Just get a decent sports watch - that will have a stopwatch, and possibly split times as well. If you're only working towards 5K, I don't believe you need one just yet.
Edit: I didn't know runners watches can do all that - they must be very pricey then?
for a 5k, all you need is a stopwatch, if that...once you get in running, you'll probably want to get a somewhat pricier GPS...don't do what i did, which was get a Timex and outgrow it within about a month...
I'm pretty happy with my cheap casio (we all know the one), been using it for quite a while now and still havent moved on from it as I'm still quite content with a basic stopwatch for now.
They are not expensive, I can get a Timex Ironman watch brand new off a well known auction site for £21,
Really - now, that is interesting. For £21, I would definitely pick one up. I have an idea which site you mean ***rushes off to check for a bargain***.
Ah - I see the one you mean. Good looking watch, but doesn't do distance, elevation etc as mentioned earlier in the thread. I doubt you could find one of those for £20 odd.
I use the stopwatch on my smartphone. I put the phone in an armband so I can play music and also run any running programme apps (such as C25k, B210k etc) if I want to. If I'm not using an app, I'll use the stopwatch. I map runs on walkjogrun.net so get pace from that. One day I may get a fancy watch, but tbh I don't wear a watch normally, hate things round my wrists, so probably won't bother!
I've had a watch since I was a poncy 7 year old. No watches aren't essential but then again neither are trainers or shirts or shorts. I think watches come under the catergory "basic equipment" for a runner.
I only really started training with a watch when I upped my distance and was trying to work on maintaining a consistent pace throughout a longer run. With 5kms my strategy has always been to just go as fast as I can until the finish line, so I just used the stopwatch function on my phone to tell me how long it took me to get there
I've got a Garmin 305, it does all the fancy stuff - GPS, elevation, heart rate, pace, distance etc etc, but it was expensive (£115, and that was on sale). However, I doubt I'll need to buy another one for a good few years so I think it was worth it.
I use may my run on my samsung galaxy s2 phone. works great and means I can look at my progress online when I get back. You can work out all your nutrition etc... too.
Runkeeper works well on smart phones, as long as you can put up with wearing the armband. The interface and data presentation are pretty similar to a 100 quid Garmin.
I have to admit, though, it's nice to be able to see your pace at a glance, and the heart-rate monitor is useful to know how hard you're pushing in training.
Comments
It isn't essential to have a 'running' watch, but having some sort of watch is useful if you want to know how long a run takes.
The advantage of a running watch is that it will give you more info such as distance, elevation, average pace/speed, time, splits.
Therefore it depends on what you want as to what is best for you.
Just get a decent sports watch - that will have a stopwatch, and possibly split times as well. If you're only working towards 5K, I don't believe you need one just yet.
Edit: I didn't know runners watches can do all that - they must be very pricey then?
They are not expensive, I can get a Timex Ironman watch brand new off a well known auction site for £21,
for a 5k, all you need is a stopwatch, if that...once you get in running, you'll probably want to get a somewhat pricier GPS...don't do what i did, which was get a Timex and outgrow it within about a month...
ok thanks for the advise. appreciated.
I'm pretty happy with my cheap casio (we all know the one), been using it for quite a while now and still havent moved on from it as I'm still quite content with a basic stopwatch for now.
Really - now, that is interesting. For £21, I would definitely pick one up. I have an idea which site you mean ***rushes off to check for a bargain***.
Ah - I see the one you mean. Good looking watch, but doesn't do distance, elevation etc as mentioned earlier in the thread. I doubt you could find one of those for £20 odd.
I use the stopwatch on my smartphone. I put the phone in an armband so I can play music and also run any running programme apps (such as C25k, B210k etc) if I want to. If I'm not using an app, I'll use the stopwatch. I map runs on walkjogrun.net so get pace from that. One day I may get a fancy watch, but tbh I don't wear a watch normally, hate things round my wrists, so probably won't bother!
I only really started training with a watch when I upped my distance and was trying to work on maintaining a consistent pace throughout a longer run. With 5kms my strategy has always been to just go as fast as I can until the finish line, so I just used the stopwatch function on my phone to tell me how long it took me to get there
I've got a Garmin 305, it does all the fancy stuff - GPS, elevation, heart rate, pace, distance etc etc, but it was expensive (£115, and that was on sale). However, I doubt I'll need to buy another one for a good few years so I think it was worth it.
I use may my run on my samsung galaxy s2 phone. works great and means I can look at my progress online when I get back. You can work out all your nutrition etc... too.
I have to admit, though, it's nice to be able to see your pace at a glance, and the heart-rate monitor is useful to know how hard you're pushing in training.