Whether you are an experienced marathon runner or a beginner who is simply trying out jogging, a running watch is the best solution to improve your performance.

This device will allow you to measure your efforts and performance, whether for a warm-up or to see your maximum speed. Even better, these specialized smartwatches for running can also act as a coach to help you recover faster and improve your nutrition.

Discover without further delay our comparison of the best running watches.

Ranking of the best running watch

1) Garmin Forerunner 45: the best running watch for beginners

The Garmin Forerunner 45 offers plenty of features at a great price . It is thin and light, it weighs between 32 to 36 grams. It comes in two sizes: the standard 45 , which has a 42mm case, and the 45 S with a slightly smaller 39mm case, the latter of which is suitable for smaller wrists.

Both fitness trackers feature a 1.04-inch color screen, with a resolution of 208 x 208 pixels . The display isn't perfect, but the screen is clear and bright, and the colors, while limited, make your stats easy to read.

The Garmin Forerunner helps you monitor your fitness improvement with the VO2 Max score. It also has an optical heart rate monitor . This connected watch is waterproof up to 50 meters deep .

It is able to track many activities like running, cycling, running on the treadmill, elliptical, cardio, yoga, cycling and walking. There is no swimming profile, despite its water resistance.

Technical characteristics

2) Polar Ignite: the best running watch for fitness tracking

The Polar Ignite has a 43mm case, with 8mm thickness. It weighs 35 grams . It is suitable for those with a thin wrist or those who want to monitor their physical conditions discreetly.

This watch sports a sleek interface . Indeed, the home screen displays the time, day and date. You need to swipe left or right to see other metrics like activity percentage, heart rate, nightly charge status, and future recommended workouts.

The Polar Ignite running watch can track over 100 different exercises , including running, walking, cycling, basketball, and more. At the end of each activity, you can see a full list of stats, like your workout duration, distance, calories burned, average heart rate, and other exercise-dependent metrics.

Thanks to FitSpark, the connected watch is able to analyze your training data and then offer you recommendations and advice . Indeed, if you had a particularly intensive run, she can recommend support exercises to help you recover.

Technical characteristics

3) Garmin Forerunner 245 Music: the best running watch for music fans

The Garmin Forerunner 245 Music has a more refined design than its predecessor. Its edges are more rounded, resulting in a less square shape. It has a transflective screen , so the display is bright even in direct sunlight.

Built-in music player support works the same as other Garmin watches. So you can transfer your own music from streaming services, then you can pair Bluetooth headphones.

Note that the Garmin Forerunner 245 Music offers you storage of up to 500 songs . Other than that, unless you're a marathon veteran, this smartwatch has everything you need for your physical activities, including GPS and a built-in heart rate monitor .

The Forerunner 245 comes with plenty of advanced running analytics found on much more expensive Garmin watches. Thus, she is able to exploit the optical heart rate sensor to take VO2 Max measurements.

Battery life is approximately one week with typical usage. However, taking advantage of music features can reduce this battery life.

Technical characteristics

4) Apple Watch SE: The best running watch for a casual run

The Apple Watch SE is available in two sizes, 40mm or 44mm. Like Apple's iPhone SE, the idea behind the Watch SE is to combine the best features of the company's Apple Watches into a more affordable model.

So the Watch SE has all the health and fitness monitoring features of other Apple Watch models, except for those that rely on ECG or SpO2 sensors.

The Watch SE therefore offers heart rate monitoring , fall detection, noise level detection. It also offers you tracking of several physical activities like running, cycling, swimming, yoga, etc.

Technical characteristics

5) Huawei GT2e: a feature-rich running watch

Like its predecessor, the Huawei GT2e has a 454 x 454 pixel AMOLED display. It has built-in GPS , which powers a fairly comprehensive sports tracking package. It tracks and records step, distance, calorie and escalation counts.

This watch has an optical heart rate monitor , there is a dedicated section that displays the minimum and maximum heart rate in the day. It also has an SpO2 sensor for monitoring blood oxygen levels.

The Huawei Watch GT2e supports tracking over 100 activities . Among these activities, the Watch GT2e emphasizes running and guided running in which you can follow a number of structured workouts.

Technical characteristics

6) Garmin Forerunner 945: the best connected watch for athletes

The Garmin Forerunner 945 smartwatch sits at the top of the Forerunner range. This time around Garmin has worked hard to make features accessible and easy to understand through widgets and color-coded screens on the watch.

The Garmin Forerunner 945 running watch can be linked to the Garmin Coach . This is a new feature in the Garmin Connect app that sets up personalized training plans for events ranging from 5k to half marathon .

The Garmin Forerunner 945 breaks down the last four weeks of training into anaerobic, high aerobic and low aerobic and tells you if you're hitting the right balance between those three stages.

In fact, anaerobic training is equivalent to running in short intervals at a level close to your maximum, high aerobic is regular, but with the difficulty level increased significantly and low aerobic is an easy run.

As with other Garmin running watches, the 945 also assesses your VO2 max and provides predicted race times for 5k, 10k, half marathon and marathon.

Technical characteristics

7) Garmin Fenix ​​6 Pro: a running watch for outdoor training

The Garmin Fenix ​​6 Pro further refines the formula already tried and tested in the Garmin Fenix ​​5. Indeed, with good battery life, a larger screen and a better menu system, the Garmin Fenix ​​6 Pro is the improved version of his predecessor.

The Garmin Fenix ​​6 Pro now includes a Body Battery feature that monitors your energy levels throughout the day. This gives you an idea of ​​how different activities, or just your daily routine can affect your overall energy level.

Technical characteristics

Buying guide for running watches

You want to buy a running watch but you don't know how to make the right choice? Then you've come to the right place.

These days, almost everyone buys a running watch after their first few miles. However, most of them do not realize that it is much more than just a watch ! In fact, it's your motivation, your coach and your activity tracker .

It's pretty simple to understand, actually: the motivator helps you stick to your training plan, the coach lets you track whether you've reached your goals (miles, calories burned, and speed), and the tracker displays your data.

Before making your choice, you must take into account that not all running watches are created equal. Therefore, not all models are necessarily suitable for you.

Also be aware that not all running watches are accurate . In fact, some models can have trouble interpreting your heart rate or calorie intake, which can be very dangerous and even fatal.

With so many running watches available, it can be difficult to make the right decision. In this context, we have designed this guide to help you in your choice.

What is a running watch?

A running watch acts as a fitness tracker . In other words, it's wearable technology that provides valuable insight into your training. This type of device is designed for runners of all training levels , beginners entering the sport for the first time as well as serious athletes looking to break their personal best. However, these smartwatches can also be used quite universally (for cycling, walking and HIIT, for example).

Overall, running watches are designed to help you personalize and optimize your training . This allows you to take your performance to the next level.

Do you really need a running watch?

These days there are many free apps that can help you perform some of the main functions of a running watch. In fact, if you do the occasional jog and just want to keep track of your movements, consider investing in a fitness tracker or smartwatch. On the other hand, if you are a regular runner, cyclist or triathlete and are determined to improve, a running watch is worth buying.

When using this gadget, you can leave your smartphone at home while you enjoy your run. In fact, running is the best way to clear your mind and a running watch will help you get more out of it. Plus, it will help you track your workouts and progress.

The information displayed during the race is the most important. You will clearly see how long and how fast you have run, how many kilometers you have covered, what heart rate zone you are in.

Basic features on a running watch

Since not all running watches are created equal, it's important to highlight some of the features you need to consider when buying.

step counter

Many running watches contain a little technology that counts the number of steps you've taken . Most of them do this automatically without you having to initiate anything.

This technology has made tremendous progress. Previously, there was a huge margin of error that would go into your final step count. Currently, running watches are much more precise .

It is strongly advised to choose a model with a step counter when buying a running watch.

The clock

It's not easy to wear a regular watch in addition to a fitness tracker when running. Fortunately, many running watches include a digital watch . Typically, there's an option that lets you replace your watch's default face with the clock. This makes the device more usable, so you're not always greeted with runtime stats instead of the time.

The battery life of the running watch

Battery life is also important as the incessant charging between workouts can get irritating. It's annoying having to postpone a run just so your running watch can charge. In fact, the battery drains quickly on models that have more features. However, most of them load quite quickly.

Remote monitoring

One of the basic features you should have on your running watch is tracking the distance you've run . It uses GPS, pedometer and accelerometer for this.

The watch can even provide you with the distance traveled using only GPS. In this context, the device will ping the satellites while you are running in order to find your exact location. With enough pings, they will know how far you have traveled.

Training history and metrics

When you've completed a workout, you should be able to access run metrics and data through your running watch. So you can track your progress and see how you are improving. In fact, it makes more sense to buy a model that offers this kind of functionality.

Rhythm and speed

Most running watches have the ability to calculate your pace and speed. In fact, they can do this in two ways. First, these gadgets send your location twice in half a second and use an equation to give you your speed. Alternatively, the watch can divide your total distance by the time it took you to do it.

Second, there are also running watches that have more sophisticated settings where you can set your own pace.

A water resistant running watch

Even if you don't plan to swim with your running watch, it should be at least water resistant . In fact, it is very important because it is sure and certain that you will sweat when you run.

calories burned

A great post-workout treat is to see how many calories you burned during your run. Since it's basically a measurement of your heart rate, distance, height, weight, and pace, many running watches will give you this kind of data.

The auto-pause feature

If you stop during your run to catch your breath or talk to a friend, it would be better to choose a running watch that can pause automatically. In fact, this feature detects when you're not running and pauses everything . Thanks to this, the data you receive at the end of your run will be more accurate.

Bluetooth

If you want to connect your smartphone or other devices with your running watch, you must choose a model that supports Bluetooth connectivity. This technology allows the watch to communicate with other devices and share data between them. For example, you can use Bluetooth to pause your music through your watch.

Data download

If you have a companion running app on your phone or computer, consider a running watch that can download data. In fact, without downloading, the data is simply blocked on your watch. It would be a shame for runners who want to view their race results on their computer and keep track of everything.

Sleep monitoring

As you well know, sleep is very important in the life of a runner . This is why some running watches incorporate sleep monitoring. It tracks your heart rate, position, and movement to determine when you sleep and how often you wake up. You can find your sleep history as soon as you get up in the morning.

Estimated training load

“Training load” is a feature that basically measures how well or badly your body reacted to a run. In general, it is the high-end running watches that offer this kind of functionality.

There is a lot of data that comes into play for this. In fact, the amount of your sleep, your weight, the type of activity you usually do, and stress levels can change how your body reacts during a workout.