The Best Fitness Watches for Runners

This post is part of Find the technology that’s right for you, Lifehacker’s Fitness Wearables Buying Guide. I’m asking hard questions about whether wearables can really improve health, how to find what’s right for you, and how to make the most of the data they provide.

Runners were some of the first people to adopt smartwatches. I remember when a “running watch” was a brick-like GPS device strapped to your wrist. It was a breakthrough when that brick started tracking heart rate as well.

These days, any smartwatch can track your heart rate and potentially track your location and other items as well. So what makes a running watch special? There are a lot of fitness-centric extra features, and some important details like physical buttons. Read my recommendations.

What to look for in a running watch

It’s easy to be fooled by spec sheets and marketing claims, but at the end of the day, what’s important about a watch is what it can do. you I want a watch. Think of it like hiring an employee. You don’t want the person who can do the most things, you want the person who can do the work that needs to be done.

So here are some things to consider when creating your running watch “job description.” Some may be important to you. Some may be unrelated.

Are there physical buttons?

For most everyday functions, it may not matter whether you’re clicking a physical button or ringing an icon on the screen. But when you’re doing laps around the track, your shaking, sweaty fingers will have a hard time navigating the touchscreen. That’s why runners often prefer watches with real buttons. All of the recommendations below have physical buttons.

How good is GPS?

All running smartwatches use GPS to track your location. This is the main reason smartwatches exist. (Jokingly, GPS is just one type of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), which is what we really mean when we talk about location tracking.)

However, some location systems are more accurate than others. The most accurate smartwatches use multi-band GPS as well as other location systems such as GLONASS or Galileo. Pay attention to what system your watch uses and if there are any settings you should be aware of. For example, some watches require you to select the system you want to use. There may also be a battery-saving mode that sacrifices accuracy to extend the life of the watch.

All of the ones listed below use multiple satellite systems (with one obvious exception, as you can see). It is worth noting that GNSS continues to improve over the years, so the latest models offer the most accurate tracking.

How long does the battery last?

Many running watches are meant to be worn all day (including while sleeping) and have battery life that lasts several days between charges. Longer battery life in standby means more time between charges.

But if you’re running very long distances (perhaps you’re training for a marathon), you’ll also want to know how long you can run. Playing music or tracking your location uses more power than wearing your watch on standby, so check the amount of time you can actively use your watch. Below we list the battery lifespans of our selection.

Does it help with navigation or just track where you’ve been?

Some running watches include a complete navigation system with preloaded maps and turn-by-turn directions. Others simply leave digital breadcrumbs behind them so they know where they’ve been when they get home. Note which watches contain maps.

Does it tell you what to do or just track what you’ve done?

Better running watches can also track fatigue and readiness, suggest workouts, and guide you through a customized training plan. More basic watches, on the other hand, trust you to plan your own workouts. Their job is simply to be a tool to track what you’ve done.

Do you want a running watch or a general-purpose smartwatch?

Before we get into the specs of the best running watches, there’s an important question to ask yourself: do you want a running-specific watch with general features, or do you want a general watch that you can take with you on your runs?

The models discussed below are primarily for running and secondarily for everyday life.Check out our guide Tracker for general health and fitness If you want something like “a smartwatch that can run with you”, check out (LINK TK).

Recommendations for the best running watches

With these features in mind, we have options to suit different budgets and needs.

What everyone has: Garmin Forerunner 245 Music

no kidding: Strava’s 2023 Year-End Report We found the Garmin Forerunner 245 Music to be the most popular running watch among our members in the United States. (Globally, the top watch was the 245’s sibling, the 235.) Yes, this is his first watch released in 2019. Yes, there are newer and better versions. But this hits the sweet spot for many runners.

Why Forerunner 245 Music?

• battery life: 7 days in smartwatch mode, 6 hours running with GPS and music

• Provides recommended training Garmin Coach Training Plan.

• Features various training and recovery metricsVO2max, Body Battery, training load, recovery time, intensity minutes, and more.

• location tracking: Includes GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo.

• You can play music directly from your watch (If you don’t need this feature, buy the regular 245, it’s cheaper).

• of Garmin Forerunner 245 Music Current retail price is $299.99 (original list price was $349.99)

Other options in this family:

• of Forerunner 245 (without music) is cheaper at $199.99.

• The latest model is Forerunner 265, doubles your battery life, doubles your music storage, provides additional metrics for training readiness, and enables more accurate location tracking with multi-band GPS and SatIQ. The price is $449.99, which is $150 more than 245 Music.

The best choice for your budget: Garmin Forerunner 55 ($189.99)

If 245 music sounds excessive to you, you’ll probably like the no-nonsense Forerunner 55. It has all the features you’d want in a modern running watch, with no bells and whistles. If I were just starting to run and wanted to keep things simple, this would be my first purchase. (Then if you find yourself missing certain features your friend had, consider upgrading.)

The Forerunner 55 has a battery life of 2 weeks in smartwatch mode and 20 hours of runtime with GPS tracking.

Other options in this family:

• The Forerunner 45 is the previous model and is still very popular. Battery life isn’t great and it lacks some of the new training and recovery features. Still, it’s a solid watch. This is Forerunner 45 $139.99.

Biggest secret: Corospace 3 ($229)

Garmin has long been the undisputed leader in the running watch industry, but more and more runners are transitioning to Coros watches.Although it may not be that common, its owners Love It cites lighter weight and longer battery life than comparable Garmin models.

How much better will it be? The Coros Pace 3 can run for 38 hours with GPS enabled, while the Forerunner 265 runs for 20 hours. It also lasts 18 days in smartwatch mode when worn 24/7, while the Forerunner 265 lasts 13 days. Of course, the trade-offs to this battery life include a smaller screen and less brightness, but it also saves you 200 smackers.

Other options in this family:

• of Corospace 2 is a little cheaper, now $179. The screen is slightly smaller, battery life is slightly shorter, and GNSS uses “only” his four system with single-band GPS rather than the Pace 3’s five and dual-band.

• of Koros Apex 2 It’s more luxurious and retails for $349. It has a long battery life and displays complete landscape and topographic maps. If you do a lot of trail running, you might want to consider this.

Fancy watches for fancy runners: garmin fenix 7 pro solar sapphire ($899.99)

If you have a good budget for a running watch and want the best, you can’t go wrong with the Fenix ​​series. There are several versions of this, so we will highlight the features of this version.

• Professional It has some features that other Fenix ​​models don’t have, like a flashlight and a better heart rate sensor.

• Sun This means that just the sunlight hitting your watch while jogging can increase battery life. (You will still need to charge it, but it will charge less frequently than non-solar chargers, every 22 days instead of every 18 days.)

• sapphire This means that the lens is made from the extremely scratch-resistant sapphire mineral. (Non-sapphire solar watches are made with Gorilla Glass, which is also very strong, but this is an upgrade.)

• and finally 7 means this is the 7th generation of this watch in medium size (47 mm). The 7S is small at 42 mm, and the 7X is super large at 52 mm.

• of garmin fenix 7 pro sapphire solar Retail price is $899.99.

Fenix ​​watches generally have all of Garmin’s best features and amazing battery life. In smartwatch mode, you’re looking at things like: weekInstead of days (three weeks with solar charging is not uncommon), the watch can last up to 10 hours of active use with GPS and music playing the entire time.

Other options in this family:

• Combine the various features listed above to find a watch that meets your needs.here it is Phoenix 7S Solar (Not Pro or Sapphire) $579.99. Battery life is 11-14 days depending on the amount of sunlight.

• Fenix’s older models are still loved by runners. The Fenix ​​6 series doesn’t have the newer version of the touchscreen or flashlight, but the core functionality is similar. You can save a considerable amount of money by purchasing an older model. Refurbished Fenix ​​6 Pro $329.99.

Minimal options used by elite runners: timex ironman

Yes, this is Dumb Watch. No, I’m not joking. Many runners can also say: especially Professional— I feel like the flashy features on smartwatches are more of a distraction than a help.

The Timex Ironman is a watch with physical buttons, a stopwatch, and a backlight that can be turned on when needed, and retails for $60. It can remember your split times for your entire workout, as well as your average and best splits from past workouts.

Other options in this family:

• Iron Man has several versions with slight variations. This one The case is smaller at 34 mm (as opposed to the 43 mm mentioned above), but it only has 30 lap times of memory instead of 100.

• of armitron dragonfly This is another popular dumb watch (I personally own one). It costs $18 and doesn’t have a lot of features, but it’s small and unobtrusive and will tell you how many minutes you’ve been running.