I do a bit of running, but was sick for the month I had the Garmin Forerunner 301 to review; so, I had my fitness buff coworker, Morgan Fanberg from the Fanberg Report, give it a go, and he was quite impressed with it.

The Garmin Forerunner 301 on my wrist

The Garmin Forerunner 301 is a runner's dream. It is a small, compact training device that allows the user to monitor pace, heart rate, elevation, distance, and a number of averages. Upon first glance, any runner would love to have this device just for the ability to determine one's distance without having to get in the car to mark miles. Combined with log book software, Garmin has developed what seems like the perfect running companion.

The Forerunner 301 is a small GPS unit that has been geared for fitness. Not only is it useful for runners, but it can also be applied to biking, hiking, and any other sport where knowing your speed, distance, heart rate, and pace are important. The Forerunner's supplied software also lets you set up interval training, use preloaded workouts, and plot your course on a map.

I used the Forerunner for three weeks, logging approximately 80 miles. Mostly I jogged along the waterfront of downtown Seattle, but on weekends I jogged from home on heavily wooded country roads. The GPS unit works by taking tracking points and continuously averaging the data received. Even though it was rare for the watch to show a weak GPS signal, it lost the signal more often than I would have liked.

This loss of signal is evident while jogging when the constant pace shown varies considerably. If you increase your pace, there is always a lag from which the unit recovers. Because of this lag time, the training features on the watch, such as the virtual partner and other pace/distance monitors, are hardly useful, turning more into a novelty. Even though most of my run distances were accurate, the constant changing of the pace time threw me off. If I were trying to maintain a steady pace, it seemed as if I was always speeding up or slowing down.
Motion-based software view of a workout

On two occasions (both 6-mile jogs along the waterfront of Seattle), the distance logged by the watch was one-quarter of a mile off. There was no apparent reason for this (no trees, no tall buildings); it was as if one-quarter of a mile just disappeared.

Now, this may not be a big deal to some runners, but I assume that if someone is willing to shell out US$300 for a GPS watch, one-quarter of a mile is a big deal. And since there is no edit feature on the logbook software, your records will never be 100%.

The heart rate monitor is helpful if you want to train by running in certain percentages of your maximum rate; however, several times my heart rate would peak around 224 bpm for no apparent reason. The monitor sensors work well even on my sweater of a chest, but I would lose the signal occasionally.

The software that comes with the unit is interesting, and it's fun to see your plots with the background map; however, the map is not very detailed and there is no edit feature for when the watch is wrong or if you happen to jog without the watch and you still want to maintain accurate logs.

There are Internet sites to which you can download your workouts that have much more detailed maps, graphs, etc. Motionbased.com is the one I tried. The free membership allows you access to most features, but you can only view your past 10 workouts. For $11.95 a month you get full access. This site was interesting because you can view other runners' maps and workouts to get new ideas in your area.

Close-up mapping view of workouts

In conclusion, I have decided to stick with my running pedometer. It's not as accurate as the GPS on its best days, but I can still run trails and I won't be constantly checking my watch for quarter-mile errors. I would highly recommend this watch to runners who love heart-rate monitors, though. The GPS tracking of this watch will be an added feature for heart-rate monitor users.

For the runner like me, someone who wants accuracy and the ability to run wherever, Garmin is on the right track, but just isn't there yet.