lower your wrist and run. The tick keeps going in the background.
- Tap Stop when you’re done (or say “Stop Run Clicker”).
Settings guide
- Turn the Crown. The green outline shows the Digital Crown is set to change your cadence.
- Tap − or +. Sets how many steps pass between ticks.
- Quiet and Exhale. Tap a pill to turn it on. It fills green and its icon fills in.
Target cadence (SPM)
Turn the Digital Crown, or tap − and +, to choose from 90 to 190 steps per minute.
| You’re… | Typical cadence |
|---|---|
| Walking | 100–130 SPM |
| Brisk walking | 130–140 SPM |
| Easy running | 155–170 SPM |
| Running | 170–185 SPM |
| Fast running | 180–190 SPM |
Tick every (1–8 steps)
How many steps between ticks. Fewer ticks are easier to live with. An odd number means each tick lands on alternate feet.
Quiet
Short for Quiet on pace. Mutes the tick while you hold your target and brings it back when you drift. Every run starts ticking, so you can lock on first.
Exhale
Adds a lower sound where your breath out begins. Each tick is one breath, and you breathe in for the larger half of the steps:
| Tick every | Breathing pattern | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| 2 steps | 1 in : 1 out | Sprints |
| 3 steps | 2 in : 1 out | Hard efforts |
| 4 steps | 2 in : 2 out | Steady running |
| 5 steps | 3 in : 2 out | Easy running (a great place to start) |
| 6 steps | 3 in : 3 out | Easy running and walking |
| 7–8 steps | 4 in : 3–4 out | Walking and recovery |
The exhale cue isn’t available when ticking every step, as there’s no step in between.
Running with Workout and AirPods
- Workout app
- Run Clicker doesn’t start a workout of its own, so it doesn’t interrupt one. Start your run in the Workout app (or your favourite running app), then start Run Clicker.
- AirPods and Bluetooth headphones
- The tick plays through them when they’re connected to your watch. If they take more than a few seconds to connect, you’ll see “Connecting audio…”, and if they don’t connect, the tick plays through the watch speaker instead.
- Music
- Apple Watch plays one audio source at a time, so the tick and music can’t play together. If music or a podcast starts, the tick pauses and resumes when it’s free. (This is a limit of Apple Watch, not something we can change.)
- Volume
- While ticking, turn the Digital Crown, or use the volume control in the top-left corner.
Siri
Say “Siri” and then:
| Say | What happens |
|---|---|
| “Start Run Clicker” | Opens Run Clicker and starts ticking |
| “Stop Run Clicker” | Stops ticking |
| “Set cadence in Run Clicker” | Siri asks for your target, for example “175” |
Similar phrasings work too (“Start ticking in Run Clicker”, “Change cadence in Run Clicker”). Siri briefly pauses the tick while it talks.
Runs longer than an hour
Apple Watch lets an app like Run Clicker run in the background for up to an hour at a time.
- A few minutes before the hour, your watch taps your wrist and a Keep Going button appears. Tap it for another hour.
- With AirPods in, the tick simply carries on past the hour even if you don’t tap. Quiet on pace pauses until you tap Keep Going.
- On the watch speaker, if you don’t tap Keep Going, the tick stops at the hour and the screen says “Stopped after 1 hour”. Tap Start to begin again.
FAQ and troubleshooting
I can’t hear the tick.
Check the volume: turn the Digital Crown while it’s ticking. If you’re using AirPods, check they’re connected to your watch (not just your iPhone). On the watch speaker, make sure the watch isn’t covered by a sleeve.
The screen says “Connecting audio…”
Your AirPods are still connecting. If they don’t connect within a few seconds, the tick switches to the watch speaker.
The screen says “Audio interrupted”
Something else is using audio, such as a call, Siri or music. The tick resumes automatically when it’s finished.
The screen says “Couldn’t start audio”
Your watch couldn’t start any audio. Check your AirPods, or restart Run Clicker. If it keeps happening, restart your Apple Watch.
The screen says “Stopped after 1 hour”
Runs on the watch speaker stop after an hour unless you tap Keep Going. See Runs longer than an hour.
The screen says “Stopped by watchOS”
Your watch ended Run Clicker’s background session, usually to save power or because another app needed it. Tap Start to carry on.
My cadence shows “–”
Run Clicker is still measuring. It takes a few seconds of steady steps. If it stays blank, check that Run Clicker has Motion & Fitness access: on your iPhone, open the Watch app → Privacy, or on your watch, Settings → Privacy & Security → Motion & Fitness.
The tick went quiet on its own.
That’s Quiet on pace: you’re holding your target. Look for the muted-speaker icon next to “SPM”. It comes back if you drift for 10 seconds. You can turn it off with the Quiet pill in Settings.
Can I listen to music at the same time?
Not at the moment: Apple Watch plays one audio source at a time.
Does it track my run or record workouts?
No. Run Clicker keeps your cadence; use the Workout app (or another running app) to record your run.
Which Apple Watch models are supported?
Any Apple Watch that runs watchOS 27.2 or later. Double tap needs a model that supports it.
Does Run Clicker need my iPhone?
No. It runs entirely on your Apple Watch.
Run Clicker is a training aid, not a medical device. Stay aware of your surroundings, keep the volume at a level where you can hear traffic, and if you’re changing your cadence because of pain or injury, talk to a physiotherapist or doctor first.
Accessibility
Run Clicker supports VoiceOver (including swipe-to-adjust for the cadence and steps), Dynamic Type up to the largest accessibility sizes, Reduce Motion, Always On, and double tap. The cadence readout uses both colour and symbols (✓ ⌃ ⌄), and the options show filled icons when on, so you never have to rely on colour alone.
Support
Need help?
Our support email address will be listed here before Run Clicker reaches the App Store.
Ideas and feedback are very welcome too.
Current version: 1.0
Privacy Policy
We built Run Clicker to collect nothing about you.
- What we collect
- Nothing. Run Clicker has no accounts, no analytics, no advertising and no tracking, and it doesn’t connect to the internet.
- Motion data
- To show your live cadence, Run Clicker reads step counts from your Apple Watch’s motion sensors, with your permission. This data is processed on your watch while Run Clicker is running, is never stored by the app, and never leaves your device. You can turn off access at any time in your watch’s privacy settings.
- Your settings
- Your cadence, steps per tick and option choices are saved on your Apple Watch so they’re there next time. They aren’t sent anywhere.
- Siri
- If you use Siri with Run Clicker, Apple processes your voice requests under Apple’s own privacy policy. We receive nothing.
- Crash reports
- If you’ve chosen to share analytics with app developers in your Apple Watch or iPhone settings, Apple may send us anonymous crash reports. These contain no personal information, and you can switch this off at any time.
- Children
- Run Clicker collects no data from anyone, including children.
- This website
- This page sets no cookies and uses no analytics, advertising or third-party content.
- Changes
- If this policy changes, we’ll update this page and its effective date.
- Contact
- A contact address will be listed here before Run Clicker reaches the App Store.