What is the best running watch to buy right now? We’ve tested pretty much every watch that’s launched this year that promises to track your outdoor and indoor run time. Some have been good. Some have been really good. Then there’s the ones we never want to put on our wrists again.
We take a look back over the big new watches that have launched this year and tell you what our top picks are over a range of different price categories. We take a look at the best running watch under £100, under £200, best mid-range option, best top-end running watch and best smartwatch for runners.
Check out our latest running watch videos: Garmin Epix Pro First Impressions | Garmin Fenix 7 Pro First Impressions
Whether you want a running watch for music, maps, soaking up kudos on Strava or with big battery to tackle ultras, here are our top running watch picks.
Garmin or Polar? Is the Apple Watch the best watch for runners? In this video, we help you find the best running watch for you. Whether you have lots of money to spend or you’re on a strict budget, we take you through the best options available right now.
The Best Running Watches, Shoes and Headphones of 2023
Run Tested: Top picks from our running watch reviews
And if you want to see all of the best running watches we’ve tested over the last few months, here’s a selection of our detailed running watch reviews, where we cover everything from the features and battery life, to how they performed on the run and whether they’re worth buying. Dive in…
Garmin Forerunner 965
The Garmin Forerunner 965 is the running watch you buy if money if you don’t mind spending big and you want one of the most feature-packed and high performing watches for running. The headline feature is an AMOLED touchscreen display, but it takes all of the good stuff from its predecessor the Forerunner 955 including maps and multiband GPS for improved tracking accuracy and still manages to deliver impressive battery life even with that vibrant colour screen.
Coros Pace 2
If you want a great running watch on a budget, then the Coros Pace 2 is one for you. It packs in all the key features you’ll want to track runs, with a 30-hour GPS battery life, support for 3rd party apps like Strava, the ability to program interval training sessions and now also gets the routing and navigation features previously only reserved for the pricier Coros Apex and Vertix watches.
Garmin Forerunner 265
The Garmin Forerunner 265 joins the AMOLED club as Garmin updates the Forerunner 255 with a colour touchscreen display and also brings in wrist-based advanced running dynamics, Training Readiness insights to guide you when to run and rest and is still offered in two case size options.
Testers Nick and Jane have put the Forerunner 265 through its paces to tell you why this is a standout running watch to buy.
Apple Watch Ultra
The Apple Watch Ultra is a smartwatch that’s built for endurance athletes, adventurers and runners, packing features you won’t find on other Apple Watch models to make it a better fit for runs.
Apple includes dual-frequency GPS, advanced running metrics, the ability to create interval workouts, navigation features and the biggest battery life on an Apple Watch yet.
Four Testers spent time living with the Ultra to tell you if this is the best smartwatch for runners and a great running watch overall.
Decathlon Kiprun GPS 900
The KipRun GPS 900 is a multisport watch with running smarts that costs less than £200, making it a good option for anyone on a tight budget.
Built on the same platform as Coros’ Apex watch, the GPS 900 promises 35 hours of GPS battery life and a month in smartwatch mode. You can built workout and training programs and there’s breadcrumb navigation support if you want to go exploring as well.
Testers Nick and Kieran put the KipRun GPS 900 to the test to tell you if this is an affordable sports watch to strap onto your wrist.
The Run Testers 