When you run, keeping track of your health is of utmost importance. The only way to improve your times and safely evolve as a runner is to stay on top of your sleep habits, running form, running power, and overall state of health.
A regular sports watch isn’t enough for the dedicated ones in the audience. You need a smartwatch with great features like music playback, monster battery life, mobile payment options like Garmin Pay and Apple Pay, menstrual cycle tracking and heart rate tracking, and top-tier GPS tracking.
Real runners don’t just need a serious running watch. They need the best they can find in their price range. That’s why we’ve done the legwork for runners like you, selecting 6 amazing smartwatches that are changing the sport for the better.
Let’s get going with one of the most trusted fitness brands out there.
The 6 Best Running Watches In 2021
6) Fitbit Sense
- EDA Scan app detects electrodermal activity which may indicate your body's response to stress and a built-in skin temperature sensor logs yours each night so you can see when it varies.Band Size : Small : Fits wrist 140mm - 180mm in circumference. Large : Fits wrist 180mm - 220mm in circumference
- Assess your heart for atrial fibrillation –a heart rhythm irregularity- and easily share results with your doctor (The Fitbit ECG app is only available in select countries. Not intended for use by people under 22 years old.Operating temperature: 14° to 113°F
- An on-wrist skin temperature sensor tracks yours each night so you can see how it varies. You can also see your nightly blood oxygen levels at a glance with our collection of clock faces.Radio transceiver: Bluetooth 5.0.Operating temperature: -10° to 45° C
- High & low heart rate notifications alert you if yours seems above or below your average.Battery lasts 6 plus days plus, fast charging gives you a full day's charge in just 12 minutes (Varies with use and other factors; up to 12 hours with continuous GPS).Use built-in GPS during runs, hikes, rides and more to see pace & distance without your phone and use the built-in mic and speaker to take Bluetooth calls hands-free when your phone is nearby (Requires more frequent charging).
If you know Fitbit devices, you know that they are built with runners’ best interests in mind. The Fitbit Sense Running Watch is no different. It includes some great and unique features such as skin temperature readings and a quality ECG sensor that outstrips most fitness watches in the market right now. And you can get nearly a week’s worth of usage out of it, depending on how often you use GPS tracking. That’s monster battery life compared to most watches on this list!
Specs
Dimensions: 40 mm case diameter, 46 g weight
GPS Mode Battery Life: 12 to 144 hours
Music Storage: N/A
Smartphone Sync: Yes
Training Recommendations: Yes
Mobile Payment Services: Yes
Sleep Tracker: Yes
Water Resistance: 50 meters
Pros
- You get fantastic battery life in a compact, sleek package.
- Fitbit has plenty of unique fitness tracking services that are unavailable in other running watches.
- This watch parses through all kinds of data to help you personalize your workout plan.
Cons
- There aren’t a whole lot of true smartwatch features to speak of.
- Some of the more useful metrics are locked behind a paywall.
5) Coros PACE 2
- The lightest GPS watch on the market: With a weight of just 29g with the new COROS Nylon band, PACE 2 is the lightest GPS watch on the market. It also has a long battery life of up to 20 days of regular use and 30 hours in full GPS mode.
- Customizable training modes: PACE 2 offers interval, structured, triathlon, and strength training modes. Training programs and plans created by COROS athletes and coaches are available for free on COROS.com, making it easy to customize your training to meet your needs.
- Advanced training features: PACE 2 is the ultimate training partner, helping you plan your training, provide instant feedback, and record your effort during your workouts. It also provides a comprehensive overview of your performance from the past 42 days, so you can track your progress and achieve your goals.
- Multi-sport support: With modes for running, cycling, swimming, cardio, strength, and water sports, PACE 2 is perfect for any activity. Ongoing support and updates ensure that your watch is always up-to-date.
- Comprehensive daily tracking: PACE 2 includes an optical heart rate monitor, barometric altimeter, accelerometer, compass, gyroscope, and thermometer for 24/7 heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, step tracking, and calorie tracking. Stay on top of your health and fitness goals with ease.
The Coros PACE 2 Running Watch is the perfect marriage of a low price point, lightweight and comfortable design scheme, and a strong battery life made for runners who don’t wanna sit around waiting for a charge. It’s pretty much a dedicating running watch, and even includes an exclusive straight and training program with 200 different exercises to help you make gains on the track or the trail. And with the device’s night mode, you’ll be able to get your strides in late at night while still keeping an eye on your progress.
Specs
Dimensions: 42 mm case diameter, 36 g weight
GPS Mode Battery Life: 30 hours
Music Storage: N/A
Smartphone Sync: Yes
Training Recommendations: Yes
Sleep Tracker: Yes
Mobile Payment Services: N/A
Water Resistance: 50 meters
Pros
- This watch is exceedingly light and comfortable to strap around your wrist.
- A dedicated Track Run feature tailors your tracking to limit GPS inconsistencies.
- This is a great backlit running watch for early morning and night runners.
Cons
- Outside of running-focused content, there isn’t much here to get excited about.
- The included strap may be too small for some larger wrists.
4) Polar Vantage V2 Premium GPS Smartwatch
- The lightweight multisport smartwatch with full aluminium body (only 52g), equipped with advanced wrist-based HR tracking, GPS, ultra-long battery life, running & cycling performance tests, FuelWise, route guidance, sleep tracking, & more.
- The training load and recovery tracking tools help you optimize your training and avoid overtraining. Test your performance and personalize your heart rate, speed and power zones with the running and cycling performance tests.
- Use Polar Vantage V2 with Polar Flow - a free online tool for planning and following up on your workouts, analyzing activity progress and sleep. Available on desktop and mobile.
- Connect easily with online sports communities for road running, swimming, cycling, cardio, triathlon (MyFitnessPal, Endomondo, Nike+ Run Club, Strava, TrainingPeaks, Adidas Running by Runtastic etc.)
- Polar Vantage V2 comes with the essential smart watch features: music controls, weather and phone notifications.
Most serious runners struggle with striking a balance between adequate rest and training. If you’re in need of help when it comes to boosting your recovery and ensuring you’re ready for your next big run, the Polar Vantage V2 Premium GPS Running Watch is here to assist you. What it lacks in traditional smartwatch features, it more than makes up for with an array of recovery metrics designed to keep you healthy and primed for exercise. If you take your health and running equally seriously, this running watch is a worthwhile value buy.
Specs
Dimensions: 46 mm case diameter, 51 g weight
GPS Mode Battery Life: 40 hours
Music Storage: N/A
Smartphone Sync: Yes
Training Recommendations: Yes
Sleep Tracker: Yes
Mobile Payment Services: N/A
Water Resistance: 100 meters
Pros
- A battery life of 40 hours in GPS mode is nothing to sneeze at.
- The Polar Flow training assist system is a real game-changer.
- This running watch is all about your recovery. You will get more and better rest with its help.
Cons
- It’s pretty skimpy on traditional smartwatch features.
- It sometimes struggles with lost connections when syncing.
3) Garmin Forerunner 245 Music
- GPS running smartwatch with music advanced training features
- Battery life: up to 7 days in smartwatch mode and 6 hours in GPS mode with music
- Evaluates your current training status to indicate if you’re undertraining or overdoing it; offers additional performance monitoring features
- Get free adaptive training plans from Garmin Coach, or create your own custom workouts on our Garmin Connect online fitness community
- Provides advanced running dynamics, including ground contact time balance, stride length, vertical ratio and more (When used with Running Dynamics Pod or HRM-Run or HRM-Tri monitors (sold separately))
While the fantastic Garmin Forerunner 945 is having stocking issues as of late, there are other great Garmin watches out there worth your time and investment. The Garmin Forerunner 245 Music is a must for true music lovers on the run. It offers 1,000 songs of onboard music storage, a high-quality built-in GPS typical of all Garmin devices, a useful Garmin coach feature, and a super clear watch face that’s easy to use in any light. This is a great Garmin watch at an even better price point.
Specs
Dimensions: 47 mm case diameter, 50 g weight
GPS Mode Battery Life: 10 or 36 hours (with or without music)
Music Storage: capacity of1,000 songs
Smartphone Sync: Yes
Training Recommendations: Yes
Sleep Tracker: Yes
Mobile Payment Services: Yes
Water Resistance: 50 meters
Pros
- 1,000 songs of music storage in a watch this cheap? Sign us up!
- The display is crisp, clear, and super easy to check out during runs.
- Garmin’s deep catalog of training metrics is bound to be of benefit to you in multiple ways.
Cons
- The menu system is somewhat clunky and counterintuitive.
- There isn’t a lot of third-party app support for this running watch.
2) Garmin Fenix 6X Pro Solar
- Fit for performance with rugged, sophisticated design that features a big 1.4 inches sunlight-readable display (36% larger than previous fēnix models) with bezels in stainless steel, titanium or diamond-like carbon (DLC) coating
- Enhanced estimated wrist heart rate and Pulse Ox to support advanced sleep monitoring and altitude acclimation at high elevations (this is not a medical device and is not intended for use in the diagnosis or monitoring of any medical condition)
- Advanced training features include PacePro for grade-adjusted pace guidance throughout your activity plus environmentally adjusted VO2 max and training status estimates
- Navigate the outdoors with preloaded TOPO maps, ski maps for over 2,000 worldwide ski resorts, multiple global navigation satellite system (GPS, GLONASS and Galileo) support and built-in sensors for 3-axis compass, gyroscope and barometric altimeter
- Support for Garmin Pay contactless payments (not all countries and payment networks are eligible), music storage with premium streaming service (may require subscription with third-party music provider) support, smart notifications and more
While the Garmin Forerunner 245 Music is a worthy budget option for runners, the Garmin Fenix 6X Pro Solar combines with the Garmin Connect app to provide one of the most complete fitness watch experiences ever devised. In truth, it’s the solar-powered charging system that makes this a contender for the best running watch available right now. You can extend your battery life for weeks by just catching a bit of light from artificial and natural sources, even when digging through your 2,000 songs of onboard music storage.
Specs
Dimensions: 51 mm case diameter, 82 g or 93 g weight (steel or titanium)
GPS Mode Battery Life: 15 to 148 hours
Music Storage: capacity of 2,000 songs
Smartphone Sync: Yes
Training Recommendations: Yes
Sleep Tracker: Yes
Mobile Payment Services: Yes
Water Resistance: 100 meters
Pros
- Body battery energy monitoring uses multiple trackers to help you reduce stress and maximize your energy.
- Whatever sport you’re into, this watch has trackers and activity logs that will be useful for your training.
- The inclusion of altitude and weather sensors makes this a great running watch for the mountains and other tricky terrains.
Cons
- The price point is quite high for those with tight budgets.
- It’s the heaviest running watch on our list.
1) Apple Watch Series 6
Hands down, the Apple Watch Series 6 is the most feature-rich smartwatch in the history of smartwatches. From sports tracking applications to entertainment options, you can fashion your Apple Watch any which way you’d like. And with the Always On Display feature, you can customize your watch’s look to your own style and whims. The Apple Watch Series 6 is made for runners who want something more out of their running watch.
Specs
Dimensions: 44 mm display diameter, 36.5 g to 47.1 g weight
GPS Mode Battery Life: 18 hours
Music Storage: around 8 GB
Smartphone Sync: Yes
Training Recommendations: Yes
Sleep Tracker: Yes
Mobile Payment Services: Yes
Water Resistance: 50 meters
Pros
- If it’s a leading digital publisher, they likely have a third-party app available on the Apple Watch.
- From tracking stride length to monitoring your heart rate, the Apple Watch does so much more than your average sports watch.
- It’s one of the most well-reviewed smartwatches in best buying advice tech groups.
Cons
- You only get about 18 hours per charge, and that number dwindles given time.
- If you don’t own an iPhone, you won’t be able to get the most out of the smartphone syncing functionality.
FAQs
What is the best fitness watch for running?
Our pick for the best fitness watch for runners isn’t exactly a dedicated running watch. The Apple Watch Series 6 puts all other watches on notice with its versatility as a great running watch and top-of-the-line smartwatch. With plenty of third-party apps and skins for you to customize it with, the Apple Watch Series 6 balances its fitness features with a sense of fun and adventure. It has onboard music storage, great GPS accuracy, and fitness tracker services to track workouts and keep your health in order. Whether you’re into trail running or track running, the Apple Watch Series 6 is an insanely smart buy.
What watches do runners use?
A regular sports watch just won’t do as a running watch anymore. You need a GPS running watch with accurate GPS tracking, a strong GPS battery life, advanced sleep tracking, and running features specific to your workout needs. GPS watches are made for those with active lifestyles. Bikers, hikers, and runners could all use a great GPS smartwatch around their wrist.
Serious runners use running watches with a long battery life, connectivity with Bluetooth headphones, and smartphone notifications. By doing so, runners can maximize their training with sports tracking and more features than they could possibly use in a single workout session.
Closing Thoughts
Whether you’re looking for a budget running watch or the latest and greatest GPS sports watch in the market right now, the list above is your go-to source for finding a dedicated sports watch. They offer impressive battery life, training load monitoring, and watch faces that look good with all your running gear. If you want to improve your approach to the sport, grab one of these smartwatch standouts right away.