Garmin watch thingy for running

[WhomessweetWhomes]

I may have posted about this before, ages ago, but does anyone have one of these for running? And if so would you recommend it? I have tried various apps but find them annoying and inaccurate. Also I think I'd find a watch easier to look at while running.

I have a Garmin Forerunner 110 and it's great. I press start as i set off and it measures my distance, time, altitude and calories. You plug it into the computer and it downloads a google map of the route. I have taken it abroad and used it just for walking and it's fantastic seeing the map when you get home. It was quite expensive though, about £200+ about 3 years ago

I just bought one for dh for Christmas and he's used it a few times already. he's been raving about it so far. I got him a Garmin, friend has a Nike one and loves it too.

meant to say Garmin was about £90 on Amazon

I have one, got it about 3 years ago. LOVE IT. It is expensive, but I do a lot of outdoor run, around fields etc. I would be without it! Sometimes it can take a minute or two to locate me at the beginning, but otherwise never had a problem with it.

And like Wombat I have used it abroad, which is great fun!!!

I love my Garmin (although am paying myself £10 a mile this week so I can justify a newer more exciting one) it definitely marked a bit of a turning point helped me become even more obsessed with my running. I have a very basic one but it still gives me more data than I can actually interpret and make use of.

You don't really have to look at it while you are running though (do you? I don't).

Some of them can be paired with a heart rate monitor and the saddermore professionals amongst us, like to monitor it whilst running

Thanks so much for posting this OP-I've had money & sweatshop vouchers for Christmas and want to get a garmin but the technical info on the garb intimidates me! Despite being a runner for 3 years I am scared by the likes of heartrate monitors etc! I want to know how far I've run, in what time & what my splits are per km without having to carry my iPhone everywhere! Said to DH yesterday "I'll post on mn see if anyone would recommend the garmin forerunner"! Yay!

Wow - speedy replies! Thanks! I wouldn't look at it all the time when running, but good to be able to glance occasionally when training for a race or actually during a race. I've tried about 4 smartphone apps but have ended up deleting each one because of unreliable gps or just general annoyingness. The 110 sounds good and is significantly cheaper on Amazon than it used to be. Thanks for the advice.

I'm not sure if HRM's have built in timing or laps, but I've got a Polar 4 for "in the zone" training and it's been a godsend.

You're most welcome, SJP.

I've got a Forerunner too. Tis brilliant, easy to use, and does what I need it to

I got one for Christmas. I've only used it once so far but it seems ok.

can we all make friends on garminconnect please? :)

i absolutely love mine - not a major runner but i love comparing my splits. i agree it can take a while to fine me but after that it is fantastic!

I don't have a Garmin, but have a cheaper version. It cost £50 from Sweatshop. It's make is Soleus. It tells me how far I've run, my pace, speed and calories burned. I can also see each mile statistic too. Perfect for my needs it just doesn't have the Garmin name. I'd say it is just as good, but I've never used a Garmin. Though I do love it.

Get together on Garminconnect? But then you'll see that my garmin has been in the drawer for months I've not had time to walk run for a while

oh come on

it might incentivise you! I started a group on there for MFPers from the UK - admittedly it is quite a shit group because I don't know what it does, apart from show whatever everyone else has been up to, but it's sort of nice snooping on other people's activities, not going through it alone etc

I have a 210 and I like it, mostly I got it to use on the treadmill with the hr monitor, only the hr thing has been playing up of late (might be battery)

I want on of those new hr monitors with no chest strap, but I don't want to be an early adopter.

I love the garmin graphs, especially the swim graphs :o

I got a Forerunner 10 for Christmas. I only wanted a fairly basic version & it seems to have everything I'll need. Haven't used it yet as the weather has been horrible. DH got it for me. He thought it'd inspire me to start running again - I hope he's right!

I wish I'd got one of these instead of the garmin, my phone tracks distance speed and elevation perfectly adequately and this would be a better heart rate monitor:

www.mioglobal.com/Default.aspx

(apologies for going off topic Whome, I know you're looking for a gadget with different functions to the Mio thingy)

I've had 2 Garmin 201's. Both excellent. My last one gave up the ghost. I'd buy another one on e-bay or Amazon but they won't ship overseas where I live.

The modern ones are a bit to 'gadety' if that makes any sense.

this guy talks about garmins....at great length!

www.dcrainmaker.com/

I've got the Forerunner 10 which is the most basic model. It does everything I need; pace, time, distance, calories, splits, and on Garminconnect you can keep track of your progress and look at geeky charts of pace and elevation change.

I'm up for Garminconnect friends, I haven't got any. How do I find the group?

Thanks everyone! Lazysuzanne, that link was really useful. The guy is umm... very thorough ! Have just ordered a Forerunner 10. I don't need one with too many whistles and bells. Plus it comes in a nice purple colour which goes with some of my new running kit .

Obviously colour is the most important criteria!