After 12 hours of research evaluating 75 products, we picked Garmin Vivoactive as our top choice.
Runners really only need three things for a proper training session: a good pair of running shoes, music, and a running watch. Running watches do more than just track your lap time or total run time—a good GPS running watch will also help you monitor your location, map your route, and analyze your performance.
Never run without one!
Finding a good GPS running watch may be easier said than done, given how many models are available on the market. But don’t sweat it: we’ve done the work of analyzing each watch for you to make finding the best running watches a breeze.
Here’s what we did:
We read thousands of reviews for dozens of running watches, wore a few of the top-rated watches during our runs (with the sweat stains to prove it!), and put the various features through their paces. We dug deep into the various options to ensure you got the best, most reliable options for your training sessions. Read on to find the best running watch for you.
Our editors independently research, test, and recommend the best products; you can learn more about our review process here. We may receive commissions on purchases made from our chosen links.