Garmin Forerunner 10 (FR10)

Today im going to look my Garmin FR 10 GPS watch. (£75-£99.99)

When I initially started running almost 2 years ago, I used my phone and a few of the various apps to track and record my runs. As I became more serious I thought I would try one of the many GPS watches on the market and bought a second hand forerunner 110, when this watch died in a heavy downpour when running a half marathon? I took the chance to purchase the new FR10, the main selling point at the time, it was waterproof.

I can honestly say I have not regretted my decision to buy this watch, and have started to use more of the features it includes. The watch at it most simple tells you how fast, how far and how long you have run - perfect for the beginner. We also have a virtual pacer which gives you an audible signal every minute or so indicating whether you are in front or behind your set target pace. The walk/run feature I have used to set intervals for quick/recovery periods, and that is as far as the options go on this watch. Quite simply it is there for the beginner or the runner who just wants to track runs and to know how fast you are going.

The run screen gives you the options to choose 2 displays of either pace/distance/time or calories and with the large digits as seen on the pics is easy to read, even in low light with the backlight feature. You can choose auto laps 1mile default or choose to use a lap key to manually enter laps during your run. A feature I paricularly like is the auto pause feature, especially in runs including muster points as sometimes I have forgot to restart my watch and not had an accurate record, the auto pause feature prevents this and stops/starts the run in a matter of seconds.

The gps is usually quite quick at getting a signal mostly in under a minute, but I have had occasion where I have been waiting for a signal for up to 4 mins, which can be a pain when your waiting to start your run in the cold and the rain. The watch connects to a computer via USB wire allowing quick uploading to Garmin Connect an easy to use web program for storing and evaluating the details of your runs, records such as fastest mile, 5k, 10k, and longest run. The battery charges quickly and on a full charge I would estimate approx 4-5 hrs running time, I usually indicate half battery after a 2hr 13 mile training run.

VERDICT - a great watch, simple to use perfect for the beginner runner, no heart rate monitor facility here so if you just want to know how quick your running, how far you have run, how long it has taken and how many calories you have used then this is the watch for you. Perfect for the price and available in colours to suit everyone.