TomTom Runner GPS Watch on the Cheap

Tom Tom Runner

I’ve been using a Garmin Forerunner 205 for quite a few years now, not for every run, but occasionally when I want some distance and pace data.

After discovering Strava and using the app extensively with a smartphone whilst cycling, I began using the Garmin more often whilst running to upload running data to Strava.

However, increasingly, the Forerunner has been causing damage to my wrist, literally removing the skin after just a few miles — maybe my skin is thinner these days as I age.

Anyway I now have a TomTom Runner watch. It’s small, lighter and consequently more comfortable.
The TomTom does not have quite the facilities of the Garmin, but that’s no bad thing, it tells me what I want to know and it’s not complicated by too many features.

Importantly, it has a seamless interaction with Strava. Once set up (a simple operation), all I need to do after a run is be near my phone and the session is uploaded automatically to Strava, almost instantly. Separately from Strava, the TomTom app also provides some very useful info; stride rate was a surprisingly welcome bonus.

TomTom Runner display

The display on any watch is a critical element, on running watch has to be visible on the move and also through sometimes watery eyes. The display on the TomTom is not as informative as the Garmin Forerunner, but that is actually a benefit. What you do see is clean, clear and easy to read. Simple, single button presses will scroll through the various data screens: time, distance, pace, average pace. Whilst running, I find it’s actually a more usable and readable display. The light also functions well.

On the cheap?

There are other models of TomTom runner, a Two and a Three, and various options including heart rate recording and music. But I don’t need that and I’d rather have the simplicity and extra battery capacity a simpler watch has. In fact, I reckon it’s been my running bargain of the year, less than £30 from eBay for one that looks and works like new. There were plenty on offer for similar prices too.