Is a Garmin watch worth it?

Depends on the course. If it's relatively straight and open with no tall trees and buildings, accuracy is within 1%. If you're trail running under a dense canopy or making a lot of turns, the accuracy falls to within maybe 5%.

Are they worth it? If you're anal about getting a number for mileage in your logs, yes. If you travel, and run in unkown areas, yes. They also help with setting pace early on in a race when those around you may be pushing you out faster than your game plan.

You sound like me. I was skeptical and always used a basic timex. I bought a cheaper GPS watch - Soleus and love it. I count my mileage more, which has caused it to go up = faster times and the pace function is awesome for tempo runs.

I was the same and finally broke down and got a garmin. The above post is correct about accuracy. Probably not as bad as 5%, but at a recent race I had an extra 100m for a 1/2 marathon.

I like being able to do metric lap splits instead of relying on the 1/4 mi markers at the park. I like being able to do marathon pace on long runs without having to stay on the mile marked path or relying on a friend with a garmin to go with me. I am not that into racing with it, but it does help keep you pushing towards the end of a race and keeps you from getting lazy on your pace when things get tough.

I do not like the bean counting aspect of it. I do not need to know my pace and distance for every easy run I do. But, if you do, you will like it.

Yes.

I paid full price for my 210 and it was worth it. Your getting a great deal with $200 off. You'll be happy. Just don't bother with the heart monitor.

Thanks for all the advice. Does the 110 have enough features? I'd just like something to measure distance and pace. I don't need to upload data or anything along those lines.

The 110 does not have the "Current Pace" feature the 210 has. Looking back I'd get the 110 since I don't use that pace setting.

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2010/07/garmin-forerunner-110-in-depth-product.html

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2010/12/garmin-forerunner-210-in-depth-review.html

For a $99 watch:

Look at the Soleus GPS Fit 1.0. No idea how good it is, but it looks like a super simple GPS and I think they are made by the same company that made the crooked Nike watches.

http://www.soleusrunning.com/products-page/gps-watches/

And the Timex Marathon.

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2012/03/99-timex-marathon-gps-in-depth-review.html

I've had a 405 for years, and I'm in deep love with it. But if it breaks I'll buy a 110. It has all the features I actually use.

redux wrote:

The 110 does not have the "Current Pace" feature the 210 has. Looking back I'd get the 110 since I don't use that pace setting.

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2010/07/garmin-forerunner-110-in-depth-product.htmlhttp://www.dcrainmaker.com/2010/12/garmin-forerunner-210-in-depth-review.html

For a $99 watch:

Look at the Soleus GPS Fit 1.0. No idea how good it is, but it looks like a super simple GPS and I think they are made by the same company that made the crooked Nike watches.

http://www.soleusrunning.com/products-page/gps-watches/

And the Timex Marathon.

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2012/03/99-timex-marathon-gps-in-depth-review.html

Wow...thanks for all that info. So, the 110 would not be able to tell me the pace of my pickups during a fartlek workout?

Well, I assume it would IF you program an interval session according to how you plan to run the fartlek. The 210 works that way.

I don't like the Current Pace because there is a slight lag. My experience is that it tells me how fast I was running ~30 seconds ago. So I would over/under shoot pace for an entire run. For me, Lap Pace set to 1 mile laps works best.

The "current pace" is way too imprecise to be of any value. I haven't heard of anyone who's using that.

Found this for Soleus:

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2011/12/soleus-gps-10-90-running-watch-in-depth.html

garminer wrote:

The "current pace" is way too imprecise to be of any value. I haven't heard of anyone who's using that.

Exactly. However, I've found current lap pace to be pretty good for doing pace runs on the road. It needs a little time to stabilize after each lap, but being able to do longer tempos on the road and monitor pace for each miles is a killer feature. I love my Garmin for that reason alone.

just got a 110 a month ago and i love it. ran with a timex for years and didn't see the point in upgrading to gps. however, i travel weekly for work and i'm always doing a run in a random place. huge benefit here when you're just taking off from the hotel to get in a run.

secondly, no the forerunner does not offer current pace, but it does tell you the pace over several different intervals that you can pre-program. i leave it at mile, but you can do 1/2, 1/4 (i think), or i think also 2 miles. also can do k's. i don't miss the instantaneous pace at all. if you've been running with a timex for years you've adjusted to not having this feature and you won't miss it. i would also be skeptical of the accuracy of instantaneous pace.

i have noticed some problems with elevation data - if i run in any kind of wooded place the elevation gain data is basically useless. but this is sort of a secondary benefit to the pace/mileage data.

i got the 110 because i wanted something that wasn't bulky and i didn't feel that i needed any of the additional features. so far i still feel that way. even if you're not an anal retentive mileage hog you will enjoy knowing exactly how far you ran, particularly in workouts of all sorts.

it's a very simple watch that gives me everything i need and nothing more.

Get one.

I was worried that I would become even more anal about time/mileage than I was before--and maybe I am. I'll run an extra .2 or so to make sure I log another full mile.

I used to only use a old Garmin for marathon workouts. It was the old school one that was like a beeper on your wrist. Although, I don't really compete anymore, and have lost a step (or two) now that I'm not running as much, I wanted something to let me know what kind of pace I was running on my easy runs. I did my first marathon in four and half years this year and really had no idea how fast I could run. So, I bought the Garmin to see how fast my regular runs were so that I'd have something to gauge my fitness on (since I was doing no workouts, just runs).

Now, I love the thing. I wear it every run and it doesn't bother me that 1) I don't run as fast as I used to, and 2) I know exactly how far I've gone--even if that means running to the end of the block to get that full mile. I found my 210 for $140 on Craig's List. I wanted it so I could use "current pace." Could have went with the 110 as I never use that function. Oh well.