Thinking that I need a running watch.....

[TheHack]

Okay techie people. I think I need a running watch. I don't know where to start. I want to use it to help me pace outside. I am mostly a treadmill runners but have been taking it outside for 1 run a week. I am now running 5k twice a week and 8k at the weekend and the treadmill is getting tedious on the long run. Can watches play music? Can they advise you to speed up or slow down? Please help me ...

[runswithdogs Graduate]

I have the cheapest entry level Garmin - the Forerunner 10. It shows your distance, time and pace which can be handy if you're trying to move at a certain rate. It has a website which keeps track of your routes and I've enjoyed it a great deal. No music though. More expensive models can deliver heart rate, cadence etc.

[Bazza1234 Graduate]

You may not need the expense of a running watch - if you have some kind of "smartphone" equipped with GPS . There are plenty of smartphone Apps that will track where you are , at what pace your are running, etc - announce the info to you as you run, tell you when to run and when to walk and play music to you - all for free!!

[TheHack Graduate in reply to Bazza1234]

I have all that on my phone but I hate running with it. I have an arm holder and it is very uncomfortable. My phone is a Samsung Galaxy 6 edge and is big! I also have an ipod but this does not have gps and is too old for modern apps

[melly4012 Graduate]

I think Garmin is generally considered the king of the running watches. I actually have a tomtom runner 2 cardio which I love. You can set it for a timed run, distanced run, set it by heart rate zone, intervals or race mode (which I've not tried - where you set a distance and time and it tells you if you're ahead or behind that time). It maps your routes and comes up with stats on your distance, pace, speed, heart rate, splits - all the key info. You can buy a slightly more expensive version which you can upload your music to but I decided against that because reviews said it's not great unless you buy the specified headphones which are stupidly expensive. I love it but there might be other watches which better suit your needs so worth hearing other people's recommendations too and looking up reviews of ones you like the look of.

[folkieboater Graduate]

For the extra money, a Garmin Forerunner 25 might be better? Smaller for everyday wear, step counter and better battery life. Love mine...

[TheHack Graduate in reply to folkieboater]

Music?

[folkieboater Graduate in reply to TheHack]

No 😞 iPod Shuffle? Small & light..

[TheHack Graduate]

Oooo anyone tried the Tom Tom runner 2 with music. I have found it on amazon with free headphones for £135.95. Any reviews?

[John_W Graduate in reply to TheHack]

If you want pacing information AND music, then that's the watch you want. Other than that, you only option is a smartphone ....

[stecal Graduate in reply to TheHack]

Hi I have a tomtom runner without music and think it's great can check pace distance time etc and download your runs to your smartphone/iPhone, the tomtom smartphone app is a bit hit and miss though sometimes it syncs with the watch sometimes I have to uninstall then reinstall it but it's not a big problem as only takes about 5 minutes

[--runninggirl-- Graduate]

Have you thought about a running belt for your phone? I also have a galaxy 6 edge plus which is huuuge and i used to carry it but then i heard about the belt and i love it, i don't notice my phone or keys anymore. That said I got an offer at work from Garmin and I got myself a forerunner 230. I love it but am still trying to work out how to use it! I still use runtastic on my phone too so I can compare!

[TheHack Graduate]

Just ordered one to trial on holiday x