

Garmin forerunner full#
The watch doesn’t have full colour maps like the Forerunner 945 or Fenix 5 Plus Series, but the simple breadcrumb trail you get on the 245 is usually enough to keep you on track, and even if you do go wrong you’ll be able to get yourself back on the route quickly. These are currently available for 5K, 10K and half marathon races and once you select one, all your training runs will be sent to the watch and you will be guided through each workout.Īlong with workouts, you can also create routes in the app to follow on the 245. You can also generate a full training plan using the Garmin Coach feature in the app. You can create your own workouts and beam them over to the watch from the Garmin Connect app, setting yourself targets based on time, distance, heart rate, cadence, pace or calories. The 245 is small and light, so it sits tight against the wrist, and I found it matched up well with a chest strap heart rate monitor even during interval runs. Measured against a calibrated footpod, the 245’s distance tracking was always close to bang on, even under tree cover or on a running track, and I was similarly impressed by how accurate its heart rate tracking was. In our tests, locking on to GPS at the start of a run was always speedy – you can opt for GPS only, GPS plus GLONASS (the Russian satellite system) or GPS plus Galileo (the European one), with the latter providing the most accurate tracking in the UK in my experience. It doesn’t have a barometric altimeter, which is available on the Forerunner 645 and makes for more accurate tracking when you’re heading up and down mountains, and you can get more in-depth training analysis from pricier Garmin and Polar watches, but there will be very few runners left unsatisfied by what the 245 does. Those features include structured workouts and training plans, training analysis and recovery advice, and breadcrumb navigation, all of which comes on top of the essentials – accurate GPS and heart rate tracking.įor runners, there’s nothing significant missing from the 245. And it’s a damn fine running watch, complete with all the features that you’d normally expect from a premium device. The Forerunner 245 has increased the range of sports it tracks compared to the 235, but it’s still first and foremost a running watch. Running With The Garmin Forerunner 245/245 Music
Garmin forerunner software#
Polar’s latest watches haven’t met my expectations when it comes to GPS distance tracking, admittedly, but the software has been improving since launch. The Coros Apex is a terrific triathlon and running watch with a huge battery life that costs under £300, and the Polar Vantage M is another strong multisport option. If music isn’t so important to you, the standard 245 is a great option, but you can find watches that offer more for around the same price. There are pricier options with more features like the Forerunner 945 or Fenix 5 Plus series, but the 245 covers everything you really need. In fact, any runner looking for a watch with music should consider the 245. Most people won’t miss this, but it feels like an attempt to ensure the Forerunner 645, which does have the altimeter, still has a reason to exist when the 245 offers almost all of its other features for less.ĭo you want a really great running watch with music for under £300? If so, then the Forerunner 245 Music should be the start and end of your shopping list. Garmin has not put a barometric altimeter in the watch.There is no triathlon or open-water swimming mode on the 245, with Garmin presumably trying to push multisport athletes towards the pricier Forerunner 945, Fenix 5 Plus and Fenix 6 series.


