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How are total time, moving time and pauses calculated?

Updated 2026-10-30

For a recorded route, the inspector shows a Statistics section: how long the recording actually took. This works because a watch, phone or app stores the time of day with every point while recording. A planned route has no times and shows only the Estimate.

Start – End	The time of day of the first and the last point.
Total time	From the first to the last point, pauses included.
Moving time	The total time without the pauses.
Pauses	The time of all pauses together. The value opens the list of individual pauses (see "Show a pause on the map").
Avg. pace / Avg. speed	Calculated from the distance covered while moving and the moving time.
Uphill, Downhill, Flat	The moving time, split by gradient. Uphill and Downhill count the time on stretches that rise or fall by more than 3 % over 100 m. Flat counts the rest.

The Statistics section also shows Ascent / Descent. See What is the difference between ascent, descent and elevation?

How a pause is found

A GPS file has no "pause" field. TrailRunner finds pauses from the times of the points, using two rules:

• The position barely changes. The recorded position stays within 15 m for at least 45 seconds. This can be a traffic light, a photo or a break. The 15 m allow for the drift of a GPS position while standing still.
• The recording has a gap. More than 30 seconds pass between two points, and more than three times the expected time. The expected time comes from the speed recorded on that route itself, corrected for slope. A steep stretch covered slowly uphill therefore does not count as a pause. This rule also catches a watch's automatic pause (auto-pause) and stretches where no points were recorded.

Show a pause on the map

1. Select a recorded route and open the inspector.
2. In Statistics, click the Pauses value. On iPhone, press and hold the row instead.
3. Choose a pause. The list shows its time of day, kilometre and duration.

The map centres on the pause and highlights the stretch around it. To remove the highlight, drag across the Elevation Chart or the slider below it, or select another route.

Each pause in the list has a symbol. A stop sign marks a short wait at a road crossing. A cup marks a break of 10 minutes or more. All other pauses show the pause symbol.

Stop signs can appear a little later. TrailRunner loads the map data of the area when you select a recorded route, and reads the crossings from it.

Why another app shows a slightly different moving time

A difference of a few minutes is normal. Each app finds pauses by its own rule; the GPS file does not define one. In TrailRunner, the last metres before a stop also count as part of the pause.

Why a route has no Statistics section

The points of this route have no recorded times. This is the case for every planned route, including one you plan in TrailRunner's editor, and for most downloaded routes, such as an event's official route or a tour from a website. Some downloaded routes carry times generated by a planning program: every point at the same speed, or every point the same time apart, without a single stop. TrailRunner treats such times as planned and shows the Estimate.

Editing the course of a recorded route replaces its points, and with them its times. The Statistics section then disappears.