The 5 Best Running Watches Are The Key to Managing Your Running Life

The Garmin Forerunner 265 solidifies the brand's strong reputation within the running community by offering a comprehensive suite of features tailored to athletes. An extensive library of over 30 activity profiles extends its utility beyond running, accommodating a wide range of sports and cross-training activities.

All of Forerunner’s core hardware functions work well. The multi-band GPS functionality ensures accuracy in tracking distance, pace, and route, even in dense tree cover and challenging urban environments with tall buildings.

Its vibrant AMOLED display gives you clear visibility in direct sunlight and low-light conditions. All the while, you get impressive battery life–up to 13 days–so it’s always ready for an extended training session, even if, like me, you forget to charge it on occasion.

And there’s good news for those with smaller wrists: The Forerunner 265 isn't a one-size-fits-all situation. It comes in two sizes, the standard FR 265, and the 265S, which is a smaller version with a smaller face and band, and a lower profile.

Running Reviews Editor Amanda Furrer has been using this watch, and said she loved having a proper running watch that fits her petite frame. As a result, she preferred it over the more fully featured Forerunner 965 because that watch’s large face and band didn’t fit right on her wrist.

That’s not to say this is a perfect watch and system. The one area Garmin has consistently struggled with is its app. Garmin Connect has more maps, user connection, insights, and options than any other running watch app, but is poorly organized and lacks a clear, intuitive interface. Setting up your watch is a cinch, but controlling things like app notifications and volume is a pain.

Personally, I’m also not a huge fan of many of its routes. They don’t give you enough idea of where you’ll be running, or the conditions you’ll encounter, and they can make your app drag a bit. I tend to use the app strictly for my metrics and training.

Even with some serious drawbacks in the app and UI, though, this is easily the most well-rounded running watch I tested. It’s effective, has lots of useful features, and it’s easy to use day-to-day.

The Coros Pace 3 gives you almost all of the advanced metrics and capabilities that define the elite sport watches we’ve tested, but costs hundreds of dollars less than the creme de la creme. It's light and thin—only 11.7 millimeters thick—making it one of the slimmest on this list. The display has an easy-to-read face that is coated with a transflective surface, making it easy to read in high-contrast lighting. Unlike Garmin watches, it relies more on the touch screen, which could be challenging for precise tracking without looking at the watch.

This truly multi-sport watch really does the work, easily tracking all the major metrics with precision. Its multi-band GPS had no problem tracking me through Manhattan amongst the skyscrapers, or through the densely-forested trail I hit in the Catskills.

Specifically, I really like having an at-a-glance altimeter, which allowed me to test my endurance on our (arguably low) peaks getting a solid shot at how my body handled it. Most watches hide the altimeter deep in their menus, so this more intuitive approach felt like a breath of fresh air.

Use it for long enough, though, and you’ll see why it’s less expensive than the rest: The watch’s hardware is a little underpowered, leading to slow transitions between screens and laggy haptic notifications. If you’re a pace chaser like myself, and you can sense your speed pretty decently, the lagging notifications may make you feel like you’re slowing down or that your run is a hair off.

There’s also no low-power mode, which is odd, and I wonder if that is shifting that timing and accuracy in favor of keeping a bright screen and all systems going.

Post-run, I adore using Coros’ Cross Training Hub app, both on my phone and via the web. It also gives you the option of working with coaches who can view your data and help you design a solid routine.

There is something to be said for the app’s simple organization, which revolves around a well-planned dashboard that ties all of the watch’s features together. As an autistic millennial, having a web portal in addition to the phone app makes a huge difference for me, because it lays out everything in an easy database for cross referencing and planning.

The Coros Pace 3 isn't just budget-friendly; it's packed with features that punch above its weight. Its long-lasting battery power through your longest runs with you, recording insightful data that you can use to fine-tune your training, all delivered through a user-friendly app and web portal. This a sensible choice for runners at any training level: You get solid run-specific performance without a premium price tag.

If you want to spend a little more money for a more rugged and durable watch with better battery life in GPS mode, more detailed mapping, and an electrocardiogram, the Coros Pace Pro is still a fairly affordable option at a little over $100 more.

The Apple Watch Ultra 2 offers a great blend of convenience and function, with improved GPS and battery life that give it a big leg up over the Apple Watch Series 10 for all kinds of athletes. However, its running-specific performance still trails behind Garmin and other run-focused brands. It excels as a hybrid lifestyle/training watch, though, allowing users to listen to audiobooks, track Strava routes, and text simultaneously. Its extensive customization options and integration within the Apple ecosystem are really clutch for Apple users.

Like its predecessor, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 features better GPS tracking than the standard Apple Watch Series 10, fixing most of the distance and pacing accuracy issues I’ve experienced while running in standard Apple Watches over the years. The upgrade is designed for climbing and other off-the-map activities, but also makes it more qualified as a running watch.

It’s also the most water-resistant of all the watches I tested, making it a great choice for triathletes and cross-trainers. Its three-day battery life is longer than that of the Series 10, though less than competitors like the Garmin Fenix 8.

We generally adore the user-friendly Fitness and Health apps, seamless Apple Pay integration, and vast app library. It allows phone-free running with call and text capabilities. Runner's World Runner-in-Chief Jeff Dengate highlights the significant addition of TrainingPeaks integration, bridging the gap between lifestyle and training watches.

Apple has also improved haptic response, added action and back buttons, and enhanced running app integration. Notably, Apple Watches remain the best for treadmill users due to their easy pairing and accuracy.

Despite its versatility, the Ultra 2's $799 starting price and some drawbacks make it less ideal if dedicated run data is the top priority. It remains a strong choice for cross-trainers, treadmill runners, and those who value everyday smartwatch features alongside their running needs.

It doesn’t make sense to buy a spendy watch with tons of features for a teen runner, especially if they’re new to either running and/or smartwatches. Garmin’s most basic running watch, the Forerunner 165, keeps it simple so they can learn the ropes and easily work it into their routine.

This watch packs a punch, mirroring many features of the top-tier Forerunner 265, but in a more streamlined experience. While it covers the basics, a few bells and whistles are noticeably absent. The biggest difference is that it doesn’t use your metrics to generate a training readiness score, a key training tool for serious athletes, and lacks a dedicated triathlon mode. Offline music storage is also a no-go, limiting your soundtrack options to your connected device. And battery life, though solid at 11 days, falls short of its higher-end compatriots.

One of our teen run-testers, my 14-year-old daughter, just began her first year of track and field this year and tested out this watch. She loves the simplicity of the design and how easy it is to use. She’s tried my other Garmin models for fun, and didn’t love their size or how much is presented on-screen. In her words, “I’m not running to the moon, Mama.”

And just because we recommend it for a teen doesn’t mean it isn’t great for adults as well. Like the Coros Pace 3, this really is an essentialist running watch: That makes it great for beginners and great for anyone who doesn’t want to tinker with their tools.

“If I had to buy one watch right now with my own money, it would be the 165,” said Dengate. “It’s a lot like what the 200s used to be. It has everything the majority of runners will ever need, just fewer sport modes.”

The Race is an impressive entrant from Suunto—a smaller brand that doesn’t get as much attention as mainstream watchmakers like Apple and Garmin. I think this may very well be the watch to change that. It offers incredible battery life–up to nearly a month–with a bright, highly-readable AMOLED display, plus a ton of cool features.

It also comes with the most comfortable watch band I’ve tested. It has enough give to feel snug when you wear it tight, without sticking or squeezing. This might not seem like a big deal, but many running watches have a tendency to grip the top of your wrist when you start to sweat. The Race hangs loose, which made it more comfortable when others started to irritate me, without moving on my wrist.

The battery life is wild. On paper, the watch can stay on for up to 26 days without continuous heart rate monitoring. With daily runs and workouts, that number’s going to get smaller in the real world, but will still be impressive: I consistently got 11 to 14 days out of the battery per charge while averaging 6 miles a day, plus three additional workouts each week.

Strangely, the thing I love most about the Race is its maps. It has gorgeous topographic maps that appear on the watch face that indicate altitude warnings, detailed directions, and constant interactivity. All that data can be a bit demanding on your phone/data plan, so they may take some time to download. More broadly, I like the design of Suunto’s app, though it lacks the third-party app integrations you get with brands like Garmin and Apple.

The watch interface presents challenges with its organization and accessibility of settings. Unlike the appealing maps, navigating the menus and adjusting preferences feels unintuitive. For instance, the strong haptic notifications are difficult to disable independently, as the "do not disturb" mode silences all alerts, offering no middle ground for users bothered specifically by the buzzing. Furthermore, the lack of onboard music storage necessitates carrying a phone if you need tunes to run.

Finding the Suunto Race was a big surprise. With its useful maps and a battery that lasts forever, there’s a lot going for this watch if you want to try something different. Once you wrestle with it a bit and get your settings straightened out, this comfy, long-haul watch reduces charging to an occasional chore.