information to be useful for runners who simply fancy giving heart-rate monitoring a go. It has a simple stopwatch – start, stop and no lap function – but you can keep a check on your current heart rate, your maximum and your average

Gone are the days when runners would rate our efforts based on the colour of their cheeks after a run. Heart-rate monitors are now so easy to use, affordable and accurate that there's no excuse for skipping the science bit in your training. Most

running. The unit is also very easy to use and understand with my only major gripe being the poor illumination from the Indiglo light. Functionality wise, its quite basic and even beginner runners might outgrow its capabilities within a few months. Overall

runners. Good For Beginners or runners who prefer no frills. How It Rated Comfort/Stability 6 Functionality 7 Durability 6 Weight/Bulk 7 Added Extras 5 Inov-8 Race Pro 12, £53 Water Capacity 2L Contact www.inov-8.com This was one

(JBSurrey)In Short: A must have for the serious runner!Strengths:Comfortable and simple design, very accurate data, instantaneous downloading and the ablilty to not only display your runs on a map or Google Earth but to analyse your performance in depth