This Garmin running watch just set a new personal best price and is now nearly 50% off

published 19 January 2019

Garmin Forerunner 235 helped revolutionise running watches when it was released, adding on-wrist heart-rate tracking and more advanced metrics such as estimated VO2 Max to the usual running watch formula of run tracking via GPS. It remains one of the best running watches you can buy, and it just reached its lowest price to date, courtesy of Amazon.

• Buy Garmin Forerunner 235 at Amazon | Was ~~£289.95~~ now £160.33

Clearly, nobody in the UK has been paying £289.95 for this watch in recent times, but Amazon's price is still a tenner less than its nearest competitor (the back-from-the-grave Blacks) and noticeably cheaper than most rivals.

These people use a Garmin Forerunner 235 and look how fit *they* are

Garmin Forerunner 235 | £160.33 Was £289.95, save £139.66 (47%)
The Forerunner 235 is quite old in 'gadget years' but it's still on sale because the feature set it established in late 2015 – heart-rate tracking with no need for an external device, rock-solid GPS, VO2 Max estimation, and tracking of numerous other fitness activities besides running – is all most people require. It's also slimline, stylish and the notifications, step counting and long battery life (over a week, if you don't use GPS and pulse-tracking during exercise) mean it works well as a smartwatch, too.

Although it doesn’t offer all the features that make the likes of Garmin's Forerunner 630 and Forerunner 935 so desirable to hardcore runners, the 235 has more than enough for most road runners.

During a run it tracks speed and distance via GPS, with the option to share your 'Live Track' with others. More interestingly, although arguably less usefully, there is also tracking of your cadence (the frequency with which your feet hit the ground).

When you've finished, you can view metrics such as your VO2 Max estimate and calories burned. The 235 will also suggest a suitable recovery time before you exercise again. The watch and its app can also give you advanced workouts via voice prompts, a 'race predictor' that suggests how long it'll take you to run 5K, 10K and a marathon. Your preferred heart-rate zones for cardio training can also be set, or the watch can estimate them for you based on your age.

The Forerunner 235 will also track your activities on a bike and at the gym. It's waterproof to 50m.

In short, the Forerunner 235 is a great mid-range option for people who want more than just pace, distance and time but aren't looking for the more elite level insights that come with the likes of the Forerunner 630/635 or the built-for-triathlon 935.

Garmin Forerunner 235 is of course in our guide to the best running watches
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Duncan is the former lifestyle editor of T3 and has been writing about tech for almost 15 years. He has covered everything from smartphones to headphones, TV to AC and air fryers to the movies of James Bond and obscure anime. His current brief is everything to do with the home and kitchen, which is good because he is an excellent cook, if he says so himself. He also covers cycling and ebikes – like over-using italics, this is another passion of his. In his long and varied lifestyle-tech career he is one of the few people to have been a fitness editor despite being unfit and a cars editor for not one but two websites, despite being unable to drive. He also has about 400 vacuum cleaners, and is possibly the UK's leading expert on cordless vacuum cleaners, despite being decidedly messy. A cricket fan for over 30 years, he also recently become T3's cricket editor, writing about how to stream obscure T20 tournaments, and turning out some typically no-nonsense opinions on the world's top teams and players.

Before T3, Duncan was a music and film reviewer, worked for a magazine about gambling that employed a surprisingly large number of convicted criminals, and then a magazine called Bizarre that was essentially like a cross between Reddit and DeviantArt, before the invention of the internet. There was also a lengthy period where he essentially wrote all of T3 magazine every month for about 3 years.

A broadcaster, raconteur and public speaker, Duncan used to be on telly loads, but an unfortunate incident put a stop to that, so he now largely contents himself with telling people, "I used to be on the TV, you know."