Let's see your marathon watches... the race not the brand.
Hey all,
Finished a half marathon in Dec, running my first marathon in may and I have hounded my dad about how they went about training and such in his day he was a very good runner, I am not so i'm currently trying to figure it out with an apple watch(ultra, came from a series 0). I admit however i'm kind of enamoured by the idea of running with the simplest but most suitable watch for the job, metrics are great but I'm far from a pro, I hate running long distance... so I thought i'd run a marathon.
Was curious how many of you guys have ran any long races and which watches you wore... please share pics if you have them, garmins, coros, timex, casio, seiko, rolex?... I'm very curious.
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Latest gen Apple Watch works great, especially if you want metrics and music. Until then, I used the Garmin Fenix series, it would easily cover 9 hour endurance races without fear of battery loss.
I ran 3 marathons (plus nearly a dozen half marathons). On my first marathon (over 10 years ago) I had a Polar watch that didn't even have gps, its sole function was receiving data from the HR strap. On the last one I had a far more advanced Garmin. I can confidently say that technology does not make running any easier...
My main hobby is running. I've run every day for the last 859 days (and 664 days before that). I've run 11 marathons, three 50km ultras, countless half marathons and a whole bunch of 10kms. I've also done a handful of triathlons and standalone cycling events.
Since 2013 i've been running with a Garmin, first the 910xt, then the 920xt, then I moved to the Fenix 5, then the 5 plus, now on a Fenix 6.
I wore the F5 as my day to day watch for a long time. Maybe 2 years+? When my current Garmin needs replacing, i'm going to "downgrade" from a Fenix to a Forerunner. Not sure which, but I don't need all the functionality of the Fenix series.
Hey Robert!
Kudos man! Suffering is part of finding happiness. My suggestions below are if you decide to get into it. Joining a club, starting to enjoy the suffer, etc.
BTW - running takes a few weeks of doing consistently, before the body adapts and you can do it without getting sore.
I don't keep track of total number of races, but it's a hobby I've done for a long time.
For serious training, both short and long, I'm currently using the Garmin 265.
(prior to that was on a Garmin 945, Garmin Fenix, Garmin.. yada yada yada back to first gen Forerunner 205 in 2005, when I switched from Polar to Garmin). In this latest generation, there is no longer any reason to get the 9 series watch over the 2 series, unless you want mapping. Full powermeter reception and triathlon recording on a 265.
fastest 5k was with the big clunky 920XT. So you can be quick even with clunky tech.
My current watch is a Garmin 265 (pic below). It's new for 2023, uses OLED, and is full featured in every way.
It's a full blown, every sport under the sun, accurate wrist based optical HR, and with better battery life than an Applewatch (I get about a week on a charge). Great smart watch and most powerful metric for tracking sports, IMHO.
My suggestion: get the apple ultra if the primary goal is smart watch, get the Garmin 265 if the primary goal is using to track endurance sports. But, both do an excellent job, at both tasks.
And... If noodling and just having fun runs is the goal (won't be a long term habit) - then a Grand Seiko 413 Sakura on rubber is stylin', and with a Ti build / screw crown / rubber band - and you are good to go! 😉
My main hobby is running. I've run every day for the last 859 days (and 664 days before that). I've run 11 marathons, three 50km ultras, countless half marathons and a whole bunch of 10kms. I've also done a handful of triathlons and standalone cycling events.
Since 2013 i've been running with a Garmin, first the 910xt, then the 920xt, then I moved to the Fenix 5, then the 5 plus, now on a Fenix 6.
I wore the F5 as my day to day watch for a long time. Maybe 2 years+? When my current Garmin needs replacing, i'm going to "downgrade" from a Fenix to a Forerunner. Not sure which, but I don't need all the functionality of the Fenix series.
I'll save you some research:
I tried the Forerunner 965 - but have since switched to the forerunner 265 (a 2023 model). The 965 has an absurdly large screen, so wears like a dinner plate. It's only real advantage is legit mapping feature. 265 is just breadcrumb. But I seldom never use maps and mostly use phone if I want to see a map.
265 is big as well, but not nearly as bad.
265 the best garmin I've had in decades of Garmin ownership and dozens different models (always the top end 9 series and Fenix models)
I'll save you some research:
I tried the Forerunner 965 - but have since switched to the forerunner 265 (a 2023 model). The 965 has an absurdly large screen, so wears like a dinner plate. It's only real advantage is legit mapping feature. 265 is just breadcrumb. But I seldom never use maps and mostly use phone if I want to see a map.
265 is big as well, but not nearly as bad.
265 the best garmin I've had in decades of Garmin ownership and dozens different models (always the top end 9 series and Fenix models)
I'm not sure I mind large. The Fenix is a hefty thing, and has shaped my taste in mechanical watches because i'm so used to the size of it.
I actually do use the mapping quite frequently, but breadcrumb always sufficed.
Thanks for your thoughts, appreciated.