12 years ago I walked in to Wal-Mart as a poor college student looking for a watch to wear as I started running. I found a Timex Ironman watch that did chrono and something about laps.
It was $20; I was sold.
3 years later when I started training for my first marathon I decided it was time to embrace the new fangled GPS technology and my love affair with Garmin was hatched.
Timex wasn’t in the game back then, but they are now. While they have a LONG and fantastic history of durable watches, this is a newer space for them, so I anticipate each subsequent watch to improve.Just because I wasn’t wearing them to run doesn’t mean I stopped buying those Ironman watches. Instead they became my daily watch and I laugh looking back at photos where you can always see one peaking out!
Here are two of the current offerings I’ve been running with that meet both the basic GPS needs and more advanced training. I will admit these are not my preferred running watches due to features and comfort, but that doesn’t mean you might not love them. (Here’s what I usually run with.)
Timex Ironman GPS
Price: $85 {Amazon sale}
Colors: White, Black Teal
I’ve updated this review to the newer Timex Ironman with a silicone strap because it’s a far superior to the original watch I tested years ago, but remains a good low cost GPS watch option.
- Super simple
- Tap screen
- Pace
- Speed
- GPS distance
- Battery life up to 12 hours on full charge
- Indiglo night-light with constant on option
- Interval timer
- Easy sync with PC
- Run pace alerts recently added
- Softer strap (this was my major issue with original models)
This is the type of watch I recommend for those just starting out or even for someone like David.
He wants to know how far he has run, his current pace and distance…that’s it. No more bells, whistles or craziness just the basics. It does however also have a feature for intervals, which is nice because it does allow you to grow with the watch if you start to do more specific training workouts.
The major downside is the hard plastic wrist strap. If that’s not something that bothers you, it’s a great price for a starter watch.
Timex Essential Watch
If I’m talking Timex, I can’t possibly leave out this watch! It’s the absolute most basic watch and what I used for the first 4-5 years of training! Yup, I skipped the GPS and just knew how long I was running, then I would come home and map out the route with MapMyRun to get a distance.
This is exactly what I want my athletes to do on days where I ask them to run easy! I don’t want them looking at pace, just go and know for how long.
This watch is BASIC:
- Current time
- Timer
- Countdown
Timex Ironman Run Trainer 2.0 with HRM
It looks like this watch is no longer available and that’s probably not a bad thing. For the price you can get a lot more in other brands. Checkout my best tips for finding the right GPS Watch for you.
Price: $266 {Amazon sale}
Colors: Black or Gray
- Same baseline features from Easy Trainer
- Vibrate alert on laps
- Customizable screens and reverse color display option {pictured above}
- Water resistant to 50M
- Auto start/stop option
- Auto lap based on distance or time
- Configure intervals on the watch or on Training Peaks
- Heart Rate monitor
Cool Feature: Nutrition alerts!! Are you one who forgets to drink or skips gels during the race because you are feeling good at the moment?? The Run Trainer has a Nutrition Alert which you can set up to vibrate or beep when it’s time to drink or eat.
PRO: The HR monitor is more reliable than my Garmin. That could be because the strap is new or it’s just better technology. I like the easy to read screens, no fuss, just the data. Quick to set up and getting going. Free online training log provided by Training Peaks <<that’s pretty huge.
{As noted above, I now no longer recommend any watch that uses a chest strap. You get less chafing and other issues from one’s like this that do it through the wrist strap.}
PRO: Quickly finds satellites and has been easy to use just the HRM function when I want to run on the treadmill.
PRO: You have 3 screens to switch between during the run by pressing the display button. You can have up to 3 data fields on each from the following options: Split Time [Total time], Lap Time, Previous Lap Time, Pace, Avg Pace, Lap Pace, Prev Lap Pace, Speed, Avg Speed, Lap Speed, Prev Lap Speed, Heart Rate, Avg HR, Lap HR, Prev Lap HR, Cadence, Cadence HR, Prev Lap Cadence, Distance, Lap Distance
Prev Lap Distance, Altitude, Total Ascent, Total Descent
PRO: Summary data is equal to other watches, allowing you to see a summary of the run along with more specific details like altitude changes and individual lap details.CON: I would also like to turn off the chime on each mile, but that’s not currently an option. I have also had an issue with the watch resetting each time I plug it in to charge.
CON: It only stores 15 workouts. You have to save a workout to see the summary data and then been consistent with uploading or deleting to always have space available.
CON: On both watches the wrist band is really stiff. Since the watches are smaller, I haven’t had an issue with them chaffing or cutting like older styles, but they could definitely be a little more comfortable.
While this watch does allow you to view speed, making it usable for biking it is mostly designed as a running watch, making the price and features on par with the Garmin 610. Overall I think it lives up to the Timex standard of being a watch that will last for ages and get the job done without a lot of fuss. I am excited to continue seeing how the brand progresses in this space.
Overall: For the price, I actually think you can probably find a watch with a few more bells and whistles.
Checkout this post on finding what GPS watch is best for your needs >>
Other reviews
Polar RC 3 Watch — Best for those doing HR Zone training
Garmin 910XT — Best for those doing multi-sport
Epson ProSense 307 – HR through wrist and step tracker
TomTom Sparks – Plays music through bluetooth
TomTom Cardio – HR through wrist strap
Are you a GPS wearer?
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