Garmin FR25

This, or the 35 which has wrist-based heart monitoring (for $70 more ~$170).

I suggested the 25 because he didn't need HR and wanted to keep the cost down.

HR is a pretty useless metric in a XC race.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071NGDZ4S?aaxitk=D59sxBrmLKnfRlYcIFzlTg&pd_rd_i=B071NGDZ4S&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=3ff6092e-8451-438b-8278-7e94064b4d42&pf_rd_s=desktop-sx-top-slot&pf_rd_t=301&pf_rd_i=timex+ironman+gps&hsa_cr_id=9577082480301&sb-ci-n=productDescription&sb-ci-v=Timex%20Unisex%20TW5M11800%20Ironman%20GPS%20Black%2FGray%20Silicone%20Strap%20Watch




Can find for about $90 - simple to adapt to, no HR, can be mapped and uploaded to ex sites.

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RayGovett
Hughson CA
Be Prepared-- Strike Swiftly -- Who Dares Wins- Without warning-"it will be hard. I can do it"

Garmin 310xt can be had pretty cheap.
Search the classifieds or Facebook groups.

I know you said you don't want HR, so turn it off. If you change your mind, HR straps can be had cheap too.

That said, you get GPS, splits, ANT+, etc... for probably $50.

Just out of curiosity, is the coach asking for this info? I'd assume the coach is at the practice or race and knows this stuff and recording it him/herself. I know times have changed since I ran high school (16 years ago) but I was the only kid who actually had a sports watch. Runs outside of practice were all on my own, honor system and my best guess on the mileage/pace. Maybe times have changed and I'm getting old.

Just to contribute to the thread, Forerunner 25 is probably the best option and cheap.

thanks for the suggestion. Seems like the F25 is winning so far.

Out of season the coach likes them to post workouts for him to go over. It's not mandatory to do an upload, but he does ask for a summary of what you did, how you felt, and what would you do different. I think it would be helpful for my son to be able to more accurately keep track of things for comparison sake and not have to rely on his memory, since he doesn't write any of this training stuff down. And if he puts things in strava or another tracker program he can keep track of segment times and overall daily/weekly/yearly training with little effort. thanks again

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Great things never come from comfort zones.

While the Forerunner 25 is a good cheap option, to me it has on e glaring hole which is the lack of an interval function. Even your $20 Timex from Walmart can be set up to do this to an extent. I would recommend (as current HS XC coach and former collegiate runner) either go with the FR 35 - although it's not great either and the heart rate is useless at least it can do intervals - or, preferably, see if you can find a good used FR 230/235 if budget is a concern. (I'm only familiar with Garmin's lineup so maybe someone else has one that is like a FR 35 but with out heart rate?)

Unless his coach really needs a GPS upload or he is often running in locations where he doesn't know distance, I would hold off until he can afford one that can at least do intervals/workouts. Maybe there will be some black friday deals on the 235.

I've actually been looking at low-cost gps watches recently and like the Timex that was mentioned above. The price point for the features it offers and the overall reviews seem to make it a great option. Here is the description from their site.

Bought this for my daughter. Had issues connecting to satellites. The sent me a second one Same issue. After several calls and back and forth They told me you have to update the satellites before every run Since no Bluetooth or wireless you must plug it into the computer before every run. Total pain and my daughter forgets. So just a stop watch for most runs