Club Benefits
I just finished covering my first Mobile World Congress (MWC), Europe’s largest tech show held annually in Barcelona, Spain. As has become tradition when covering such events, I logged my daily step count on my trusty Garmin Instinct 3 all five days of the show.
Did I ultimately cover more ground at MWC 2026 than at CES 2026 in Las Vegas? Did I climb the equivalent height of the Sagrada Familia? Do I regret breaking in a new pair of sneakers? How many ham sandwiches did I consume? Find the exciting answers to all these questions, and more, below.
I walked 37 miles at MWC
| Header Cell - Column 0 | Steps taken | Miles covered | Elevation gained | Calories burned |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Day 1 | 9,094 steps | 5.43 miles | 295 feet | 749 calories |
Day 2 | 15,640 steps | 8.59 miles | 381 feet | 1,156 calories |
Day 3 | 15,164 steps | 8.95 miles | 548 feet | 1,404 calories |
Day 4 | 14,554 steps | 7.78 miles | 432 feet | 1,130 calories |
Day 5 | 12,946 steps | 6.63 miles | 326 feet | 832 calories |
Total | 67,398 steps | 37.38 miles | 1,982 feet | 5,271 calories |
1. I covered a similar amount of ground at MWC 2026 vs CES 2026
My Mobile World Coverage step-count logging began on Sunday, a day before the show officially opened, when I journeyed on foot from my hotel in the center of the city to one of the royal palaces (swanky digs for a pre-tech event, I know) about two miles away.
Ultimately, that jaunt set the stage for the rest of my coverage. For the entirety of my time covering MWC for Tom's Guide, I skipped taxis and public transit in favor of my feet. Of course, this also meant a roughly 2-mile walk each day (in the opposite direction) to and from the convention grounds.
When all was said and done, I averaged roughly 7.5 miles of walking a day, including the commute and time spent exploring the show floor. That's about twice as far as I tend to walk on a normal day back home.
Somewhat surprisingly, I covered nearly the same amount of total distance in my five days at MWC compared to my four days covering CES back in early January, 37.38 miles (MWC) vs. 40.42 miles (CES).
My step count totals were also remarkably similar: 67K steps at MWC and 65K steps at CES.
2. I climbed the height of 3.5 Sagrada Familias
I never really thought of Barcelona as a hilly city, especially living in Seattle, WA, where the hills are steep, slippery, and unforgiving. Nevertheless, I did quite a bit of uphill climbing over the course of my five days at MWC 2026.
With a total just shy of 2,000 feet, I ascended the equivalent of 3.5 Sagrada Familia cathedrals (shown in the image above, from 2017) stacked on top of one another.
No doubt, some of this upward trajectory was the result of climbing stairs and escalators, but it also appears I gained a healthy amount of elevation during my daily walk to and from the show, too.
3. The Garmin Instinct 3’s battery life continues to impress
The Garmin Instinct 3 is a battery life GOAT, there's no doubt about it, and even though I opted for the slightly less-long-lasting AMOLED model rather than the Solar-powered one, I had zero concerns about power consumption, despite long days tracking my efforts with full GPS and heart rate data.
On average, the Garmin Instinct 3 burned through about 7% battery for every five hours of tracking. That's impressive. On day two of the show, I wore both the Garmin Instinct 3 and the Apple Watch Ultra 3, and found the latter less reliable on several counts, including battery drain; over roughly five hours, the Ultra 3 used 20% of its battery capacity, nearly three times more than the Garmin.
4. New Balance Fresh Foams are fantastic walking shoes
Breaking in a new pair of sneakers on an important business trip that involves lots of walking is far from an ideal scenario, but occasionally, I like to live dangerously. So, I packed my brand-spanking-new, piggy-bank-shattering New Balance Fresh Foam X Hierro V9 Gore-Tex kicks, having only tried them on once, and hoped for the best.
Fortunately, these puppies broke in like a charm, with zero foot discomfort. To be fair, this isn't my first pair of Fresh Foam X Hierro Gore-Tex trail shoes, but these are built slightly differently than prior models I've worn.
Even a gloomy, rainy day couldn't steal the spring from my step — the Fresh Foam V9 is outrageously bouncy — as the Gore-Tex exterior performed like a champ, keeping my socks and toes dry and cozy.
5. Barcelona is a pleasure to explore on foot...
...unlike Las Vegas. This is probably a no-brainer for anyone who has visited either city. However, it's worth commenting that while Las Vegas may, in fact, be the least pedestrian-friendly place I've ever stepped foot in, Barcelona is the exact opposite.
Each day on my return from MWC, I opted for a slightly different route back to my hotel, and was rewarded with glorious architectural gems, endless candid street scenes, unusual and often comical graffiti, non-stop parades of dogs (and their owners), and the ever-present smell of blooming flowers, which in most cases, overpowered any occasional smells of stale urine.
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More from Tom's Guide
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