Suunto Race 2 owners can now bring real treadmill data to the watch through QZ Fitness and the SuuntoPlus Treadmill Link sports app. A real user-confirmed setup shows how the watch, QZ and a treadmill can work together without connecting the watch directly to the treadmill.
Table of Contents
The setup
The connection is simple:
Treadmill → QZ Fitness on iPhone → Suunto Race 2 running Treadmill Link
QZ connects to the treadmill over its supported Bluetooth path, reads the available workout data and exposes a virtual treadmill connection. Treadmill Link runs on the Suunto watch and connects to QZ’s bridge. The iPhone runs QZ; no second phone is required for the watch app.
This also means the bridge is not limited to FTMS-only treadmill hardware. When QZ supports a treadmill through a proprietary or other model-specific Bluetooth path, QZ can still present the workout to Treadmill Link as a virtual treadmill. The individual treadmill must have a supported QZ connection path; the watch does not need a direct native connection to every treadmill model.
What Treadmill Link can display
Suunto describes Treadmill Link as a SuuntoPlus sports app that brings treadmill data to a compatible Suunto watch. In this workflow, the watch can receive:
| Data | How it is used |
|---|---|
| Speed | Treadmill-reported running or walking speed delivered through QZ. |
| Incline | The treadmill gradient reported by the QZ connection. |
| Distance | Calculated by Treadmill Link from treadmill speed during the activity. |
| Ascent | Calculated from speed and incline, including uphill treadmill sessions. |
Suunto also describes workout-specific data and graphs saved with the activity in the Suunto ecosystem. This is useful when watch-only treadmill estimates do not match the machine’s measured speed or when incline should contribute to the recorded training load.
A real user confirmation
On October 17, 2026, a QZ user confirmed that the Suunto Race 2, QZ Fitness on iPhone and Treadmill Link were working together after a QZ update. The user’s short confirmation was:
“All good now. Your update fixed straight away!”
This is real user evidence for the Suunto Race 2 → QZ iPhone → Treadmill Link workflow, not just a theoretical compatibility statement. The confirmation is intentionally presented without private account details or identifying information about the treadmill.
How to set it up
- Install QZ Fitness on the iPhone and connect QZ to the treadmill using the matching QZ device path.
- In QZ, confirm that speed and incline are updating before opening Treadmill Link.
- Open the Suunto app and find Treadmill Link in the SuuntoPlus Store.
- Install or synchronize Treadmill Link to the compatible Suunto watch.
- On the watch, select Treadmill Link in the indoor running workout and allow it to connect to the QZ virtual treadmill.
- Start with a short session and compare the watch data with the treadmill and QZ tiles.
- If the treadmill supports negative incline, verify the reported gradient before relying on ascent calculations.
Why this matters for indoor running
A smartwatch can estimate indoor pace and distance from wrist motion, but treadmill data gives the workout a different reference. QZ lets the treadmill remain connected to the iPhone while Treadmill Link runs directly on the watch. The result is a watch-based workout with treadmill speed and incline data, plus distance and ascent calculated from those values.
The same approach can be useful with many treadmill workflows supported by QZ, including machines that do not expose a standard FTMS service. The important requirement is not the FTMS label alone: QZ must have a working driver or supported connection path for the specific treadmill.
What QZ adds beyond the bridge
QZ is more than a Bluetooth relay. Depending on the selected device profile, platform and permissions, it can provide live tiles, charts, UI zoom, user profiles, workout recording and a central dashboard for connected training.
- Training apps: virtual treadmill and FTMS workflows for Zwift, MyWhoosh, Rouvy, Wahoo RGT, Kinomap, BKOOL, Fulgaz, VzFit, BitGym, Echelon and other compatible apps.
- Workouts: QZ standalone sessions, video workouts, GPX routes with 2D/3D maps, ZWO, XML, structured intervals, random workouts and heart-rate-following sessions.
- Metrics and heart rate: speed, incline, distance, calories, cadence where available, heart-rate zones, Bluetooth heart-rate sensors, ANT+ heart rate and Apple Watch sources.
- Health and exports: Apple Health/HealthKit, Google Health Connect, Garmin FIT/ANT+ workflows, Strava and email workout reports.
- Advanced integrations: MQTT, OSC, text-to-speech, ANT+ retransmission, Bluetooth remote control, Zwift Play & Click and Wahoo DirCon where the platform and setup support them.
These are QZ bridge capabilities. They should not be read as native features of the watch or of every treadmill.
What this confirms — and what it does not
The user confirmation establishes a working Suunto Race 2, QZ Fitness on iPhone and Treadmill Link configuration after the QZ update. It does not automatically certify every Suunto watch, every treadmill firmware version or every QZ device profile. SuuntoPlus availability also depends on watch compatibility and current Suunto software.
For a new treadmill, first verify that QZ can read the required metrics and expose its virtual treadmill. Then test Treadmill Link with a short workout before relying on the data for a long training session.
Get started
If you have a compatible Suunto watch and a treadmill supported by QZ, try the chain: connect the treadmill to QZ, expose the virtual treadmill, and let Treadmill Link connect on the watch. It is a practical way to bring treadmill speed, incline, distance and ascent into a Suunto workout without pairing the watch directly to the physical machine.
If something does not work as expected, send an email to Roberto.viola83@gmail.com and Roberto will help you check the setup.