Black Friday running watch deals — Best offers from Garmin, Polar and more

Another great option for those making the leap from smartphone tracking apps to smartwatch, the Forerunner 55 comes with all the basics, including built-in GPS and optical heart rate monitoring, plus 20 hours’ GPS run time on a single charge and a general usage battery life that’ll get most runners through at least a week’s training.

It’s small, light and comfortable and though the small screen isn’t as easy to read or as luxe as pricier watches, the display does a good enough job in most light conditions.

The Fenix 7 Pro Solar can go for 22 days on a single charge with up to 73 hours GPS run time in the right solar conditions. You get a colour touchscreen and colour TOPO maps with all the usual features like suggested workouts, training effects and load feedback, sleep tracking, phone-free music playback and more. Plus Garmin's really popular built in flashlight.

Having launched earlier this year, the Forerunner 165 hardly ever goes on sale so this is a rare opportunity to make a saving. The most of the more useful tools and features you find on Garmin’s premium watches and distils them into a more compact, more basic, somewhat cheaper model with a killer bright AMOLED display.

A great mid-range option, now for a reduced price. The Pacer Pro packs in an impressive 35 hours of full GPS run time – extendable up to 100 hours in low-power modes – and a comprehensive suite of running, training, racing and recovery features. You also get all-systems satellite support, super-fast GPS link-up and a built-in barometer.

Beyond the cheaper price tag, one reason to invest your money in the Forerunner 955 over the new 965 is the longer battery life. It doesn’t have the Forerunner 965’s shiny AMOLED screen but this very capable watch runs around 25% longer – 42-hours in regular GPS mode, up to 80 hours in power saving mode.

It also still offers multiband GPS, full colour maps, offline music storage and all tracking smarts you’ll find in the newer-gen model.

One of the first fully-fledged outdoors adventure watches to pack a smartwatch-style AMOLED screen, the Epix 2 is another oldie-but-goodie.

You get the same robust and rugged build as the Fenix range plus a comprehensive suite of Garmin’s training, general activity and wellness and smartwatch features.

In fact, there’s very little on the Fenix 7 that you don’t get here. But that bright screen really kicks the maps and navigation tools up a gear.

The Grit X Pro takes all of Polar’s training, performance and recovery tools and wraps them in a rugged frame with a toughened sapphire glass display, bringing military-grade resilience to your more adventurous runs.

The 40-hour GPS run time extends to 100 hours for long hauling and ultra, there’s turn-by-turn route guidance powered by Komoot, reliable all-systems GPS and clever features like Fuelwise to help fuel your long runs right.

With a large 47mm case, a big touchscreen and 57 hours of GPS run tracking on a single charge, the Fenix 7 is one of the most complete rugged adventure-ready running watches going. Off grid endurance types can harness full colour topo maps, clever features like ClimbPro to tell you what beastly ascents up ahead and all Garmin's excellent training and performance insights are here too.

At its usual £249 RRP, it's hard to recommend Decathlon's GPS 900 (powered by Coros) over the £219 Coros Pace 3, which boasts a slightly longer battery life. But at less than £200 in this Black Friday deal, the watch is an absolute steal. It features Coros’ EvoLab training tools with a strong suite of performance, recovery and activity insights. Navigation functions stretch to breadcrumb route following, off-route alerts and back-to-start guidance. Combine that with 35 hours of battery life in full GPS mode, and you have a watch that punches well above its price tag.

If you want an adventure-proof watch in a more compact design, the Instinct Solar 2 is a great option. This durable, rugged beast is waterproof to 100 metres, with a fibre-reinforced case and chemically strengthened, scratch-proof glass. It packs familiar training features you’ll find on most running watches but adds extra expedition-friendly tools. Battery life is competitive with 30-hours of GPS runtime, extending to 48 hours in the right solar conditions Plus there’s an expedition GPS mode that lasts up to 32 days.

The Amazfit Cheetah Pro sits at the top of Amazfit’s line-up of more affordable sports watches. While it’s not as fully rounded and finessed as a Garmin or COROS, it offers a good selection of hardware, training, navigation and smartwatch tools for the price. You get accuracy boosting Dual frequency GPS, offline maps and navigation tools plus offline music storage. Not to mention materials you usually only find on more premium watches, including a titanium alloy bezel, fibre-reinforced polymer casing, and a more comfortable nylon strap.

Featuring a vivid display, up to 11 days of battery life, and preloaded sports apps, this smartwatch is designed to keep you inspired and on target. Track your energy levels with Body Battery insights, helping you know when to push and when to rest. Enjoy your favourite tunes with the built-in music player and receive personalised sleep coaching to enhance recovery.

Equipped with a vivid display and up to 14 days of battery life, this GPS watch is packed with advanced health and fitness features. Track your energy levels with Body Battery, improve sleep with personalised coaching, and explore over 30 sports apps, including running, cycling, and swimming. Gain valuable insights into your sleep, stress, and workouts, helping you enhance overall well-being with real-time data.

The Ignite 3 is Polar's equivalent of the Garmin Venu (above). While it's a fitness watch first and foremost, it's also got on-board dual-frequency GPS, making it a great option for anyone looking to log key health metrics as well as tracking their runs. It's sleek and stylish too — perfect for everyday wear.

Packed with biosensing instruments and cutting-edge features, the Polar Vantage V3 smart sports watch is built to deliver top-tier performance. With a vibrant touch screen display and dual-frequency GPS, you’ll enjoy crystal-clear visuals and precise tracking wherever your runs take you. Its detailed, full-colour maps keep you oriented, while 150 sport profiles cater to every activity imaginable.

Apple Watches are rarely on sale, making this a great opportunity to get one at a discounted price. Offering the perfect blend of fashion and functionality, they’re the closest you can get to a smartwatch that also doubles as a stylish accessory. With the Apple Watch SE, you can track your runs, monitor heart rate and pace, and stay connected with GPS, music, and notifications — all while looking great. Plus, enjoy three months of Apple Fitness+ free for added fitness support.

Argos currently has a raft of deals across the Apple Watch Series 9 range. And while the battery life of Apple’s last-gen smartwatch might not rival the Garmin, COROS and Polar running watches, if you’re looking for a life-taming smartwatch with a decent package of run-tracking tools – including accurate heart rate and reliable GPS – the Apple Watch is the best running smartwatch you can buy.

The ultimate high performance watch the epix Pro comes with a range of advanced features to satisfy even the most ardent metric junkie.

The new hill score feature measures your running strength and endurance during ascents whilst the endurance score feature combines training data from all your athletic pursuits to help you understand how training impacts your overall endurance. There are also complex pacing models, advanced sleep monitoring functions plus morning report and training readiness features.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 isn’t the most ground-breaking smartwatch, but it packs some interesting hardware and feature firepower that makes it worth considering – particularly with £50 off in the Amazon Black Friday sale. Highlights include AI-powered wellness tools, precise dual-frequency GPS, and an enhanced BioActive sensor that offers more in-depth sleep tracking. The sleek, circular design is enjoyable to wear while that excellent, bright AMOLED touchscreen and fast processor makes this run-friendly smartwatch intuitive to use.

There’s more than a nod to the Apple Watch Ultra here. Samung’s rugged top-tier smartwatch has some very familiar looks and features. You get a large AMOLED display, a tougher more durable design, longer battery life than the regular Galaxy Watch (on paper at least) and an Apple-esque action button for quick-launching workouts.

It’s not as competent as its Apple rival but there’s loads here for runners who want a good mix of smartwatch tools and run tracking. And this is hands down the best Samsung and WearOS running watch going. Right now there’s a £100 off to boost that appeal.