Racefully has a range of options controlling how it keeps you updated throughout your activity. You'll probably want to experiment until the experience feels right for you. You can access these settings by choosing Settings on the menu then Activity tracking settings.
Receive audio updates
You can set Racefully to give you pace and distance splits in the audio commentary based on distance and/or time (or none at all). Racefully will automatically lower the volume of any music or podcasts you're listening to while it delivers an update, and then raise it after.
This setting doesn't affect training runs, which have their own commentary settings accessed via the Training screen. Live and shadow group activities provide additional updates about your relative position in the activity.
Text notifications for wearables
I additional to audio narration, Racefully can send notifications about pace and distance to your smart watch - as long as it is set to display the notifications you receive on your phone.
Countdown
If you need some time after starting to record an activity, for instance to put your phone away, you can choose from a 5, 10 or 20-second countdown before recording starts. If you prefer to tap-and-go, choose None.
Auto-pause
If you don't want the time you were stuck waiting at a crossing to affect your pace, turn on auto-pause, and Racefully will automatically pause recording your activity when you stop, and start again when you start moving.
Pro tip: For runners and nordic skiers, the pause is based on how much the phone is jiggling around. If you carry your phone, there is less jiggling than if it's strapped to your arm, and if the phone is in a belt or pocket it will jiggle even more. Racefully provides sensitivity settings for how little movement is required for pause, and how much for restart. If the activity recording is continuing when you're not ready, try a lower sensitivity for start. If the app doesn't pause when you stop running, try a higher sensitivity for pause.
Pro tip: Cycling and walking are paused by speed measured from your GPS trace. For cyclists, a speed under 2m/s causes a pause. For walkers it's 0.2m/s. If you are in a built-up area or somewhere with poor GPS signal, the errors in your GPS trace may prevent auto-pause from activating. You can always pause manually by tapping the run recording screen, and resume (even for auto-pause) the same way.
Skiing and Snowboarding
When recording downhill skiing and snowboarding, Racefully can be set to Continuous recording mode, where you start recording at the beginning of your time on the slopes, and only end when you're all down. The app will automatically divide up your runs into separate activities. If this option is off, you should start and stop recording for each run.