As in the title really enjoying getting out running again and now that i’m starting to get my distances up i’d like to keep an eye on the times to see if i’m improving. So any real world recommendations appreciated.

Any of the garmin forerunners or the vivoactive are great choices. Pick the one you want based on stule and budget but most cover basics of distance, pace and time.

Fenix 3

fenix 3..

garmin customer service is appalling as i found out when mine flooded well within warranty… but that asides i have a garmin 910xt and for running, swimming and cycling recording its a great bit of kit.

now its been superceded you can find bargains especially post xmas. i got mine in an amazon new year sale year before last, one of those posted at a certain time of day deals, for about 125quid with hrm belt.

I think those fenix are meant to be the best with all the features etc.

I run two or three times a week 5/10/special occasions 20k and have found a Garmin FR25 to be perfect. It was inexpensive but reliable, easy to read, syncs well etc. I would probably go for the 35 now with built in HR but only if I was feeling flush.

I’ve got a Garmin forerunner 200 something I think it is. Does intervals and some other fancy things I don’t use.

I use it on bike and running – I didn’t realise when I bought it that its only water resistant, not waterproof. Seems daft when a £10 Casio watch is waterproof.

If I could go back to purchasing again I’d go for something like a forerunner 15 probably as I’d prefer waterproof over fancy functions. All I use it for is time / distance / pace.

910XT with Heart rate monitor here. Great for following pre-planned courses on or off-road. Used it for triathlons, cycling and Ultra runs too, good for 20 hours and syncs well to your PC and Strava…not tried anything else so cant advise 🙂

to keep an eye on the times to see if i’m improving

Any cheap waterproof stopwatch then.

A watch on it’s own doesn’t tell you how far you’re run though…If you have a smart phone use the Strava app and a waterproof case…

I do a fair bit of running.

Usually just carry a phone on a case tucked in to my shorts for Strava and wear a standard digital watch for the time.

This works well, but no good if you want to check your pace whilst moving.

I started looking for a decent GPS watch to use for working on my pace whilst training for a marathon next year. Was very tempted by the likes of the Fenix and other £250+ watches, but when I thought about it realistically all I really wanted was time, pace and distance as I couldn’t ever see myself swimming with it, caring about heart rate and if riding then I always prefer using a phone as it is useful to have a map along with GPS.

I thought I’d buy a cheap £45 Garmin Forerunner from Maplin to use for a few months and see if I felt like I was missing any features, if I was then I’d sell the cheapo and get a Fenix.

3 months later and I’ve not felt the need for anything more than the cheapo Forerunner, and although it is useful to know pace, I actually just prefer to just run by feel with just a watch and phone on long ones.

So my advice is buy a cheapo, if you feel it is lacking in features then sell at a £15 loss and upgrade. That way you won’t risk spender fortune on something you don’t use.

Previously had a Garmin 110 which was flooded by heavy rain. Replaced it with a Garmin 310XT which has been much better. Can be had for £90 on Amazon.

I have used a garmin fr 220 for the last 3 years and it’s more than adequate but I don’t use any of the advanced features, mostly just use it for tracking where I’ve been. I fancy a more technical watch like a fenix or suunto ambit but only so I can load routes to reccy fell races

Currently using a Suunto Ambit2 S, very happy with it and still going strong after around 3 years. Perfect for running but I also use it on the bike instead of a GPS unit on the bars. Movescount software is also nice (though was plagued for a while with database issues) and auto uploads to Strava too. Idea of the sort of route plotting can be seen here for a recent club training run of mine;

http://www.movescount.com/moves/move129569972

If you like to listen to music while you run or workout I can recommend the TomTom Spark 3. DC Rainmaker is a good place to read his reviews of various watches.

My son bought a base level Forunner (10). Really cheap, under £60. Seems to the do the job well and he is happy with it. Has it so when you stick it in the charging cradle it uploads all the data straight to Strava, via his tablet

I should try finding him on Strava he seems to have taken up night fell running which might be interesting to see what he is upto. I also stork him on UKclimbing….