Computer thingy to measure distance

I know this has probably been done to death but i just can't get my head round which gadget to get to measure how far i'm running, i know you can get them to come with heart rate mons, be fitted to bike etc, all i want mine to do is say how far i've gone in what time, what do people use garmin, polar etc, don't want to spend a fortune but need a reliable one.

Cheers

Hi Flat Footed

You don't need to spend too much if you are only looking to measure the distance.  Register for free on www.mapmyrun.com and use the mapmyrun option which gives 99.9% accurate distance.  You only need an ordinary watch with a stop watch option if possible, with lap splits, which will help you in splitting miles.  I hope you may find this site very helpful and useful.

Regards.

Hi Flat Footed

Personal Trainer is of course completely right, but if you do want to get a watch with GPS without the annoying heart monitor and that doesn't cost a king's ransom, then I would suggest a Garmin 205. I swore I would never have such a frivilous item but my husband bought me one for Christmas and I absolutely love it.

My Forerunner 101 is still going strong.

It's a bit chunky on the wrist, and it loses the sattelite signal in built up areas, but I'm not vain and I run on the South Downs, so it's fine for me.

Gonna go look at the lower end of the Garmin range me thinks,

Dano i  don't really need anything other than the GPS part and not really worried about the look.

PT i've been on several of those mapping sites there great but i don't want to have to sit for an age plotting the route after every run i do. i just want a quick guide whilst on the run/as i finish.

 Cheers for the help everyone

You can use a pedometer. It will count your steps, calculate distance and give you the time.

I have a map wheel that I run round a paper map. (I'm doing a virtual walk), it's easier than trying to figure out where an invisible footpath goes using something like mapmyrun.

I also have a Garmin 405, it was a pressie but prolly has more features than I want. I think the Garmin site has a facility whereby they recommend the best watch for you based on what you want to do with it.

Garmin thingy