Last Updated on January 17, 2024 by Amanda Bowden
The Best Garmin Watches For Running In 2023
Do you want to get some more stats on your runs? Or are you thinking of taking up running, and eager for training plans on your wrist? Then read on to find the best Garmin watch for running, whether you’re a beginner, a parkrun enthusiast, or an ultra runner.
Garmin make brilliant running watches, and multi-sport watches, that have all the features you could need on your wrist. But they make quite a few watches making it really hard to choose the perfect one! If you think this, don’t worry, as we’ve chosen a selection of the best.
These topics are covered:
- Best Garmin Watch For Running When You’re A Beginner
- The Best Garmin Watch For Running When You Have More Experience
- Best Garmin Watch For Running With Maps
- The Best Garmin Watch For Women
- Best Garmin Watch For Ultra Runners
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Best Garmin Watch For Running When You’re A Beginner
Garmin Forerunner 45/45S
Pros
- Nice price, perfect for first Garmin.
- Accurate GPS tracking.
- Measures heart rate, pace, your route, and more…
- Works with Garmin Coach.
- Measures VO2 Max.
- Easy to use.
- Easy to charge.
- Comes with black or red strap.
- Also available in 45S for smaller wrists.
- Weight: large – 36g, small – 32g.
- Battery lasts up to 7 days in smartwatch mode, or up to 13 hours while doing GPS activities.
Cons
- Doesn’t have as many advanced features as the more expensive Garmins.
The Garmin Forerunner 45/45S is the ideal choice as a first running watch, or if you’re not too bothered about the more advanced features.
It’s the most wallet-friendly option that still comes with training plans you can have on your wrist.
Related: Garmin Forerunner 45 vs 55
It still has plenty of good features with its accurate GPS tracking, heart rate monitoring, and is very user-friendly. If you want a watch that you can record your runs and share them on Strava this will do the trick.
You can get notifications from your smartphone on your wrist if you choose, and it is good for other sports like cycling too.
It also has safety features like incident detection which can send your location to an emergency contact if you fall.
Click here for all the detailed specs.
Check the most recent price of the Garmin Forerunner 45 on Amazon below:
And find out the most recent price of the Garmin Forerunner 45S on Amazon here:
The Best Garmin Watch For Running When You Have More Experience
Garmin Forerunner 245/245 Music
Pros
- All the features of the Garmin Forerunner 45 plus…
- Gives you a Training Status.
- Also tells you Training Effect, Training Load and Recovery Time.
- Based on your fitness, and all of the above, it will give you daily run suggestions.
- More health monitoring features, including Oxygen saturation.
- This watch measures data for more sports including swimming.
- The non-music version comes with black or berry strap.
- The music version lets you play music from your watch! You can sync it with music streaming apps like Spotify.
- The music version comes with Aqua, Black or White strap.
- Weight – 38.5 grams.
- The battery lasts up to 7 days in smartwatch mode. In GPS mode the non-music version lasts up to 24 hours, and the music version lasts up to 6 hours.
Cons
- The price is a bit higher.
- The watch is quite chunky – although this isn’t necessarily a con as it depends on your taste/style.
- No maps.
If you have more experience, your budget can stretch a bit further and you’re after some extra features, the Garmin Forerunner 245 is a top pick.
It monitors your training and gives you a ‘training status’ to guide if your training is productive or if you’re underdoing/overdoing it. Plus it gives you a good guide for how long you need to recover before you put in another high effort.
The battery has seen an upgrade. It still lasts up to 7 days in smartwatch mode, but in GPS mode the non-music version lasts up to 24 hours, which is nearly twice as long as the Forerunner 45. However the battery life for the music version in GPS mode is a shorter 6 hours.
This is a very popular watch because you get a decent amount of features for the money.
See here for detailed specs.
Find out the latest price of the non-music version by clicking on one of the links below:
If you’d like the Garmin Forerunner 245 Music then find out the latest price by clicking on one of these links:
The main Garmin feature this watch is missing is the ability to help you navigate. If you’d like routes on your wrist and your budget can stretch quite a lot further then check out the next watch instead.
The Best Garmin Watch For Running With Maps
Garmin Forerunner 945
Pros
- All the features of the Garmin Forerunner 245 plus…
- Maps! The best feature to find new routes and not get lost out there.
- Extra metrics – uses data like pace and heart-rate variabilty during your run to assess if you’re ready to perform.
- VO2 Max readings now take account of heat and altitude.
- Music can be downloaded to watch if you have a subscription to a service like Spotify.
- Enhanced battery life.
- Available with a black or blue strap.
- Premium materials.
Cons
- More expensive!
- Weight – 50 grams.
The maps feature of the Garmin Forerunner 945 is the ultimate upgrade! Maps are built in so you can always refer to them if you lose your way. If you follow a route, or a downloaded course, it can give you directions turn by turn, and tell you about the distance, gradient and elevation gain of current or upcoming hills.
If you’re not sure where to run you can just type in the distance you’d like to cover and it will suggest a route based on popularity of local paths.
It has an exceptional battery – 10 hours in GPS mode with music (4 hours longer than the Garmin Forerunner 245). Without music this watch will last up to 36 hours in GPS mode. And up to 2 weeks as a smartwatch (twice as long as the Garmin Forerunner 45 or 245).
It claims to be a lightweight design, but this watch is actually slightly heavier than the Garmin Forerunner 245.
If you want an advanced running watch with maps then this really is a wonderful watch, and well worth the price.
Click here for detailed specs.
Check out the latest price by clicking on one of these links:
The Best Garmin Watch For Women
Garmin Vivoactive 5
Pros
- All the features of the Garmin Forerunner 45 plus…
- 30 sports apps, including running of course.
- Lots of health features, including health snapshot with key stats.
- Monitors body battery.
- Sleep coach.
- You get a morning report telling you about your sleep, how much recovery time you need, and more.
- Lightweight – 36 grams.
- Music – download songs from your favourite streaming subscription.
- Improved battery – In smartwatch mode it will last up to 11 days (or with battery saver mode on up to 21 days). Using GPS it will last up to 21 hours, or 8 hours with music playing.
- This watch has so many novel features, too many to list here!
Cons
- No maps.
Of course, any of these Garmin watches are brilliant for women, but some women feel like they’d like a more feminine watch on their wrist. If this is the case for you, this Garmin Vivoactive 5 is pretty and has awesome features.
The Garmin Vivoactive 5 is the latest of the Vivoactive range. It has a sleek design with an aluminum bezel and the range of colors is sophisticated.
This isn’t just a running watch, it has a wealth of health features too. These include the ability to track your menstrual cycles, measure heart rate variability and blood oxygen levels. It can detect naps, measure your stress levels, monitor your breathing, and more…
Even though this watch is lovely for a woman, it is also suitable for a man.
If you’d like to see detailed specs click here.
To find out the latest price of this beautiful watch click one of these links:
Best Garmin Watch For Ultra Runners
Garmin Fenix 7X Solar Sapphire
Pros
- The Garmin Fenix 7X Solar Sapphire basically has the features of the other watches plus some upgrades…
- Solar charging.
- Amazing battery life.
- Brilliant map capabilities.
- Preloaded TopoActive maps
- Built in flashlight.
- Music.
- You get an endurance score, hill score and it tells you your running power.
Cons
- The price!
- Bulkier design – which could be a good thing if you like that.
- Heavier: Weight – 89 grams.
One of the main things you need when you’re an ultra runner is a watch with a battery that will last – and the battery of the Garmin Fenix 7X Solar Sapphire is amazing!
In smartwatch mode the battery will last up to 28 days (38 days with solar). There are various different modes that will affect how long the battery lasts on this watch, but in GPS mode it will last up to 89 hours (and up to 122 hours with solar).
In expedition mode the Garmin Fenix 7X Solar can last up to 139 days!
This is the most expensive of these watches by far, but if you can afford the higher price you will be pleased you invested in this super watch to accompany you on your adventures.
This watch has an enormous 266 features listed in the specs. That’s insane! They’re not all listed here, we’ve just selected the ones we thought you’d be most interested in. But if you want to see the detailed specs list click here.
Find out the latest price by clicking on one of these links:
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. Are Garmin watches compatible with both Android and iOS smartphones?
Yes, that’s a fantastic thing about Garmin watches – they are compatible with both Android and iOS devices. You can sync your Garmin watch with the Garmin Connect app on your smartphone to track and analyze all your running data.
And, if you’d like to see your runs on Strava too, you can connect your Garmin Connect app to the Strava app.
2. How accurate is the GPS tracking on Garmin watches?
Fortunately Garmin is known for its highly accurate GPS tracking. Garmin watches use a network of multi-satellite systems to provide very precise location data.
This makes your Garmin a reliable tool for tracking running routes.
3. Can I listen to music while running with Garmin watches?
On some Garmin watches you can, like the Forerunner 245 Music and Fenix series.
They have music storage and playback capabilities, so you can load up your favorite songs onto the watch. Or you can even stream music from compatible apps, like Spotify.
4. Do Garmin watches offer coaching and training plans?
Yes, it’s extremely useful that many Garmin watches come with built-in coaching features.
You can create a training plan, or your watch can, or you can download an existing one. This can be to start running, train for a race, get faster, or recover.
This feature can be especially helpful if you want to improve your performance, which, lets face it, is most of us!
If you’d like to get a glimpse into what Garmin’s are capable of, have a watch of this funny video from The Running Channel.
5. Are Garmin watches water-resistant?
Most Garmin watches are water-resistant making them suitable for wearing out in the rain or when you’re sweating buckets.
They are great for going swimming, or surfing, and the more advanced models can track swimming metrics like speed and lengths.
Some models have greater levels of waterproofing, like the Garmin Fenix 7X Solar Sapphire.
6. How long does the battery typically last on Garmin watches for running?
The battery life of a Garmin varies a lot depending on the model, whether you’re just wearing it around the house, or using GPS.
Entry-level models like the Forerunner 45 may last up to a week, or up to 13 hours if you’re using GPS.
More advanced models like the Fenix 7X Solar Sapphire can last up to 38 days when in smartwatch mode. When you’re recording activities with GPS on the battery will last up to 122 hours.
7. Can I use Garmin watches for indoor running on a treadmill?
Yes, you can still use your Garmin watch to track indoor runs you do on a treadmill.
They have accelerometers built-in that give info to your watch to estimate distance and pace when no GPS signals are available.
8. Can I customize the watch face and data fields on Garmin watches?
Yes you can, there are lots of customization options, even for the cheapest Garmin of these (the Forerunner 45). If the option you want isn’t available on your watch you can download more watch faces for free in the Connect IQ™ store.
You can also customize data fields to display the running metrics of your choice..
9. How do I sync and analyze my running data with Garmin watches?
You need to download the Garmin Connect app to your smartphone and turn on Bluetooth.
Open the Garmin app and look down at the bottom right corner of the screen to see the 3 dots that say ‘more‘ underneath. Click on these, look down the list until you see ‘Garmin Devices‘ and at the bottom of the new screen click on ‘Add Device‘.
Once you have done this the app will give you instructions for the rest of the process.
Once your new watch is connected to the Garmin app you need to have Bluetooth on for you to sync your data.
Open up the App and touch the symbol in the top right corner below the battery symbol for your phone. The symbol to touch is 2 arrows in a circle shape.
Once your watch has synced you can have a look at all your running stats!
10. Can I use third-party apps and widgets with Garmin watches?
Kind of, Garmin does work with other apps, but the main way is that it sends data to these apps. The Garmin connect app doesn’t normally use data provided by other apps.
Apps that Garmin Connect can send data too include Strava, MyFitnessPal, TrainingPeaks, Noom and Zwift.
For more information on which apps will connect with your Garmin visit this page on the Garmin Website.
Conclusion
Garmin has many different watches, and the perfect one can be found for runners of all levels.
Whether you’re a beginner, an experienced runner, or an ultra runner, there’s a Garmin watch out there for you!
To choose the best Garmin watch for running, think about your budget and the features that are most important to you.
Of course, the more expensive the Garmin the more impressive its features, but don’t worry if your budget is low, as even the most basic of Garmin running watches are still brilliant!
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Runner | Writer | Science & Nutrition
🏃♀️ Hi, I’m Amanda at Running Matter, where love of running meets science and adventure!
👟 I’m in my element when out on the trails.
🌿 I have a BSc (Hons) First Class in Natural Sciences.
I love writing about how the latest science can improve running performance and nutrition. I’m curious about the human body’s limits and fascinated by ultra running.