Why Buy a Watch for Running?

A watch for running is a key piece of equipment for any runner. While it is a given that a pair of running shoes are practically required equipment for runners, another piece of equipment that most seasoned runners know is important is a watch for running.   A running watch proves to be important and helpful for people who have taken up running to lose weight or just to maintain good health.  These days, the cost to stay fit through exercise or for supplemental nutrients taken with food, can be a lot. That is why physical activity, which does not cost that much, is recommended.  Increasing the health of the cardiovascular system through running is an easy and affordable way of doing so, leading to healthy results. You need a good watch, such as a GPS running watch. One of the most popular is the Garmin watch for running.

Why Use a Watch for Running

A watch for running is not just any ordinary watch. The design of this watch is not necessarily just to tell time like other watches, but for the precise purpose of letting users appreciate the activity of running, which should help them realize how they run and plan on how they should run for improved health. Beginners who are looking for the best running watch may be too ambitious and should first consider knowing the basics of good running watches.  First, the watch for running should have the ability to record information such as the time the runner took to cover point A to B, the distance covered, the speed, the runner’s pulse and heart rates and the total number of calories burnt during the run.

Watch for Running Summary

As a watch for running records this information, the runner can keep track of the progress of his or her running program.  This would make it possible for the runner to see areas in need of improvement, or if the program is on track, or off.  Also, this information can be analyzed by the runner with a fitness expert, trainer or a doctor to see if the whole program is sufficient or if more things should be done for the runner’s fitness goals to be realized. A watch for running will help you achieve those goals.

Timex Mens 50 Lap Sleek Training Watch

The Timex 50 Lap Sleek Training Watch for running is ideal for those who just need running shoes and a no frills watch for running as companions for their training sessions. The Sleek collection from the Timex stable is a result of nearly two decades of technological advancements and aesthetic refinement. The advanced features and bold design makes the Timex 50 Lap Sleek Training Watch stand out amongst its counterpart training watches.

Timex 50 Lap Sleek Training Watch - Design

The Timex 50 Lap Sleek Training Watch comes in a bold purple color and a variety of other bold colors. The design of the watch is a perfect combination of style and aerodynamics. The display of the Timex 50 Lap Sleek Watch is quite unique with the bold oversized digit display. The bevel of the watch is surrounded by four buttons which are used to set up the watch and to access the menus.

The four main buttons are used for namely, Set/Recall, INDIGLO, Mode and Stop/Reset. The bevel has another button for Start/Split that is used for easy lap and split option.

Timex 50 Lap Sleek Training Watch - Usability

The Timex 50 Lap Sleek Training Watch is a no frills training companion. It does not come loaded with features and customizations. The Timex 50 Lap Sleek Training Watch is easy to set up and use. You can easily change the settings of the watch by using the four buttons to access the menus. Navigating the menu options is also extremely simple with two buttons acting as scroll buttons.

The Timex 50 Lap Sleek Training Watch is ideal for the casual runner. The resin strap of the Timex 50 Lap Sleek Training Watch makes it extremely comfortable to wear. The resin strap is flexible and the watch itself is quite lightweight.

The resin strap is that it is glued onto the sides of the watch. The strap is then also attached to hooks around the four corners. With prolonged usage the rubber starts to detach from the hooks on the watch. This is the only noticeable downside of the watch.

The Timex 50 Lap Sleek Training Watch is also water resistant which allows you to train underwater up to 100 meters for nearly 30 minutes.

Over sized digits are used for the display which helps in easy viewing. The display also has all-day white reflector which makes viewing easy even in direct sunlight.

Timex 50 Lap Sleek Training Watch - Features

The Timex 50 Lap Sleek Training Watch has many features that the best running watches should have.

INDIGLO

Every training watch worth its money must have a powerful backlight to help easy viewing in dark conditions. The Timex 50 Lap Sleek Training Watch comes with a dedicated button for the backlight. The INDIGLO button on the Timex 50 Lap Sleek Training Watch can be pressed down to view the display or can be set to keep the light on for a few seconds for easy viewing and setting changes.

The backlight provided in the Timex 50 Lap Sleek Training Watch is quite powerful and bright. It stays on for about 8 seconds but the time the backlight stays on cannot be adjusted.

Interval Timers

The interval timer feature is extremely useful for casual runners who like to alternate their training between running and walking. The interval timer allows you to train based on effort put in over time rather than distance. The interval timers can be set to beep at the end of a set time to alert you to switch your activity. For example, the timers can be set to beep for your 5 minutes run and then beep again for your 3 minutes walk and then repeat.

Chronograph

The chronograph or stopwatch feature is a must have in every training watch. The chronograph allows you to time your training sessions in terms of minutes or hours. The chronograph of the Timex 50 Lap Sleek Training Watch is accurate to 1/100th of a second. The Timex 50 Lap Sleek Training Watch also has a dedicated Start/Stop button for the stopwatch which allows you to effortlessly time your runs without having to fiddle around the menus.

The chronograph feature also allows you to pause in between your training and resume timing once you start training again.

Lap Memory

Lap memory is an important feature for runners who have a lot of repetition during their training. The Timex 50 Lap Sleek Training Watch stores up to 50 lap sessions for reviewing later. The laps can be stored as 5 sessions of 10 laps each or 10 sessions of 5 laps each. The summary of each session will show details like best lap, average lap and time taken of individual laps and also shows the lap with the best performance. The summary will also show the overall lap time and the current lap time.

The lap summary also shows the lap and split times. This is essential for runners who want to accurately time their runs. The difference between the lap and split time will give you the time that has elapsed since your last lap and the split time will give you the time that has elapsed since you started running.

Other Features

The Timex 50 Lap Sleek Training Watch can be used as a normal watch when you are not training. The watch displays the date and time in its characteristic over sized digit display. The watch also has 3 alarms which can be set to buzz every day, buzz on weekends or buzz at a particular time on a particular day of the month. The watch is also water resistant to 100m which allows you to wear the watch across many sports like canoeing, water rafting, snowboarding, etc. The water resistant feature also allows training in heavy rain.

Battery Life

The battery of the Timex 50 Lap Sleek Training Watch promises to last for about 2.5 years with 2.5 hours of use every week.

Timex 50 Lap Sleek Training Watch - Summary

The Timex50 Lap Sleek Training Watch for running fulfills the need for a basic training watch that has the essential basic features while being water resistant. The Timex 50 Lap Sleek Training Watch is competitively priced between $30 and $50 making it an ideal, comfortable and low cost training companion for casual runners. This is considered the top running watch by many runners.

Help support Running Watch Review. The Timex 50 Lap Sleek Training watch for running is available from these online stores:

  • Amazon.com
  • Paragon Sports
  • Altrec

Casio Mudman XXL Tough Solar Watch

The Casio Mudman XXL Tough Solar Watch is mud and dirt resistant making it an ideal runner watch for those who hit the trail when running. Casio, famous for giving the world the quartz crystal regulated digital watches for running has  gone a step ahead with its innovations when it released the Casio Mudman XXL Tough Solar Watch. The light weight yet strong and uber cool watch is known for its resistance.

Casio Mudman XXL Tough Solar Watch: Design

The first impression of the Casio Mudman XXL Tough Solar Watch is quite reassuring with the proper matte black finish and crisp display. The Casio Mudman XXL Tough Solar Watch has the typical black/anthracite color combo of Casio with the right hand side of the dial being highlighted with silver chrome. The non rotating bevel consists of four buttons around it namely, mode, adjust, start/stop and split/reset. The writing of the functions is in yellow and is luminescent aiding viewing in dark conditions.

Since the watch is mud resistant the module of the Casio Mudman XXL Tough Solar Watch is not exposed except for the bare stainless steel back. Casio has built and designed the watch to operate even when fully covered in mud or dirt; hence the outer rubber buttons serve as a membrane to help operate the inner module buttons. The buttons can be even used underwater.

Casio Mudman XXL Tough Solar Watch: Usability

A glance at the Casio Mudman XXL Tough Solar Watch gives out its huge size. The resin band along with a double tang clasp makes it perfect for big hands along while ensuring that the watch stays on even during extreme conditions. The allen head-screws used to mount the resin band onto the watch also vouch for the extreme conditions that this watch is built for.

The band is also long enough and the watch can be comfortably worn over wet suits and large jackets. The Casio Mudman XXL Tough Solar Watch is water resistant and hence you don’t have to worry about indulging in water sports anymore. The big buttons for the functions which are separate from the module allow the watch to be used easily even while wearing gloves. The buttons are all encased which allow for easy viewing with the backlight even under water.

The only downside of Casio Mudman XXL Tough Solar Watch is the durability of the resin strap. The resin strap loses its suppleness very quickly with the formation of a white powdery substance on it. Though the resin band does not cause any skin irritation it does feel plastic which is very unlike Casio watches.

Casio Mudman XXL Tough Solar Watch: Features

The Casio Mudman XXL Tough Solar Watch for running comes with the essential features of world time, stopwatch, countdown timer and 5 alarms.

Mud Resistant

The module of the Casio Mudman XXL Tough Solar Watch is sealed and so are the buttons to prevent mud and dirt entering the watch. This also makes the watch fully operable under extreme conditions especially when it is submerged in mud.

Backlight

The most charming sub feature of the Casio Mudman XXL Tough Solar Watch is its auto backlight which illuminates the display the moment the watch is tilted towards your face. The electro luminescent panel illuminates the screen and the text panel for easy viewing. The backlight also flashes with buzzer when it sounds for the alarm, countdown and stopwatch.

World Time

The World time feature of the Casio Mudman XXL Tough Solar Watch provides current time of major cities across the world. It also provides current time of specific areas like time zones.

Stopwatch

The stop watch for the Casio Mudman XXL Tough Solar Watch has a dedicated button hence allows easy measurement of elapsed time. The maximum time measurement is indicated by the time figure. This feature works by the timer counting down from a specific start time set by the user. A value on the display also indicates the number of timers that are available while the time figure is used to indicate the maximum possible start time.

The stopwatch also has a repeat feature which allows automatic restarting of the time at the end of every countdown.

Multi Alarm

The Casio Mudman XXL Tough Solar Watch comes with 5 multi alarms which can be used to set the alarm for a specific time to ring daily or for a specific time on a specific day of a month. This function also allows setting different alarms for different functions like snooze, time up, auto start and countdown timer progress. Hence when the watch beeps you will know what it is beeping for.

The Casio Mudman XXL Tough Solar Watch also has an hourly alarm that beeps every hour on the hour. It also has a snooze feature which allows you to stop the alarm and make it buzz after a couple of minutes.

Battery

The Casio Mudman XXL Tough Solar Watch is popular among the Mudman series of Casio because this watch lets you have the twin impossible of being outdoors indulging in your favorite sports and not having to worry about the battery charge or your watch. The solar powered battery allows you to stay outdoors as long as you like while it recharges itself. The battery lasts for 3 years with regular charging.

The only downside to this feature is that the battery automatically discharges if left for too long in a place where it is not exposed to light.

Shock Resistant

The Casio Mudman XXL Tough Solar Watch is tough because it is resistant to the physical shocks characteristic of extreme sports. The Casio Mudman XXL Tough Solar Watch can endure the strongest of vibrations and impacts. The watch is also well suited for extremely low temperatures, working flawlessly at even sub zero temperatures.

Casio Mudman XXL Tough Solar Watch: Summary

The Casio Mudman XXL Tough Solar Watch though built for the dirty outdoors exudes quality and finesse. In today’s world where there is a never ending need for having the best, the Casio Mudman XXL Tough Solar Watch is an enduring classic. It is one of the toughest watches available in the market and ideal for those with a busy and rough lifestyle. This is one of the best running watches for trail runners or anyone heading out for the local mud run.

 

Help support Running Watch Review. The Casio Mudman XXL Tough Solar running watch is available from these online stores:

  • Amazon.com
  • Paragon Sports