Mileage tracking with Apple Fitness/Health is not required to participate in Frozen Feet.
NOTE: You must log a "workout" activity for miles to sync with your running store app account. Step counters will not sync.
Latest Activity Not Showing Up? Apple Fitness/Health's connection to your running store's app is a "pull" service, meaning there has to be a request from the running store's app to Apple to get an updated list of your activities. The running store's app will automatically update by periodically requesting new activities from Apple on its own. However, if you want to "force" it to check for new activities in Apple Fitness/Health, simply click on the synced miles or log miles icon in the running store's app. Then, on the mileage detail screen, pull to refresh.
Making Sense of Apple's Many Health-Related Apps
Apple Health, Apple Fitness, Workout, and Apple Fitness Plus are all different apps working together to keep users' stats on deck. Apple offers a robust wellness platform for those inside its walled garden. That said, getting started with health and fitness tracking on Apple can be somewhat confusing. What is Apple Health, and how is it different from Apple Fitness? Do you need an Apple Watch to track mileage? And just what is Apple Fitness Plus?
What is Apple Health?
Apple’s Health app, unhelpfully called Apple Health, provides a central hub where users can collect and analyze data from a range of sources.
All of your devices and subscription services collect data, some of which overlap. That’s where Apple Health comes in. It syncs with the most popular health apps (as long as you have it set up to do so) and stores all of your data in a single spot.
Apple Health is also where Apple's Workout app (which comes installed on all Apple Watches) stores your workout data such as runs, hikes, swims, etc.
What is Apple Fitness?
Apple Fitness is Apple’s exercise-tracking app for the Apple Watch. On the app’s Summary page, you’ll find Apple’s famous rings, alongside workouts, mindfulness practices, trends, and awards. The app revolves around three main goals; standing, exercise, and movement.
It's very easy to confuse Apple Fitness with Apple's Workout app, especially if you're a new Apple Watch user. They are different!
What is Apple Fitness Plus?
Apple Fitness Plus (aka Apple Fitness+) is another offering from Apple with a highly generic name. Apple Fitness Plus is quite different, however. Rather than tracking data, Fitness Plus offers a catalog of guided workout videos for a monthly fee.
Syncing Apple Fitness/Health with Your Running Store App
Unlike Rewards points, Mileage IS NOT accrued and stored by your running store app. It is based entirely upon the activity you've logged in Apple Fitness/Health (most often by way of Apple Workout app on your watch). The running store app will display mileage from activities you logged in Apple Fitness/Health beginning on the day you created your account in the running store app.
Activities you logged prior to your running store app account creation date will not pull over.
This is done so that if you change devices, choose to migrate your mileage tracking to another platform, or otherwise make a change, you can do so without losing mileage or duplicating workouts.
Please note, if you connected Apple Fitness/Health to your running store app in the past but recent miles aren't pulling over, it may be necessary to re-authenticate with Apple inside of your running store app.
Setting Up Mileage Sync with Apple Fitness/Health
Ensure you are using an Apple device such as an iPhone or Apple Watch. Apple Health, Apple Fitness, Workouts, are not available for Android devices.
Open your running store app and login to your account
On the running store app home screen, tap either of the two mileage icons circled in red on the screenshot below
On the next screen, tap 'Connect with Apple Fitness'
Granting Access: Apple considers Apple Fitness the workout recorder for their Apple Health Product. As such, Apple Health requires you to "Allow" the running store app to access this information.
When you tap 'Connect to Apple Fitness', your device will automatically pull up a screen asking you to allow access.
Be sure to toggle on the workouts and walking + running distance (to be safe, all types), and tap allow. If you don't enable this feature, your miles cannot be pulled from Apple.
Any applicable activities will be pulled in and listed with the date, time, and mileage per instance. Apple's step counter will not send data without it being connected to a tracked activity such as a run or walk.
Troubleshooting & Notes on Apple's Health Suite
Common questions & answers to them.
Why aren't my Runs Syncing?
As with any third-party app integration, there can be a host of reasons new runs may not appear. Please review the best practices below to ensure your activities meet the criteria.
Fetching New Runs: Apple does not 'push' new workouts to the app, they have to be fetched. If you are having trouble syncing new runs try the following:
Use the 'pull to refresh' on the miles screen to call the server for the latest runs.
Try quitting the app and relaunching it.
Try tapping the red 'log out' on the top of the mileage page and reauthenticating with Apple. Occasionally, Apple will roll or expire access tokens for security reasons. Doing so will establish a fresh token and session and your activities will update.
Run Dates: Miles will ONLY be pulled in from either the customer's sign up date for the rewards program or the app rewards/mileage live date. Whichever is most recent.
Workout Types: Apple has 100+ different workout types available to record exercise activities. ONLY type Run and Walk are synced from Apple into the app. All others will be ignored, as fake mileage can scam achievement levels.
Manually Add a Workout in Apple Health
Unfortunately, you aren't able to manually add workouts to the Activity app, but you can add them directly in the Apple Health app.
Launch Health on your iPhone or Apple device.
Tap Browse.
Tap on the search box.
Type in Workouts.
Tap Workouts.
Tap Add Data in the upper right corner.
Tap Activity Type to choose the workout type RUNNING
Tap Distance to input how far you ran.
Optionally Tap on the start and end time to adjust the workout time and length.
Tap Add.
Manually added workout information will count towards your favorite Apple Watch's Move, Exercise, and Stand rings, and you will get credit for mileage within your running store app as well.