a gadget to measure distance while running?

[mothersmilk]

just wondering if anyone used one? i dont know wether oyu can actually get them at all? would a pedomiter work or would it get jumbled with all the sevear bouncing? i map most of my runs but sometimes its a bore i'd like to be able to go out and just run but be able to keep a check of miles wile im doing it. iv heard of garmin but its a bit too pricy for me at the moment any ideas?
thanks

I would think a pedometer would work. You'll need to adjust it for your stride length, and also find a way to attach it so it won't fall off as you run - most pedometers have clips, but don't know if that would work for you. Btw, I have found my pedometer registers best if clipped to knicker 'waistband' between navel and hip bone, but you'll have to experiment to see what works best for you.

I buy pedometers at camping/outdoors shops, and they are around £15.

I think there are also wrist band gadgets that measure the distance run (are those the Garmin ones?) - maybe they track your distance via satellite, or something technical like that? Think I've noticed them in John Lewis. They are pricey, but if you are a serious runner perhaps it is a worthwhile investment.

I found a pedometer to be useless, really under-estimating the distance I was running.

The nike + sportsband is a bit hit and miss IMO, I never got very accurate readings from it and gave up in the end.

I now have a garmin 305 gps watch which is fabulous. Tracks your distance and pace and heart rate. I'm a bit of a gadget freak so I love it. Cost £130 from Amazon, compared to £40 for sportsband so not cheap at all but I use the gps watch for cycling too so money well spent IMO.

i have the garmin forerunner 405

expensive (£200 i think) but an excellent bit of kit - distance, time, calories, split times etc etc

I've got a Nike+ and it's ok, as long as you have calibrated it properly. You put the sensor on/in your shoe and the transmitter on your nano then strap the nano to your arm band and press start. Mine is pretty accurate.

However, I do hanker after a Garmin.

Dh has a thingymajig that practically makes dinner but it was £180 .

If you have an i phone, or can borrow one, there is a free app. My running partner uses it and generally it is ok. The app interrupts his music to say "You have run 2 miles".

If you have a blackberry you can buy a download from map my run for about $10. I've toyed with the idea but I've never bought it.

And this makes me think that any sort of phone with the ability to download data will have something you can buy that do the trick?

Nike+ I understand assumes a certain stride length, so it's less useful for the very small and very tall.

google earth has a measuring tool which is useful for measuring runs

Online pedometer I use this to measure runs, you can also measure calories burned and it will suggest a route - I normally just use the straight line method - hope it helps

The Garmin ones are good, but expensive, and also go a bit funny if you run in cities with lots of tall buildings around.

The Nike+ website has a map feature which allows you to plot your route on a googlemap, and then it works out how far it is. You can save your route on there and also search for routes other people have plotted in your area. It is all free to use as well

It only works if you run on the roads though...

Do you mean Gmap only works on roads? If you select hybrid if gives you satellite imagery with roads so you can sort of pick out where you were running by using obvious landmarks.