Garmin or no Garmin??

[Veevee22]

Hello experienced runners I'm turning to you to ask your opinion on Garmin watches, whether they're worth it or not. Been happily running with my phone in my thigh pocket so far but with the weather getting warmer - or is it? W- I'm planning on running in shorts. I think my phone is too big to strap on my arm and prob too heavy also.. so I'm considering getting Garmin forerunner 645 with music- half price on a few sites at the moment. Does it really make you a better runner to know about stats etc or should I just keep running with my phone and ditch the idea of shorts. Any suggestions about taking a large phone on a run welcome. 😄

[Lizcanrun Graduate10]

I don't know about a better runner, but I love my Garmin! I do get a bit obsessed with the stats and I have a peculiar fascination with the 'estimated sweat loss' feature...Garmin pay is useful and it's nice to be able to run with music, but no phone etc. Only slightly annoying thing is that you can't listen to podcasts.

Go for it!

[Veevee22 in reply to Lizcanrun]

Thanks FYI no podcast is good to know!

[GoGo_JoJo Graduate10 in reply to Veevee22]

You can listen to podcasts on the 645m but you have to manually drop the episodes onto the watch, not difficult

[nowster Graduate10 in reply to GoGo_JoJo]

Wouldn't work with anything on BBC Sounds, though, as its downloads are encrypted. That's not the only problem with that app (eg. lack of personal ordering of playlists).

Command line junkies can use get-iplayer.github.io/get_i... to get around this limitation.

[GoGo_JoJo Graduate10 in reply to nowster]

Aye but not all "podcasts" come from the BBC 🤣😉

[nowster Graduate10 in reply to GoGo_JoJo]

I know. And the BBC does have some stuff up as standard podcasts, too. (But they have imposed a four week delay on Friday Night Comedy episodes.)

[GoGo_JoJo Graduate10 in reply to nowster]

I really wouldn't know, cannot remember the last time I used BBC sounds. I would say BBC full stop but we did watch the last series of killing eve! 🤣

[Veevee22 in reply to GoGo_JoJo]

Good to know cheers!

[Beatlesforever Graduate10]

Another vote for Garmin! I love it. Mine's a vivoactive3 so it's not as sophisticated as other models but it does all I want it to do. I love looking at the stats 😃 It's also more accurate than my phone at tracking distances. I would recommend it 😊👍

[cheekychipmunks Graduate10 in reply to Beatlesforever]

I have the same model Beatles, but I’ll be asking Santa for a different one at Christmas.

[nowster Graduate10 in reply to cheekychipmunks]

Ditto. I have the same model. My phone is more accurate than the watch at my local parkrun. The corners and the tree cover really confuse the watch's GPS (eg. recording 4.2km instead of 5km). I primarily use Strava (and a chest strap heart rate monitor) to record parkruns.

I've tried it on GPS only, GPS+Glonass and GPS+Galileo modes, and none of those settings makes any difference. I've also used second-by-second recording and smart recording.

The Forerunner 745 (battery life similar to vivoactive3) and the new Fenix 7 series have a better GPS aerial arrangement which has just had its patent approved. It's likely that any Garmin models that come out this year will also have improved GPS accuracy.

If you were someone needing to get a basic running watch this instant (must have it now and can't wait), I'd be suggesting the FR 55, even though it has a smaller screen than the va3. The touch screen on the va3 is a major pain if you're running in the rain. You can set it to autolock, but then that's another pain.

[Veevee22 in reply to Beatlesforever]

I'm getting convinced.. I knew it'd be an easy win 😆 Thanks!

[Instructor57 Graduate10]

I love my Garmin 45 , but guess what !I still take my phone 🤣

[Yesletsgo Graduate10 in reply to Instructor57]

Ditto on both. My husband offered me an upgrade for Christmas but I couldn't face the learning curve. His Garmin controls the stereo on our boat

[SueAppleRun Graduate10 60minGraduate]

I just love my Garmin, Willow has the forerunner 645 I have a vivoactive 4s having said that…. we’ve also got running shorts that are like short leggings with baggy shorts over the top which have a thigh pocket in them for phone, best of both worlds

[Veevee22 in reply to SueAppleRun]

So I'll explore the shorts also!

[cheekychipmunks Graduate10]

I love my Garmin and couldn’t run without it (I could, of course, but …….. 😱). I don’t use many of its functions, but I do enjoy looking at the stats. I also take my phone along for safety, which I wear in an armband. I couldn’t be without that either.

[Veevee22 in reply to cheekychipmunks]

That's what you want to hear when you're hesitant 😄

[Frenc Graduate10 60minGraduate]

Garmin! 😁

[Veevee22 in reply to Frenc]

😁👍

[nowster Graduate10]

I wouldn't go for the 645 these days. It's the oldest model in the X45 series.

The 245 with music might be a better buy.

But it may be worthwhile waiting a month or so as prices may drop when the long-rumoured 255 and 955 are released.

And I still bring my phone with me! Emergency calls etc.

[Veevee22 in reply to nowster]

Really useful advice, patience is a virtue 🙂

[nowster Graduate10 in reply to Veevee22]

Bear in mind the "with music" just means it stores MP3s and can play them back to Bluetooth headphones. Anything more sophisticated will need your phone, which is likely to have a better battery life when playing music over Bluetooth than a watch will.

The plain Garmin Forerunner 245 can be got for about £180 at the moment. Amazon had it on offer for £150 the two weeks before Easter.

The Forerunner 55 is a slightly less sophisticated watch (less screen resolution) at £150, but with more advanced GPS, software and sensors than the 645. The photos you'll see on adverts are actually CGI and the display is nowhere near as sharp in reality.

(I've taken the current prices on Amazon and rounded them up to the nearest £10.)

The reason I'm able to come up with this info is I've been researching new watches since my current one (Garmin vivoactive3) almost ran out of juice during a 2½ hour run in March.

[Veevee22 in reply to nowster]

Thanks for doing the homework for me I'll take all that on board!

[GoGo_JoJo Graduate10 in reply to Veevee22]

The 245/m is excellent value for money. I have one for backup to my 645m which I got when they were top of the range. For your average runner it gives you loads of scope. I'll probably upgrade soon to a fenix 6 Pro for longer battery life and open water swimming.

[FennecFlyer]

I don't have a Garmin, so I can't persuade you with that, but I do have a heavy lump of a phone and I use a running belt to hold mine around my waist and I hardly notice it

[Veevee22 in reply to FennecFlyer]

I'll look into that thanks!

[Veevee22 in reply to FennecFlyer]

Perfect! Thanks

[DylanTheRabbit Graduate10]

I use a belt to carry my phone, it works with any clothing. I do record my runs and listen to music but beyond looking at my watch to see how long I've been running, I don't want to be presented with stats mid-run.

I really don't think running watches are necessary. At best nice to have if you have spare money and like looking at stats or maybe useful if you're into competitive racing and use it as a convenient tool to optimise your training plan. At worst a distraction from the simple pleasure of running.

[Veevee22 in reply to DylanTheRabbit]

Yes Dylan that's exactly what I wanted to hear! Going to look for a belt 🙏🏻

[GoGo_JoJo Graduate10 in reply to Veevee22]

Yep, they are incredibly addictive and give way more data than you need. Once you have one you'll find it hard to go back...

[Cmoi Graduate10]

I got a Garmin Forerunner 45s when I'd been running for just over a year and was training for an event. I don't wear it all the time; I don't even wear it for every run. It's handy for knowing pace, time and distance run at a glance, but I never look at other stats when I'm out, and don't pay much attention to them after a run either. Having a bunch of stats won't make you a better runner, it depends how you use the data.

I run solo in the countryside and always take my phone in case of emergency. I carry it in a cheap stretchy belt (flipbelt rip-off) or sometimes in the pocket of my trail shorts. Trail-running wear often has more pockets than road-running or general fitness clothing, as it's designed to let you carry more stuff over a longer period.

[Veevee22 in reply to Cmoi]

Merci beaucoup Cmoi! I don't want to fall in the trap and buy unwanted tech and I think I'll probably have the same relationship with my watch as you do.. Reading your bio is super inspiring. Just completed C25K last month, 2 days before my 55th birthday. Never thought I could run (I was actually hiding behind trees during PE runs as a kid 😅). But it seems we're stronger than we think. I'll remember Henry Ford's wise words 💪🙏🏻

[nowster Graduate10 in reply to Veevee22]

Which words of Henry Ford? You mean the ones that apply to the choice in men's running kit: "any colour as long as it's black". (And I know that's a QI klaxon.)

I only ever run in trail shorts/leggings nowadays.

The mesh pockets at the waist usually contain: phone (largest pocket over my tummy), house keys (side pocket), small parkrun barcode (side pocket, as it has my emergency contact number on it), and if I've driven to where I'm running, the car's keyfob.

I may also have a wad or two of folded kitchen roll: standard tissues fall apart when they get damp in a sweaty pocket.

The phone is sometimes in a plastic sandwich bag to protect it from sweat. The touch screen and fingerprint sensors still work through the plastic.

[Veevee22 in reply to nowster]

Check Cmoi's bio. Apparently HF said "Whether you think you can or you think you can't- you're right"! And yes men wear too much black while running 😄

[Veevee22 in reply to nowster]

Also such practical advice thanks. It would have taken me years to work all this out 😅

[nowster Graduate10 in reply to Veevee22]

It took me two years to get to here. 😆

[DylanTheRabbit Graduate10 in reply to nowster]

Will be checking out trail shorts👍🏼

[nowster Graduate10 in reply to DylanTheRabbit]

decathlon.co.uk/p/men-s-tra... These are the ones for guys. I run in these when it's warmer.

decathlon.co.uk/p/women-s-t... Would be an equivalent for the gals.

decathlon.co.uk/p/women-s-t... Would be the ladies' equivalent of what I ran in this morning.

[DylanTheRabbit Graduate10 in reply to nowster]

Nice, thanks 😀

[Veevee22 in reply to nowster]

Great!! Thanks

[Cmoi Graduate10 in reply to Veevee22]

Thanks Veevee22 , especially re the bio, that's such a lovely thing to say. I have horrible memories of school PE, I found it utterly soul-destroying, but didn't even have the confidence to hide behind trees!

[Veevee22 in reply to Cmoi]

🤣🤣🤣

[GailXrunning]

I was asking similar questions last summer. I didn’t realise initially that the ‘music’ function wouldn’t cover podcasts, so that advice from others was gold. I don’t bother with music, but I do like to use coached runs. Turned out, I’d need my phone for those. That advice saved me forking out for an expensive function I didn’t need.

Platinum advice was that I’d best carry my phone anyway for safety/emergency reasons. It all came horribly real when I had a bad fall earlier this year: I needed the phone to call for help but the Garmin also sent an emergency incident alert to my partner. I use either a flipbelt or the pocket on my leggings for the phone. I like to take photos en route.

Bottom line, I changed my mind about ditching the phone. I bought the 245 (no music). Love it. Find the stats intriguing; I don’t want to obsess over them, but over time you can gain useful insights. Tracking progress and changes helps motivate even if you’re not totally performance focussed, I find. A Garmin certainly isn’t essential (free apps for phones will do a good enough job) but it’s a lovely treat if you can afford it and I definitely felt like I’d ‘raised my running game’!

[Veevee22 in reply to GailXrunning]

Thanks that's important to hear that both phone and Garmin can be useful. Hopefully your fall wasn't too bad! 😱 So it sounds like I should carry my phone with me anyway and maybe treat myself as you say later on when I feel I deserve it! 😁

[GailXrunning in reply to Veevee22]

I’m well on the mend, thank you! The phone is definitely my priority number 1: emergencies, access to much nicer coached runs, podcasts, music, photos…. pretty much everything one could wish for. Mine is rather big, with the further bulk of a leather cover, but with a flexi style belt/ pocket it’s no problem. Once that decision was made, the Garmin’s purpose was simpler and clearer.

PS nowster advice is insightful. With new models being released there’ll be discounts on the ones being supplanted. So, don’t feel the pressure of the current sales; know what you need/want.

[Veevee22 in reply to GailXrunning]

Thank you so much for your really valuable advice. One last question : what site/app do you use to coach your runs? 🙏🏻

[GailXrunning in reply to Veevee22]

NRC Nike Run Club - lots of us use it, both for their training plans and for go-as-you please pick-and-mix ad hoc runs of all sorts. (Tbh The ‘training plans’ are just an organised version of the latter but they’re effective nonetheless - and great fun.) I’d never have thought that a virtual coach could feel so present?! And that I’d work so hard to please them!

[Veevee22 in reply to GailXrunning]

Haha!! Downloading that right away!!

[GoGo_JoJo Graduate10 in reply to GailXrunning]

You can do podcasts, you just drop the episodes on manually.

[GailXrunning in reply to GoGo_JoJo]

Learning more all the time!🧑‍🎓Mind you, having initially thought it would be liberating to be phone-free, I’m now going nowhere without it.

[Hargo]

For sure you don't need a watch. I only got one cause my current phone is bigger than old one and so doesn't fit in the armband I have. Still have it in my pocket of course (if I get lost or emergency).

[Veevee22 in reply to Hargo]

Thanks Hargo that's what I needed to hear 😉

[Post-Op-Jogger]

My Garmin is a Venu2S. I love it! It has a round face and I can use mine swimming - although I haven't tested that yet. I still take my phone though - I like listening to podcasts while I run.

[Veevee22 in reply to Post-Op-Jogger]

Thanks!

[Newbierunner84]

It’s been said alot already but I think the importance of having your phone on you is crucial. As runners we are vulnerable out there on our own and safety has to be the no.1 priority. As for watches- I’ve had the Garmin forerunner 45s (which is one of the cheaper ones) for nearly a year and it’s served me well so far.

[Veevee22 in reply to Newbierunner84]

You're very right about the phone. Thanks!

[Makka62a]

I think it’s always a good idea to run with your phone as you never know when you might have a problem and need to call someone. Arm strap things for your phone are dirt cheap, mine was a fiver from Sainsburys, and are comfortable with pretty big phones (mines an iPhone 12). So I would always run with my phone. That said I’ve run with tracker watches for 20 years and would feel naked going out without one 😂. It’s so nice to glance at your wrist and see how long you have been going or how far you’ve been. I’ve a long history of spending too much on watches but currently I am running with probably my favourite ever a Garmin 235 which I bought off Facebook marketplace for £40 which was a bargain. So in summary I’d keep my phone with me for safety but get a watch for convenience. But you do what feels right for you 😀

[Sarahdalston]

I love my Garmin (same model) though don’t use a chest strap so only get steps, heart rate, cadence and some other stats which I don’t refer to. However, I still carry my phone around my waist in case I need to make a call and play my music through that. When I follow a coached plan, there is other information given which shows the progress of improvement towards a goal. The watch easily links to the gps signal and I have it synced with Strava. I also use this watch for hiking and swimming.

[Hidden]

If you are thinking about a sportswatch, Garmin is actually the only way to go. I bought my Gamrin VivoActive 4S initially as a smartwatch, but soon turned off all the smartwatch options and wear it as a regular watch 24/7 which tracks my heartrate, stress, sleep, etc. all day and I use it to track my walks, swims, runs, etc. I am VERY satisfied with my watch and wouldn't be able to miss it anymore (while before I NEVER wore a watch).