Alternative to a Garmin?

[imnorunner]

I only run on a treadmill at the moment but IF I venture outside I'd like to be able to record how far I go. I've seen that a lot of people here use a Garmin...they seem quite expensive and as I don't know how often I would run outside I don't want to spend loads. Can anyone recommend another brand?

Thanks

[BettyJane Graduate]

Endomondo is a free app you can put on your phone. I was very happy with it until my lovely husband bought me a Garmin for Christmas.

[Oldgirl Graduate]

If you have an Ipod you could use the built in Fitness by Nike. I still use it and link my own music. I start it as I leave the house so I then get an overall distance, using my Garmin for the running section only. The other program you could use that I have had good results with is

GoodRunGuide web address goodrunguide.co.uk there is a small annual charge of about £15 for it, but first month is free. You pre map your run route using Google maps incorporated within the programme then add your time to your named route. It has many interesting reports and graphs etc. Give it a try its pretty good and won't cost anything to try it out. There are other similar 1) mapmyrun 2) walkjogrun all you would need is a basic stop watch to keep track of your times.

Hope this may be of some help to you, hope you enjoy outside running I'm sure you will.

[imnorunner Graduate in reply to Oldgirl]

Hi, do you find your ipod acqurate? I used my ipod fitness thing today...it said I had run almost 1km more than my treadmill calculated...I hope the ipod is correct as with the walking it calculated 4.5km for my 3rd run of week 8

[Hidden]

Mapmyrun is another free app

[OldNed Graduate]

I use MapmyRun too on a BlackBerry, attracted by it being considerably cheaper than a Garmin (like, free). I've been using it for over a year now; works well.

[GoogleMe Graduate]

I use runkeeper on an iPhone 3. Before that I used walk4life (I like this as being a government site it has proper OS maps on the website - but it is miles only which is irritating)

[Cazvs Graduate]

Yes, lots of phone apps available. I'm using RunDouble at the moment, I'm thinking of getting Runkeeper for when I finish C25K.

[Burstcouch Graduate]

I use map my run its free and have found it very useful. Just downloaded the app onto my phone press record and away I go.

[vengadriver Graduate]

I use Sportstracker as a free app on my android phone and its great.It maps my route,speed,distance time and calories burnt.You can save the details in the diary section and type in an edit of your run.I have a diary on there since starting this programme a year ago.It is fab to see how you have improved Good luck with what you choose and keep running!

[kirble Graduate]

The cheapest I found was to use my ipod for the stopwatch then track the route on the many maps on the internet. The womens running mag have a free route mapper and you can keep a record of all the runs in your own profile. It's totally free.

I recently bought a Garmin, just the cheapest and I've found it was limited but couldnt justify spending more money on other models. Maybe one day when I'm running marathons!

[tygfuz Graduate]

There is a cheaper watch on the market. It's the Soleus GPS watch. The cheapest version I think is £60. Not got all the bells and whistles of the Garmin but does have all the necessary basics if you're not bothered about downloading onto a fancy website.

Their range is on Amazon.

[imnorunner Graduate]

Thank you everyone. Lots to look in to. Do these things work on a treadmill??? Or do they "know" you aren't actually going anywhere?

[tygfuz Graduate]

The Nike+ app will work on a treadmill but will give an estimate as obviously the GPS would show you standing still.

Another watch worth considering is the Ultrasport GPS Navrun 500 - Heart-Rate Computer With Chest Strap. I thinks its around the £70 mark but does heart rate and has a web site for the results.

[Mini13 Graduate]

I might sound a bit silly but you know what I did? I found the post codes of the places that I would be passing ( I could do this because I pre-planned my route). I, for an example run from home up to a friend's and then up to a school and then up to a medical centre and back home. So I found out the post codes of those places and found the distances on inter-net by using ‘Bing Maps’. (A to B, B to C, C to D and D to A etc). It worked to a certain extent. When I calculated again the same route by car I got few meters less than how I calculated by using the postcode but I still can get a rough idea as to how long I ruin. Hope this helps!

[Mini13 Graduate in reply to Mini13]

Ooops..How long I 'run' not 'ruin' sorry!!

[ggcd Graduate]

I love the app Runtastic. It is easy to used and it works great for androids and iIPhones. You can used it t for the treadmill as well as for the outside world.