TomTom Runner GPS Watch (Black)

I've been running for a long time and never had a GPS watch. After a lot of research I landed on the TomTom. I've been using it consistently for three months (runs up to 10 miles) and couldn't be happier.I was looking for a reasonably priced watch with reasonably basic features--really just distance and pace, and this delivers. The GPS signal pickup is very quick (~10 seconds max) as long as you sync the watch via USB or Bluetooth once every three days; even on the one occasion when I didn't have it synced, it still only took about 30 seconds. I normally run in "laps" mode to automatically take splits after a set distance; there are a few other modes but they feel a little gimmicky to me (again, I was just looking for the basics). While running, you can scroll through a number of metrics including time, distance, current pace, overall pace, and clock time. I have not used the treadmill mode.I've used this watch in 5 states, in cities, suburbs, and rural areas with poor cell coverage, and there have been no issues with tracking (have NOT run in major high-rise areas like Manhattan). Distances come out close to phone GPS tracking aps. The backlight occasionally turns on in the rain, which does impact battery life, but it has never died on a run (or after) so that isn't a big issue for me. Overall, battery life has been no problem. I have yet to see it drain to "low battery," but I'm pretty good about charging it.I did accidentally stop the watch during a run while pulling a sleeve down over it. However, this could happen with any watch (I have definitely done it before with my basic Timexes), so again it's not a major issue--just something to be aware of.The desktop software for syncing is easy to use. I import everything to MapMyRun because I was already using it prior to purchasing this watch, and there have been no issues there. Bluetooth for syncing to a phone is a little patchier but usually works fine.Overall this watch is a great value, and cheaper than the competition, if you're looking for a distance tracker with a few nice features.

**UPDATE 9/29/2015** - After a few months with this watch, I've adjusted my review to 4 stars. I'll include detailed notes about the update at the bottom.I'm excited to write a review for this watch. Overall, I love it. It's a great day-to-day watch and is a fairly solid running watch, especially for the price.It's important to keep in mind that I bought this watch in June 2015 for $100. This is a couple years after the TomTom Runner's initial launch, and it's a little bit cheaper as well.I looked at the Garmin Forerunner 220 as well as the 225. Both look awesome (and are likely better), but they also cost twice as much. I even looked at the TomTom Runner Cardio, but it also costs twice as much. I really wanted to go with one of these better watches, but the way I see it, the Apple watch is one or two generations away from having a killer standalone watch (& doesn't require the phone) that works for running and is sufficiently rain-/sweat-proof. That makes buying a more expensive watch now less appealing, especially if I don't need all the extra features.For me, my phone with the runkeeper app, was doing a pretty good job when I went running. But I found that having to pull my arm across my body (the phone is in an armband) was a pain and then fact that the phone isn't waterproof got me to look for a watch. I wanted something that handled the basics very well but also let me sync my runs with Runkeeper.The TomTom Runner meets those needs perfectly. Rather than list all the features, I'd check out the review on the DCRainMaker blog. He touches on a lot of the points that highlight why I like the watch.A few drawbacks:- The wireless syncing is slow, but I've found I prefer to just put it in its cradle and let it sync up that way. It's very very fast.- The stopwatch mode is nice, but I wish I could use the stopwatch mode while tracking a run, especially for doing laps in real time.- I like how you can schedule intervals, but they have to be the same. To be fair, it's nice how you can mix a run interval in distance or by time with a rest interval in distance or time. That's really nice. (Oh, and the intervals show up as laps when you sync to the tom tom website, which is really helpful for analyzing your intervals).- I wish there were a way to define a running workout on the computer (or mobile app) and have that sync to the phone. I think that's available in more expensive watches. This isn't a deal breaker for me.Overall, though, if you're looking for a good GPS watch in mid 2015 and you want to step up from your phone on your arm but aren't quite sure you want to drop several hundred dollars on the best running watch out there, this is the watch for you.**UPDATE 9/29/2015 Notes:**Overall, still a solid watch, but I can understand why someone who is getting serious about running would pass up this watch. It seems like a few of the features are *so close* to being complete, but it's a shame that they fall short of providing that extra bit of value. If you're just using the watch for casual long runs, none of this will matter.- Interval mode: You can only schedule intervals in tenths of a mile, so no real way to translate e.g. 400m to a quarter mile in interval mode. This is makes interval mode useless for many of the times I want to use it. (Lap mode lets you schedule intervals for hundredths of a mile, but you can't program a rest period in lap mode).- Interval mode: You can't see your interval time while measuring a distance interval. Let's say you're running half mile intervals with 2.5 minutes rest. Unlike in lap mode, there's not a way to see how long your current interval is. You can see how much distance you have remaining, but you can't see what your interval time is.- Interval and lap mode: The metrics available to intervals and laps (e.g. lap pace, lap distance) are only available as the main metric. They can't be used as one of the top metrics. When I'm doing laps, it's often helpful to see the lap distance and the lap time at the same time.- Interval and lap mode: Upon completing an interval or lap, you can only see your pace. When doing intervals or laps, it would be incredibly helpful to see your time and/or distance so you can mentally log your splits. Seeing your pace isn't as helpful.- Lap mode: Manual lap mode makes up for many of shortcomings of interval mode. However, the only way to indicate an interval is to press the 3-dot "light" button on the side of the watch. This button is extremely finicky. A stray drop of sweat will trigger it, and if it's too rainy (like today's run), it will stop working altogether. Would be much better if there were an option to use a right navigation press to manually indicate laps (even if you had to lose the HR data, which I often don't need).- Cadence: You can see your average cadence on the TomTom website, but you can't see it on the watch as you're running. Also, you can't see your cadence for each interval. Perhaps this is why you would get a top of the line watch from a competitor.That's it for my updates (more than my original post!). It will be interesting to see if the TomTom Runner 2 addresses any of these concerns. I'm impressed that the Runner 2 adds built-in HR and music out of the box, which seems great for the casual runner.

Bought this watch to prepare for the Army’s PFT and I am extremely happy with it. I needed a device that would primarily keep track of distance and time and to my surprise this watch has even more helpful features such as an alarm, stopwatch, and military time.Initially I was hesitant at purchasing it because I thought it would be too big and heavy on my wrist (which is about 5.75”, I’m 5’11” and 155lbs) but it is pretty light and just big enough to fit my wrist and give a nice display. Today I just came to find out that it has interval training, a pretty neat feature if you are training for the APFT, so I was able to get some 30/60s and 60/120s done which means you sprint for 30 seconds and then walk/jog for 60 seconds and so on. You can adjust the interval parameters on the go.It syncs very conveniently with the TomTom app on your phone via Bluetooth so you can see detailed stats and then you can also have it instantaneously sync to the Nike app so you can participate in “challenges” with groups of friends. Unlike others have said you don’t have to take the device out of the strap in order to charge it and the quality of the watch and its strap looks and feels very durable and high quality.