The 7 Best Running Watches in 2024, Tested by Tech Experts

Our pick for the best of the bunch, the Garmin Forerunner 965 is a smart GPS watch that possesses every feature a runner could ever want. Made with a titanium bezel, a hard-as-diamonds glass lens and a stretchy-yet-resilient silicone strap, this thing is damn near bombproof and makes light work of any weather conditions. The combo of a 1.4-inch touchscreen and buttons means you’ve always got the data you need at your fingertips, and the ultra-bright AMOLED display is crisp and visible at any time of day (even when the sun is beaming down on it).

It’s hard to describe everything this watch can do—a visit to the Garmin product page and you’ll see literally hundreds of different capabilities listed—but we’d be remiss to not specifically mention the advanced sleep metrics, incident detection, and extensive training features. Add in this Garmin’s comfort and exceptionally light weight and you can expect to put this one on and never take it off.

Read more: Best Running Shoes

If you like running far, running long, or running off the grid, consider the Enduro 2 your most essential endurance running companion (aside from food and water, that is).

This watch has all of the fitness, health, and sport tech you find in the Forerunner 965, but the Enduro 2 is optimized for distance. The watch is solar-powered, meaning the battery will last an incredible 46 days on its most stripped down settings. It will last 150 hours in full GPS-mode, plenty long enough for the most grueling endurance races. An integrated flashlight with 4 modes will light your way when darkness comes. When you hit the backcountry, advanced mapping tech and Garmin’s SatIQ maximizes battery life without sacrificing positional accuracy.

Only pay up for the Enduro 2 if you are already a serious long distance runner, whether that be by way of road races or for trail running.

Read more: Long Distance Running Shoes

Turn-by-turn GPS navigation is a stellar feature on the Pace 3, and the ability to build your own routes in the Coros app is a huge bonus that makes exploring new roads simple. The advanced optical heart rate monitor is exceptionally accurate, providing not only workout metrics but also sleep tracking and SpO2 data.

The Pace 3 doesn’t have any special metal materials (it’s a mostly plastic construction) and the music storage is about average. The Pace 3 also lacks advanced features like weather tracking and talk/text.

For all the Pace 3 lacks, though, you have to remember the price point. For under $250, you get an exceptional smartwatch that’s dead set on helping track and improve your running. If you’re looking for a deal on a running watch that won’t dig too far into your pockets, then this is the pick.

The regular Apple Watch is decent for running, but the Ultra 2 is designed specifically with sport in mind. The titanium case is incredibly tough and durable and the ultra-bright display is visible even in direct sunlight.

As you’d expect from an Apple product, the watch is full of ingenious features and has a super-fast processor. The S9 SiP chip is one of Apple’s most innovative yet, allowing for touchless control — you can just double tap your pointer finger and thumb to control the watch without getting sweat on the screen. Another awesome feature of the Ultra 2: zone heart rate monitoring for training.

The Ultra 2 is for the adventurous runner who plans to use their watch for daily activity, both for function and for cool rugged styling.

Editor’s Note: Apple has been sued by California-based Masimo over potential patent infringement of its blood-oxygen monitoring technology, though the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has temporarily granted Apple the ability to sell the watch the watch in the United States.

A fitness icon, the Timex Ironman Classic was made to be used by the world’s most hardcore endurance athletes. It’s unbelievably simple, and at $60 (and sometimes less) the value can’t be beat. There’s a reason many pros are still relying on these watches for workouts instead of smart watches.

The Ironman Classic 30 has a simple button interface and an Indiglo light up dial to help with easy reading. We loved using features like the 30-lap memory and the countdown timer. At 22 grams, it’s probably the lightest running watch you can find. Thanks to early 2000s style trends making comebacks in all sorts of ways, you can even make an argument the Classic 30 is going to get nods of style approval.

A running watch you won’t mind wearing every day, the Polar Pro won’t single you out as a fitness tech nerd quite as quickly as other watches on this list. Despite that, it still provides the valuable advanced data you crave.

The Pacer Pro provides faster processing than its predecessors and 7 full days of battery life (or 35 hours on full GPS and heart rate monitoring mode). It’s relatively lightweight at just 41 grams. And, thanks to its stylish build, we found it easy to wear with street clothes and workout gear. The Gorilla Glass 3.0 screen provides awesome durability and an improved readability that makes text large and easy to read.

Keep in mind the Pacer Pro is not a touchscreen watch, which probably helps keep the cost down. There’s also a lack of smartphone connectivity for call/text, no music storage capability, and no wrist-based payments. (We mention these three features because for around a similar price, you can go with an Apple Watch and get them). What the Pacer Pro does best, though, is provide a tough running watch with good looks and a large display to interpret a handful of metrics.

Much like the Garmin options, the Suunto 9 Peak is packed with features any outdoor multi-hyphenate will find useful. It tracks your sleep, paces your runs for you and connects with Strava, just like the rest of the smart watches on this list, but it also has outdoor-specific features that make running or exploring the backcountry a breeze.

With barometric altitude, route navigation on the watch and sport-specific heat maps on the Suunto app, you’ll always be tuned into your surroundings and can seek the most popular, or the quietest, trails in your area. We recommend the Suunto 9 Peak if you are big into trail running and outdoor activities, but do not want to pay for a watch as expensive as the Garmin Enduro 2.

Do I Need All of That Data?

You don’t need a smart watch to improve your runs. And the truth is, all that data can be overwhelming at times. But having a smartwatch does provide you with some useful data, especially as it relates to your own personal running trends.

Your smartwatch data may not always be accurate (heart rate tracking and other metrics often vary from device to device), so scrutinizing all the information of every single run isn’t a worthwhile use of your time. But tracking your performance on your runs over the course of weeks or months can reveal where you’re getting better, and where you need improvement. This can help you build better habits around your runs as you start to understand the pieces of your diet, sleep routines, and strength routines that lead to running success.

The more outdoor-focused the watch is, the more it may deliver superfluous data that won’t truly impact your run. Things like blood oxygen level and skin temperature really have little bearing on your performance.

Your best bet: Focus on the basic data components about your body (heart rate, heart rate zones, and heart rate variability) and your running performance (average mile time, steps taken).

Do I Need to Wear My Running Watch All the Time?

You may have noticed that a number of these watches monitor sleep metrics. And if you want to track your sleep so you can maximize your smart running watch, then yes, you’ll need to wear it darn near 24/7.

This also isn’t necessary. Even if you just throw the watch on before you head out the door for a run, you’ll still gain valuable insights into your running and overall fitness from the data captured during an activity.

The writers and editors of Men’s Health have been wearing and documenting running watch reviews as far back as 2015, when we reviewed the very first Apple Watch. We started comparing running watches as early as 2017.

In 2024, we are still keep up with the latest innovations in the watch space and are constantly applying new tech to running applications.