Garmin Forerunner 201 Wrist-Mounted GPS Fitness Computer

I have had the Forerunner for close to a year now and felt it was time to give it a review. For the most part I love it however for me it takes a very long time to aquire a signal on start up. I'd say close to 8 mins on average. On the upside this makes me walk a bit and stretch while it is aquiring the gps signal. The unit has trouble holding a signal under any sort of adverse condition such as very minimal tree cover. It will lose a signal even with no obstructions. Very odd. I am in the Bay Area and I think that has something to do with it as I have noticed other reviews having the same issue who live in this area. If you run on trails with tree cover don't get this device. It will not work reliably. Lastly if you want a serial to usb converter don't get it from Garmin who charges close to $50 for it. I have seen a converter for $17 on other websites.

Great device if:
You run clear, unobstructed courses.
Straight line, minimal turns work best.
Great for open courses. Very reproducible under those conditions.

Mediocre device if:
You run in trails with trees, which will often cause your to lose your signal.
You make many tight turns. Your distance will be under calculated, your split times inaccurately high.


For the first little while I loved the Garmin Forerunner. I thought the Info it gave me was terrific. I couldn't believe how great it was. It was a dream.
But as of late, it is giving me different distances for the exact same course.And not just.02 or something. Big Distance descrepancies. I have had a 1.9 course tell me 2.77 the next time. A 4.25 one time and 4.97 the next. That is just too much difference. That makes the training partner, and your training log use-less, or wrong. It is great if you get the correct info. I don't understand how it can get that far off. I have not lost signal before, even on a tree covered trail. So no complaint there. I keep connection, it just gives me weird info.
When it works, I love it. I love the Data it stores. Of course I can't believe a company who makes high tech gadgets can't get a better cable to hook into your computer. I still haven't gotten it to work. It is a pain.
Over-all, when the watch is working it is a 5 Star watch. When it isn't, it is use-less.(Well, pretty use-less) I am pretty easy to please, but the diferent distances is too much. A half mile difference on a four mile run is more than I can be happy with. Also, the strap cuts off circulation in my wrist, even when it's not too tight. And the Velcro snags on my Climalite running shirts. Can't they make a band that isn't velcro?
I will still continue to use it. I just hope I get better info in the future. Maybe it is something I am doing wrong.
But I would recommend it if you don't mind a runs distance being off every so often.

I have been using this item for about a month now, and it is working great for me. The functions included on the device are excellent, and the large screen and numbers make it really easy to read while running.

As for the signal, I usually run on roads around my house, so losing signal isn't too much an issue. I have looked at my tracks and sometimes it may lose it for a few seconds, but then it comes right back.

Being able to upload the data to your computer and then analyze it later is pretty useful, and kind of fun. There are a ton of great programs out there (in addition to the logbook software) that work with the forerunner data.

I have now used this for 2 long runs. After reading the CNET review about possible spotty GPS signal, I was pleasantly suprised. I had no problems during the entire run, even running under trees. Training assistant feature was great. The GPS downloads into the free forerunner logbook software to keep excellent track of your daily runs. During my last run I got to talk to two others who own this device, and they too, reported excellent signal coverage.

I love it!!! I loved it so much that I brought one for my husband so that he would leave mine alone. :-)

In spite of the reviews stating that the Forerunner has trouble with trees, clouds and tall buildings, I took a chance and bought it. I wanted the freedom to run where I wanted to run instead of having to stay on one of my many premeasured courses. The Forerunner enticed me with the lure of freedom to run in an unconstrained way, to be a kid again. At my age, it was a powerful and compelling message.

Unfortunately, it was also a lie. After 3 attempts to get this trinket to acquire and hold a signal I gave up. My north suburban Houston neighborhood has a good number of trees and we have our share of cloudy days, but it's not as if I am trail running through a national forest.

I'm a serious runner training to qualify for Boston and New York, so pace is important to me. In spite of all the warnings, I wasted three days playing around with the Forerunner instead of just getting down to work and grinding out my miles. My mistake, but it doesn't have to be yours.

Count me among the disappointed. I had high hopes for this product. Garmin assured me that it would work. It didn't. It's a great concept but it's not ready for prime time, at least not in my neck of the woods.

I took the Garmin Forerunner 201 for a run yesterday morning. 15 miles starting from the Zero Marker at Houston's Memorial Park and trotting down Memorial Drive to Sabine and back again (see map http://www.harra.org/images/allenpkwy.gif)

I have calculated the distance for this route as has every other distance runner here in Houston and the Garmin Forerunner 201 seems to be true to the mileage.

I used the manual lap button to gauge the distance of each segment I already knew the mileage for, and the Forerunner was correct in each area but one. I somehow lost about a mile along the way. The Garmin displayed an amazingly accurate 4.74 miles for the first loop (see Map Legend for Allen Parkway Hike and Bike trail) and a staggeringly wrong 3.37 miles for my second time around the same loop.

This could be due to human error because I kept fooling with the modes during the second loop and might have inadvertently pressed a pause button or something. I've also heard that being near downtown can affect GPS... so I can blame this on the Enron building or solar winds.

I also found the pacing per mile to fluctuate wildly but after reading other reviews it seems this can be tweaked with the "Pace Smoothing" option. I'm still not sure if I should set it to "Most" or "Least" so any input here would be great.

Overall, the Forerunner 201 seems to be a perfect match for someone who will tread off the beaten path while remaining in view of the sky for the GPS to work. Thankfully you won't get lost in the mileage calculations because this "watch" will do it all for you. I plan on testing it out further as I continue training and hope to follow up this review with more data to see if the Garmin Forerunner 201 lives up to what it claims it can do.

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars - because it dropped a mile on my first long run test and the pace calculations were crazy

Happy Miles

I am a runner, as I'm sure you are if you are reading this. I run every day (4-10 miles) and I would never leave home without the Forerunner. It is great to approximate your distance and pace. My running partner wears one too and we generally average the data from the two Forerunners because they are never the same. Sometimes they range up to .15 miles difference. And today my best pace was 5:46 per mile on an 8mi run. Right....
So as long as you understand that the data you get is not 100% accurate, but you are still curious enough to want to compare your day-to-day runs, then the Forerunner is for you. If you are going to get mad whenever the same run route is measured 1/5th of a mile different on certain days, then don't go near this unit.
One other issue is that the 201 only comes with a serial-port hook-up, not USB. Easy enough to fix...just buy an adapter if you have no serial port, but kind of annoying (the 301 uses USB though).
Hope this helped. Happy running...

I absolutely love my Forerunner and find that it's a must-have when running, second only to my running shoes!
I am not a die-hard super competitive marathon runner, but I do some smaller, shorter races as well as run for fitness and recreation. At first I was hesitant about the Forerunner, wondering if I would really get that much benefit from it. After using it the first time, the hesitation was gone. This product is great for any kind of runner, competitive or not.
It works well when I run solo or with my daughter in the jogging stroller. I've used it on my wrist and carried it in my hands, as well as attached it to the handlebar of the jogging stroller. I've also used it in my home area of flat farmland, in the rolling hills of subdivisions and the country, and on vacation in a city. Other than some areas where trees block the LOS, I can't complain.
Another fun thing that I've done with the Forerunner is to take it when we went on vacation and mark points of interest. For example, on our trip to San Antonio last summer, I marked the location of the Alamo and our hotel. I also have my current house marked, as well as the houses of my parents and in-laws for use when I go running when visiting them.
All in all, this is a great product and helpful training tool for runners. As I've already mentioned, I can't imagine running without it!

The Forerunner 201 is proving to be very helpful in adjusting my runs without a training partner. While I prefer running with another person, it's hard to find someone at the right time who wants to run the same pace that day. Features on this unit like the virtual training partner help me overcome that issue.

NOTE FOR IMPROVED SIGNAL/ACCURACY: On my first several runs, the unit lost signal about ten times over four miles. The solution was to have the Forerunner "Autolocate" the satellites again.

To run Autolocate again, turn the unit on indoors and cover it with your hand to prevent it from finding any satellites. After a minute, the unit will ask if you are indoors. Answer "No." Then it will ask if you've moved the unit more than 100 miles since the last use. Answer "Yes." This causes the unit to reacquire all available satellites.

Take the unit outside and position it in an open area. This time I made sure that it was clear of any obstructions (30 feet from the house) and put it on a tree branch about eye height. After about 15 mintues it had acquired more satellites than the first time.

When I power it up now, it acquires the signal in about a minute and I have yet to lose signal on a run.

I have owned one of these units for several weeks, and have used it about 10 times for determining distances while running. I am very disappointed.

It does have a good clock, but the distance measuring function (GPS) and the derived pace information is just not accurate. The accuracy is far worse than the spec.

The problem seems to be one of inadequate receiver sensitivity. It gets lost quite easily, and as a consequence tends to read high, indicating that you have travelled farther than you actually have. For example, a run over a 6 mile course measured with a wheel came out to be 6.4 miles on the Forerunner. Not what I should expect. On a clear day on the beach it works sometimes, but under clouds, in the woods, in the city, or in weather, it is quite useless.

It also does not work in a crowd of sweaty bodies, as at the starting line of a road race.

Save your money.

J R Rudert

The Garmin Forerunner 201 has a great $/usefullness ratio. My wife and I run about 30 miles weekly, our runs are usually ~5 each. This wristmounted GPS works great. Using this unit for sprints or 400 meter walks around a running track is pointless due to the polling speed and +/- 50 foot accuracy of the unit. For actually running longer (.5+ miles at a time) it works fine. An integrated pacing tool tells you if you are on track with a predetermined pace.

Of course, if you are running in tunnels, under heavy foliage, or in dense fog the unit will temporarily loose contact with satellites (the same way a guided bomb would heading into a Baghdad sandstorm) and extraplote the unknown distance once it regains contact. The downloadable software allows users to track and graph their pace in mph and minutes per mile over the course of their run. The software will also produce a rough map of the run route (the map is rough, not overlayed with terrain, streets, etc.).

A good device, as with anything, look for improvements by Garmin in the future.

How many workouts is one supposed to waste getting this thing to work? I stopped at around a dozen. This GPS is just not ready for primetime; at least not within urban environments ( though one would have thought that nyc's Central Park might have provided sufficient open sitelines it apparently does not.) Wish the product specs did not overhype the product so much.

can't you see people, what is staring you inna face? This garmin thing is like strapping a hershey bar to your wrist. and as for gps, this really violates the kiss principle. you're relying on way too many things going smoothly. isn't this obvious? go for an inertial monitor like nike or polar. these work. garmin... even the name is a big turnoff. can you imagine wearing running shorts with "garmin" on them? and what kind of "long battery life" is fifteen hours?
Allright, I notice that the pod people are starting to come out of the woodwork to spam this thing of mine with unhelpful votes. Well I'm not gonna stoop to anything contentious. All I will say is, take a look at the graphics on this thing. Take a look at the "virtual partner" guy. This thing looks like something out of the Berserker arcade video game circa one nine eight two. This pixellated hunk of computerized rubbish is only fit for robot porn. The first hideous stirrings of insect lust.
update 2: have you noticed that the positive reviews for this product are from people who either can't spell correctly or seem comfortable overlooking such "tweakable" "quirks" as wildly fluctuating pace information and mileage that is off by half a mile on a short run. This is the pseudofitness crowd. The kind of people who are not exact about anything.
Update 3: The Nike v10 SDM is a far superior product. Also, when I strap it on, I am dead sexy. Women will approach me when they see me training for the Olympic games down at Muscle Beach. So far I have embraced many American women.

I got this little gadget as a Christmas present and after a month of use, I have to say I'm thoroughly pleased. The GPS system mounts on your wrist and provides near real-time feedback on your pace (min/mile), along with distance and time traveled. History is kept on each run and provides calories burned and other workout summaries. The device can hold a great deal of data, but can also sync to your PC for long-term storage. There are also enhanced features like a training partner that you can set as a pacer, mapping feature to trace your way back home and more. While I mainly use this as a training device for running, it can also be used for other sports such as biking, rowing, etc.

I have to say, though, while running with this on one arm and the iPod-mini on the other, I feel a bit like the bionic man.

I have used this product walking, jogging, skiing, and biking. I am extremely happy with it and recommend it to others. Garmin has come out with a newer model that includes a heart rate monitor. I have a separate monitor now. It would be handy not to have to wear a separate watch for that!

I have looked at the previous reviews, and I have to say that I have encountered none of the problems that some of the other reviewers have. I was able to get the unit up and working the first time I used it. I have used it in Kansas and Georgia, and have had it drop the GPS signal about once a week at most, regardless of weather conditions. I have one spot where I regularly run where the trail actually goes under a building, and sometimes I lose signal, sometimes I don't. The unit always picks up immediately when I come back out into the open. Because I am left-handed, I took the unit off of the strap and turned the strap over to make it easier to put on my left wrist. I had no problems getting the pins out and back in. The only tool I used was fingernails. I am very happy with the accuracy of the unit, unlike the types that have to "learn your stride" in order to be of questionable use. If you read the instruction book, you know that it has to boot up for about 30 minutes the first time you turn it on. After that it only takes a couple minutes to start up. Usually it is ready before I finish stretching. I have to admit that I use a paper log book, so I have not tried to connect it to a computer. Maybe I'm not getting the full use, but for distance and pace it is fantastic. I won't run without it if I have a choice.

Just received the 201 today. Charged it up, about 3 hours as per the manual, during which time I read over the manual. Turned it on, took it out in the yard to allow it time to "lock on" to satellites, took about 15 minutes (manual said 15-30), this is only required on it's initial out of the box lock on, afterwards it only takes about a minute or so. Played around with it a bit and then felt ready for a ride. Mounted it on the bike mount I had already received a couple days earlier (very well designed mount, easy snap off and secure, but I use the wrist strap to snug it even more) and headed out for a "test ride". Too cool, this little device is gonna make my bike rides even more fun, especially rides in unknown areas like parks and forests, or anywhere I am unfamilier with. I will be able to ride anywhere I please with little or no regard to where I'm going, just ride and enjoy. Time to get back, this is where this baby really shines, the "back to start" feature. Laying so called bread crumbs as you go, the Hansel and Gretel technique :-) What really impressed me was it's ability to "see thru" my zig zag route that I purposely created. The large arrow to the right of the map, a side bar, showed me the SHORTEST way back, not retracing my original route turn by turn, WOW!!! Of course the other features are very nice, marking map locations and saving them for later "goto", you can save upto 100 of these and name them whatever you want. I also liked the Logbook software that loads your workouts in to your PC for history and charting, very nice. If I didn't already have a heart monitor, I would have gone with the 301.

As far as accuracy goes it is right on, matches my bikes computer distance exactly, short rides and long rides alike. You folks having trouble with accuracy, guess what, it's all based on satellites, which are wayyyyyyy up in the sky :-) and if it can't "see" them, no signal, not too tough to figure out! And the guy complaining about low graphics quality, it's a little man running, looks fine to me, even bends over for a rest when you stop lol, if you're looking for high res graphics, go play with your play station.


Just a side note, day 2

I again tested out the SHORTEST route "back to start" today. Looks as though it does this but only after alerting you to an upcoming turn that would take you back the full route you initially came. A quick glace at the map itself tells you you don't need to make such a turn and the arrow quickly follows suit and recovers.



I own several Garmin GPS units I use for hiking and walking, including the Forerunner 201. I find the Forerunner ideal for my exercise walks and hikes in relatively open areas -- a shady hiking trail causes little problem, but long periods in a dense forest canopy will cause inaccurate results. One does not need a completely unobstructed view of the sky, except when first turning on the unit and obtaining an initial signal (particularly if the unit hasn't been powered on in that area in some time.) I find some of the features more of a hassle to use than an asset, so I do feel as though I'm probably not getting as much out of the unit as I'd originally hoped. I think this would be a better bicycling unit than it is for hiking. For hiking, I prefer my Garmin GPSMap 76S -- waterproof, topographic mapping capability, comparable tree cover reception (if held/positioned horizontally) and great for downloading GPS tracks to the computer for trip reporting and future trip planning.

I have had the device for about seven months and I have used in about 12 runs. For all of them I got pretty inaccurate results (at least 10% off for long runs, and wildly off for short ones). Now why have I used it only 12 times in six months? Well, rather than giving up, I sent it back to repair now twice. Garmin certainly takes its time sending it back to me. I sent it last about two months ago, and I haven't got the unit back yet. If you want to talk at anyone at Garmin, good luck! Whenever I tried to call technical service, they announced that I would have to wait for at least twenty minutes on the line.

Just as a comparison, my $25 pedometer has been more accurate in every single run.

I run about 50-miles a week and have used the Timex S&D watch for about 2-3 years now. I really liked that, but the Forerunner is a much better tool. It's lighter, has a bigger display, and the data download is excellent. There *is* logbook software, and it's just OK. I use TrainingPeaks anyway.

This stands out because of its size (one-piece) and download/upload. You use this in conjunction with MotionBased Software (free) or another provider. You upload your workouts (very simple) and it will Literally overlay your run on a number of different types of maps: Topo, Street, Satellite, etc. It's incredible. I couldn't believe how accurate this was on a satellite map of my town. It was absolutely amazing.

For workout data junkies, you can click anywhere on your route and see your speed, the time, and it even includes weather conditions that it downloads from the nearest weather station. So, you automatically save routes for future use. It's excellent.

POSITIVES:
Lightweight, data download, large numbers, versatile display and data functions, L-ION BATTERY that lasts forever (Timex requires rechargable batteries). As accurate as any other GPS device... except with this one, if it misreads (sometimes these things mysteriously add distance to your workout), you can look at the map or data download and see where things went wrong and correct with an estimate.
-Automatic lap timer (you can set it to lap at a certain distance, so you don't have to... I set it for every mile or at a certain interval)

NEGATIVES:
The serial port connection is a drawback, workaround: Go to Radio Shack and buy a USB-to-Serial Connector and it's a piece of cake. No big deal. Interval timer and some other features are a nice idea but relatively useless for those who do those in the middle of a workout. Buttons take some getting used-to. They're all along the bottom, but they thought enough to raise the Start/Stop and Lap buttons so that they can be pressed without looking.

It ain't perfect, but DANG it's close. It's the best thing I've seen, but it OCCASIONALLY will screw up the data in a small section of a run, usually after a lot of turnarounds.

Worked fine, as advertised, for 3 months. Then it quit cold, dead, no screen response despite thorough charging. Everything was fine up to the time I tried to get through to Garmin Customer Service. First I tried their website, left a message asking for a Return Authorization number. Got no response from that. Then I called their customer service number (800-800-1020) on a Monday morning and got a message, "Unfortunately due to the high volume of calls the wait time is over 30 minutes and blah blah blah and we're going to hang up on you now call back some other time." They even had the gall to say, "The best time to call is in the morning." IT WAS MORNING.

The thing says it comes with a 1 year warranty. Don't believe it. As far as I'm concerned it has zero warranty.



I use the Forerunner for cycling and my friends use it for running, so I have a bit of anecdotal evidence on this product. Without a doubt, it's the best item of its kind on the market right now. Buy it. It does a tremendous amount in a (generally) straight-forward way. It's VERY light, the screen is clear, the battery has a very good life, the device is rugged and strong, never crashes, and it's easy to use. DO read the instructions (many of the complaints noted in other reviews are addressed in the instructions). The Forerunner stays in contact with GPS satellites about 95% of the time when I am cycling. Running, that number drops to about 85%, but in both cases the device does a nice (though not perfect) job of extrapolating through the missing data. Runners will find MUCH better GPS coverage if they wear the unit on their upper arm (using the included extended strap) and NOT on their wrists. My only complaints are a lack of Macintosh support, slow GPS acquisition, and lack of built-in heart monitor (found on other models), but otherwise, WOW! I really like it...

I bought this piece a month ago and I am very happy happy with the performance. It works great and allows me to keep record of all the running. it shows calories/altitude, pace for every mile. I love the auto stop and resume feature.
However I would prefer to see the actual time on the same screen where it shows pace, running time and miles. For now I have to hop to another screen to know the current time.

This is a great little device at a great price. It holds its charge pretty well, has decent memory and screen, etc.

Now, the real evaluation.

This GPS seems to work fine most of the time in clear areas, but loses GPS signal on occasion - maybe a little too often. I could understand this if you're running in a city, but I run along the bay in San Diego and there's not much there to block signals except for a few palms trees (Am I missing something here?).

When it regains signal, it predicts where it should be and skips to that distance -- but sometimes very suspectly. On rare occasion it gets completely fooled and displays a completely wrong distance. For example, it once calculated a known 2.0 mile distance as 1.1 miles, but on the U turn distance back, it correctly calculated 2.0 on that leg.

On another particularly bad day, I placed it in my shorts pocket as I ran, and it calculated a 10 mile distance as approx. 19 miles. (That was great -- I averaged about a 4:30 min mile for 19 miles.. I guess it's Olympics time.) Hence, I wouldn't plan on putting it in your pocket.

To wrap this up, if I had to guess I'd say it works fine 90+ percent of the time. I think it could use a better receiver, but I'm still glad I have it.

This is an amazing tool for any distance runner. Keep the firmware up to date and you'll have amazing results. Running with the Forerunner 201 on every run has allow me to run more efficient, consistent, and faster than ever before. The Training Assistant keeps your long runs from getting boring and fuels your competitive fire - I only wished the little dude had to run the same hills I do.

This device is not accurate. If you want inaccurate times and distances, go ahead and buy this. If you want to try to keep up with how fast you are running a distance, you can not depend on this device. The first day I used the device I was running on a track so I know exactly how far I went. I ran 3.5 miles. The device indicated I ran 3.83 miles. I contacted Garmin and received some suggestions, but it did not get much better. The device works better running on the road as compared to the track, but on a three to four mile run on the road, it can still be off .1 to .2, maybe more. This may be the best a GPS can do, but to me, this is not very accurate and does not give one an accurate record of time and distance. Just my viewpoint.

I have had my Forerunner for over a year now. What my experience has been:
1)Works better when battery is fully charged. After 2 hrs I lose signal strength to the point of the GPS not seeing part of my run.
2)It is not been very accurate . However, the unit was more reliable during the first couple months of owning it.
3)Do not try to use in wooded areas ,trees interfere with the signal to the satellites.
4)Battery efficiency drops off very fast after the 1st 6-10 charges.
Like most modern day gadgets needed to be perfected before releasing to the market.

One great thing about running is that you can do it during travel as well. Before I owned a Forerunner, the only drawbacks were that I didn't know how far I was going and (sometimes) I couldn't find the way back...

The wristmount GPS allows you to track how far you are going and will let you find the way back. After using the device, I even vary the trails I am chosing at home - adding a lot of fun to running in discovering new places.

The 14 hr recharchable battery life is suffient for one week of workout, and the precision of the device is sufficiently good (I sometimes run in the woods, where it works remarkably good, given that the wrist is not exactly the optimal place for a GPS antenna [a hat mounted antenna would be great ;-)]). Its also nice to get a precise readout for altitude, so it's great for hiking.

After powerup, it may take up to a few minutes to track satellites (depending how far you went after the last switch off), a good opportunity for a prerun stretch.

The software that comes with it logs the time, length, ground track and altitude profile of your last run. This is ok, but I hope future updates will also record the latitude/longitude and
provide better editing capabilities.

All in all, a great gizmo that is worth much more than it costs.

This device is great when it works. It frequently has difficulty picking up a signal (you must be at the top of a hill)and occasionally stops tracking/timing (reasons unknown). If you are walking or running in the woods or on a tree-lined street, forget it. Battery charging and life is excellent.

I have ordered two Garmins now and tried to put them to use for my runs. The first unit I ordered locked up right out of the box. I returned it for a new one. The second one was highly problematic right out of the box. I upgraded the software for free on the Garmin website and it got much better. However, after miles of experimentation, I've decided that the Forerunner is not the right device for me. Really, it's because of the nature of GPS. Any time I hit heavier shade along my favorite path, the signal goes out. Smoothing helps me keep some of my assumed data, but I still lose more than I am comfortable with. Second, I do not like how inaccurate the pace measurement is. I don't even know why they have the main screen, the "real time" pace is so inaccurate it's completely useless. After way too many hours of online research, I finally found a way to get more accurate pace as I run. I had to set the custom screen for lap pace, average run pace and distance. I then set the autolap for .25 miles. So the average lap pace recalculated every .25 miles and was the most accurate of any reading I obtained to date. But I still worried that if I ever ran fartlke or tempo or did varying speed work of any kind, I'd never really know at the moment how fast I was running. That was very frustrating for me. However, it's the nature of this unit, it only checks your position every 10 seconds or so and if the satellite signal is weak while it's checking, your pace data is basically junk.

I'm sorry to return this item and sorry it isn't going to work for me. I have spent hours troubleshooting and now know more about GPS than I ever cared to! The features on the Forerunner are very cool, but I think for my money, I would have preferred less features and a stronger antennae!

Basically, if you like real time pace and you run in the shade (which really we should all be doing whenever possible!), this device isn't going to be nearly as accurate as advertised!



The unit is great, but it's too finicky about picking up GPS signals.

While I'm running around Cambridge/Boston, MA, it NEVER picks up a signal.
Okay, maybe that's understandable in an urban area. But it doesn't pick up
a signal on the bridges between Cambridge and Boston, either. These are
long bridges, particularly the Harvard bridge, with no suspension
structure, nothing above the road except clear blue sky, but no GPS signal
picked up during the four minutes or so it takes to run across them.

Conversely, it picked up a signal just fine when I mistakenly left it
turned on while in my back-pack, in my house, in Woburn, MA, a suburban
area. Go figure.

How do car-mounted GPS units work in cities? Do they rely more upon the
car's known speed/direction to use dead-reckoning along the road? Or did
Garmin make compromises in the GPS signal handling in this unit to make it
fit on a wrist?

Other (minor) issues:

The manual is badly written. For every option, it explicitly spells out
the required button presses in painful details. The unit actually handles
menus very consistently: two buttons to scroll through the options; one
button to select the highlighted option (which may take you to a child
sub-menu); one button to back-out of a menu, to go to the parent menu. The
manual should have described this menu navigation scheme once, and then not
repeated it for every option, instead using the space to describe the
options in a little more detail.

The unit certainly knows the current date and time, as it's encoded in the
GPS signal, and it can be set to display the current time, but there's no
way to make it display the current date. That would have been useful.

It would be nice to turn off the GPS capabilities temporarily, for example
when you're in your basement den reviewing your past runs, and don't want
to be bothered by the warnings about a weak GPS signal.

[Note added on 6/03/05: after an additional three weeks of product testing, I've revised upward, considerably, my view of the Forerunner 201. The model I describe below came with 2.20 software. You should download 3.50 software from the Garmin website; it greatly improves the device's performance. Although the upgraded Garmin still lags severely behind the Fitsense in heavily tree-overhung conditions--forest trails with full cover--it is every bit the Fitsense's equal in all other conditions. I've worn BOTH devices on my runs for the past few weeks and they track each other with almost uncanny precision. The Fitsense responds more quickly to changes in current pace, but if you set the Garmin for "lap pace" and set lap distance for 1.00 miles, you've got a nifty and useful setting. I recommend both devices highly.]

Here are some lessons distilled from my two-year experiment with the Fitsense FS-1 and one weeks's experience with the Garmin Forerunner 201.

The Fitsense and Garmin are based on entirely different premises, and therefore have entirely different strengths and weaknesses. The Fitsense works with moment-by-moment acceleration on the ground, through the mechanism of a food-pod accelerometer. When properly calibrated (and I'll talk about calibration in a moment), it can be very accurate. I've run 5 mile races and had it register 4.98 as I crossed the line. But its accuracy depends on many things: it varies with different terrain; with an increased or decreased stride rate (it implicitly encourages you to maintain a consistent stride rate; if you slow at the end of a race, it registers less distance); with uphills and downhills (it registers more distance and a faster pace going uphill; less distance and a slower pace going downhill); and with distance (if it's 2% short, for example, then it's obviously going to cut more mileage off a longer run). In large races where many people are wearing Fitsense and other wrist-devices, it goes haywire--or at least that's what it's done for me at the St. Jude Marathon for the past two years. (Other people's food-pod-to-wrist frequencies interfere with mine, apparently.) It does a great job on forest trails and in the vicinity of tall buildings, and of course it works great indoors. Properly calibrated, it gives you an almost immediate "current pace" reading; if I want to run 800s on a loop I've worked out in a local park, it stabilizes on current pace within a few seconds. There's no lag. On the other hand, the "current pace" it actually gives may oscillate 10-20 seconds a mile. Still, when you learn to work with it, it's pretty useful. If I want to run 800s in 3:00, I can look at the Fitsense and if it registers anywhere between 5:50 and 6:10--or if it bounces back and forth--I know I'm pretty much where I want to be. The "cumulative pace" reading is extremely useful in this context; after I've gone a couple of hundred yards, the cumulative pace reading is very accurate--although, of course, if the device is only 2% off, so that it reads 3:00 when I pass the half mile marker but the device itself reads .49, it's going to tell me that I ran a cumulative pace of 5:52 or so, rather than 6:00. I can live with that. For such short distances, I care about my measured loop, not the distance registered by Fitsense.

In races, properly calibrated, the Fitsense is, again, pretty accurate. But since it tends to register more distance--and thus a faster pace--at race paces (or perhaps at slightly increased "race stride-rates"), it may show me a cumulative pace that is 5 or 7 seconds a mile too fast. I may think that I'm right on a PR pace, then discover as I approach the finish line--if I haven't been paying attention to my actual time at each actual mile marker--that I'm lagging. What I actually do is use the cumulative pace as a general guide, but then make a point of hitting the "lap" button at each mile marker so I can go back after the race and find out what my splits actually were.

That's the Fitsense. It's a pretty good device. I calibrate the footpod by running a carefully-measured mile (measured with my accurate bike odometer) in a local park. If it reads too short of too long, I reduce or increase the CalVal a couple of points. That's at training pace. Prior to a race, I increase the CalVal a couple of points; that seems to work.

What about the Garmin?

Well, it CAN be extremely accurate, under certain circumstances. I first became aware of the device last September, when I was in the middle of the Tupelo 14.2 miler and realized that--perhaps because of the "increased stride rate during a race effect"--that my Fitsense was a full two-tenths of a mile off at the 7 mile point, and that my cumulative pace reading was, accordingly, about 20-25 seconds off. A guy I pulled even with was two HUNDREDTHS of a mile off. What was he wearing? A Forerunner 201. So I made a mental note to investigate the device. When I checked out this Amazon website, I found 150 posts about the Garmin and two about the Fitsense. The love-hate thing about the Garmin seemed to tilt noticeably towards the love, and the haters sometimes didn't seem to know how to optimize the unit. (I'm willing to believe that I haven't yet learned how to optimize it.)

The Garmin is clearly extremely accurate--more accurate than the Fitsense--on relatively flat or gently rolling courses that don't have much tree cover. I was astonished at how well it tracked with my bike odometer (without a single dropout) when I rode the Double Decker certified 10K course here in Oxford--EXCEPT for the miles in which the road narrowed and had tree cover, and/or went steeply uphill. Then it recorded less mileage.

When I ran on forest paths, however, its performance degraded severely.

The Garmin is not good--and clearly inferior to the Fitsense--in the matter of current pace, particularly quick response to current pace. When you start from a dead stop, current pace begins at 35:00/mile and slowly descends through 12:00, 11:00, down to whatever you're actually running. It takes at least 30 seconds, or maybe even 45 seconds, to register current pace accurately. So that for a particular application that's important to me--knowing what pace I'm running after the first hundred hards of a race and making small adjustments--it's distinctly inferior to the Fitsense.

Too, if you happen to pass under trees in the course of your run, the "current pace" begins to drop as signal is interrupted. This happens, I've noticed, even before the "low GPS signal" beeper chirps up. Then, when you come back out into the clear, the current pace reading sags in the other direction, to somewhat slower than you're actually running, as the device tosses all those missed hundredths of a mile (due to the momentary dropout) back into the averaged momentary pace. The phenomenon I'm talking about takes place when you set the device for "least smoothing." Of course if you set it for "more" or "most" smoothing, you notice none of this. That's because you've set your Forerunner up to be extremely unresponsive. When you set it on "most smoothing," the device is worse than useless for the sort of "repeat 800s on the road" interval work I describe above. Since ALL of its current pace readings are highly leveraged--actual current pace effectively averaged with current pace from 10 and 20 seconds ago; or rather, distance traveled in the last ten seconds averaged with distance traveled in the ten seconds before that--I want the least possible smoothing, which is to say the least possible moment-by-moment inaccuracy. This is especially true in race situations, where a momentary surge of 10-15 seconds a mile makes a huge difference in whether you're running the redline or over it.

One significant advantage of the Garmin over the Fitsense: on a flat open course, the Garmin is simply.....accurate. It doesn't need calibration. It doesn't gain or lose fractions of a mile if you slow your stride rate, or change surfaces. And as far as I can tell, it's unaffected by other nearby runners wearing wrist gizmos. So for a half marathon on country roads without tree cover--I'd go with the Garmin, if I had it, which I now do.

For forest trail runs, or for runs where I know I'm going to be dealing with tree cover or tall buildings, or for runs where my current pace is particularly important to me, I'm going to go back to the Fitsense.

There's more to say, obviously. Both devices are simply useful tools--and yes, as some have said, both can precipitate addictions! I'm continuing to experiment. I hope I've made clear that I'm willing to look honestly and the strengths and weaknesses of both devices, as I've discovered them. The Fitsense is fantastic--when it's not maddening (as it was for me at last year's St. Jude, where I simply abandoned all attempt at letting it register my mile pace (since it was registering 25% too short) and simply hit the log button at each mile marker, so I could do the postmortem with accurate splits.) From what I've seen, the Forerunner does a couple of things better and slightly more things not as well

This thing rocks. I just received mine and after a night of charging the battery, took it for a short run. Although the initial start-up took a while to find satellites (~10mins), once locked on, it never lost track and subsequent start-ups took less than two minutes.

Contrary to what many have said here, I ran in a full-blown rain storm (Northern Virginia), through a couple heavily forested park areas and, for 45 minutes, never once lost satellite reception. The pace (on the "more" setting), picked up my pace within the first tenth of a mile and only read funky after I paused at an intersection for a car that was gunning for me.

Because of the negative comments regarding reception, I almost went with one of the glorified pedometers sold by Nike/Polar. Thank goodness a friend at work talked me into trying the Garmin first. I have absolutely no complaints!

What a great product! I downloaded the newest software on the garmin site and have had no problems at all with the gps signal. What a great device! It is a must for both the casual and avid runner! Very easy to use! Updated software is available online.

It works very well. There are some dropouts if there is a large tree-line between you and the three satellites you are triangulating with. The trace route function is very basic. I have not used it to return to home base yet, but it ought to at least tell you whether you turn left or right. If you want to know your pace, this is a great instrument. Delivery from Amazon was on time, and their price was excellent.

i hope garmin reads these reviews because it was clear talking to their technical support they did not have a clue. i have purchased about 15 of these units. of the 15 units three of them arrived defective, one was completely DOA, one had lines through the display and the third had display artifacts. the power supplies are very fragile and the primary of the transformer will die with any kind of surge or minor over voltage. do not attempt to use this power supply overseas as the 50hz gives you about ten minutes before the tranformer primary goes away. so far in use i have had two of the remaining units just die for no apparent reason. taking them apart it appears part of the problem is simply the way these units are constructed. the boards in the unit do not use plugs/sockets for the interconnects, but use metal fingers and the pressure of the boards to make contact. this means any moisture or probably even a good shock could result in a lost connection. the bottom line is for a few more cents in construction the unit would probably be a lot more reliable. right now it is not so. i would not trust it for your primary GPS if you are going to use it to find your way back from somewhere.
the unit itself is a good sensitive receiver and when it is working it is great. the form factor is very good and mounts nicely on a bike. the problem is do not be surprised if it dies on you.

I like this device. In theory it's very helpful-lets you know how far you've run, gives you your mile pace(with about a 30 sec delay), logs past workouts, etc, etc. However, it doesn't always work. I always begin my runs without it registering a GPS signal, after about 10 min it picks one up and inevitably loses it again at some time during the run. So, it's not entirely accurate. I live in Chicago, so I know there is a lot of obstruction and that GPS signals are very weak, but I was expecting a little more out of this device.

Great for tracking times and distances...great training tool...not completley accurate, but I would still recommend this over a pedomiter or even stopwatch unless you have a marked track or course to run on every day.

This was a useful device but it broke within 3 months of my purchase.

After 3 months the forerunner stopped working all together. Reset, upgrade firmware, and other suggested fixes do nothing.

I have emailed Garmin hoping for support, more than 2 weeks have passed with nary a response.

Beware there seem to be a lot of faulty/poorly constructed units out there. Going back to my timex GPS watch for now.

I got a Garmin Forerunner 201 last week and I love it. Once the Forerunner has been configured and has determined its location from GPS satellites it constantly monitors the wearer's pace, distance run, elapsed time, average pace, and calories burned, plus a whole lot of other stuff. Better yet, it retains a history of each run that is instantly reviewable. I have been a runner for more than forty years and now wonder where a device like the Forerunner has been all my life. Highly, highly recommended.

The Garmin Forerunner 201 is a great training aide, however it does have limits. I live in the Pacific Northwest, and, as is well documented, it does not receive a signal on trails in canopied parks or forests. I have tried twice, and it has not worked...in these cases, I still used the timer, as I would a normal watch, which is a zero sum situation for me, as I had no sport watch when I bought the 201. However, on city streets, both urban and suburban, I have very little problem with reception, and when it has dropped out, it picks up very quickly. I am sure I am losing a tenth of a mile here or there, but I am not upset by that, as my olympic training days are long gone, actually, they never were! I get a great idea, if not highly accurate, of how far I have gone and what my pace was. The virtual partner makes solo runs a little more interesting, and the "TrackBack" navigation feature just makes for some fun times. All in all, well worth the money, which is not much more than an high end sport/running watch. Just know what the limitations are in your area.

The Garwin Forerunner 201 is a great GPS training device. However, it does take a few minutes to sync with the satelites when you turn it on. You will find it useful in training and you can download the software to download the training information from the GPS to your computer for free from the Garwin site. A great product and Amazon's price is more competitive than the retail stores!

I was initially skeptical about the GARMIN 201, it seemed too good to be true. This training device promises a lot and it delivers on everything it promises. The signal issue has not been a problem for me. As a matter of fact, I can even pick up a signal in my home if I am near a window. [...] The read out is very easy to read and it is just as comfortable to wear as a watch. For those of you longing for a running partner, look no further... this device comes with one.

I wish I would have bought this watch sooner!


Trust me, do not waste your money on this technology. I've been running for over 20 years, all distance, so I have a fair idea of pace.
The Gramin would bounce all over the place with pace speed. I want to be able to look down, see my pace and keep going. Whether in open areas or slight tree coverage, data wasn't reliable. We'd be running at about a 8 minute pace, I'd look down and see 8:45, minute later, it was 8:15, then 8.
Did not get to the track to play with as we running early AM and it's dark. I got the unit for $99.00 which is a great price, but sent it back three weeks later.
I'll wait another year or so until they refine the technology. I do have a standard GPS which works OK, but arm mount units just aren't reliable.

This gps watch does exactly what it promises. I love it and use it on every run. Great value! Get one.

Two complaints about the unit I own:
First, battery life is very short. When the unit says 10-11 hours of charge left, it needs to be recharged. I can onlt get three runs in on a charge. Second, the unit sometimes freezes up when acquiring the GPS signal. There is no way to turn it off or re-set it when this happens, so you just have to let the battery drain down all the way (which doesn't take long), and recharge it. Accuracy is good, probably +/- 5%. Other products (eg. FitSense) seem more reliable.

I had no complaints about my 201 until last week. I did my usual daily run with my (new, barely one month old) Forerunner, came home, turned it off, put it on the table, and that was that. A couple of hours later, I heard a bleep. Funny, I thought, that was the sound the Garmin makes when I power it up. Curious, I went to the table and sure enough, my Forerunner was on and searching for satellites. It had turned on by itself. Furthermore, none of the buttons responded when I tried to turn it back off or scroll through the different modes. The only button that worked was Reset--so the unit kept searching for satellites and then remaining frozen in Timer mode. It suddenly shut off when I was at UPS, preparing to send it back to Garmin for repairs. As I said, I had my 201 for about one month and I loved it. I never submerged the unit in water, and I cleaned it occasionally with a damp cloth; nothing more. I was very disappointed when it went on the fritz. I'm training for a marathon and kinda depended on it for measuring my distance and pace. It's a great training aid but it lost a lot of points with me when it suddenly (and weirdly) broke.
Incidentally, I just got off the phone with Garmin and they're sending me a new one, no problem. That's good.




The Garmin Forerunner 201 GPS Receiver is the perfect running companion when you finally get tired or running indoors, on a treadmill, or when it's just too nice to be inside.
Just last night I was running along Caesar's Bay in Brooklyn, a 9 mile loop under the Verazano Bridge. I usually run this loop with no idea of how fast I am going, or when I start to slow down. With this watch, however, I was able to track my speed, pace, distance, even the calories I burned.

I've owned another GPS watch in the past, I think it was a Timex Ironman or something, it had a bulky box that you had to wear on your arm, which I found to be cumbersome and I would get a large pale spot where I would not get any sun when running!

The Gamin forerunner, forgoes this bulky arm box, and squishes all of the GPS components into an easy to wear watch, about the thickness of a deck of playing cards, but not as wide or long. It is basically the size of two watches next to each other, and does not feel big nor heavy in the slightest.

Some positive things:
The face of the watch is easy to read when you are running.

The wristband is comfortable and does not pinch.

It is easy to use on the fly-- I read the owners manual but really do not think you would need to do so to be able to figure this thing out, it is very user friendly.

It's also water proof, or water resistant, so you do not have to worry about it getting sweaty or splashed or anything else of the sort. I doubt you could swim with it though.

It charges in 3 hours, and is good for 13-15 hours after that (it comes with it's own plug in charger so you do not have to mess with switching batteries).

It allows you to view your running stats by most recent run, days, weeks, or the entire history.

I have not used to virtual partner yet but I plan to. Some of the treadmills I use at the gym have this feature and I find it really handy for extra motivation.

Another cool thing is that the watch maps your route, so when you are done, you can see where you ran.

Other reviews have mentioned that this watch is "more of a performance tracker with a few GPS functions." I would suspect that anyone buying this would do so with the intention to use it as a performance tracker. If you want a detailed GPS system, buy one, I think they are much larger, and not specifically made for runners, which this is.

Also, a lot of people mention that they get a weak satellite signal when in large cities or in wooded areas. I would suspect they are correct, but have not tried it in Manhattan yet, nor in Central Park. When I do I will update this review.
My past experience with a GPS watch agreed with other people's notes. I ran a lot in Connecticut, which is basically a big forest. I would lose the signal all the time ---having said that, it was a different watch, so maybe this one will be better. But the basic principle still applies, the GPS receiver needs to have a clear signal, if you're under heavy cover, it probably will not work as well. If you can get one at Eastern Mountain Sports, they'll let you return it if you do not like it, so if it is not for you, you're not out any money. I'd say give it a shot.

As far as my experience with the signal so far, I turned it on initially and set in on my patio while I got dressed for my run, supposedly you need to give it 10 minutes or so to detect it's first signal in your area. From then on, each time you use it, it should take a minute or two. Seemed to take about 40 seconds when I actually wanted to start my run and had turned it back on. That was really nice.

Overall, I'd recommend this to anyone who runs, rollerblades bikes or any sort of outdoor exercise. It is great and worth much more than I paid for it.

(...) Thanks.

I've used the Forerunner 201 for running for about 6 months now. I have also used, for several years, a footpod device (Fitsense, no longer available, but Nike and Timex make similar models) with some of the same features. If you're thinking of purchasing one of these devices, consider the following:

1. GPS devices never need to be calibrated and it doesn't matter whether you're running on asphalt, sand, snow, or ice.

2. However, exposure to the sky is key for GPS reception. I live in a neighborhood with many trees and a steep slope to the north. I rarely get satellite reception in the summer until I get into more open and level terrain. This wasn't as much of a problem before leaves came on the trees. The same problem will be caused by tall buildings except, of course, it's not seasonal.

3. Footpod devices work based on the movement of the foot. Once they're calibrated, you will usually get very good accuracy (within a couple percent). However, unpredictable surfaces like snow will result in wildly inaccurate readings.

4. Footpod devices respond more quickly to changes in pace.

Consider the main uses of the device. If you run on open land, the Forerunner is a great product. But if you run where there is dense forest, tall buildings, or steep terrain that hide you from the satellites, you may want to consider a footpod device.

An excellent investment for outdoor fitness buffs. Enables runners/walkers to try different routes on a regular basis without having to guess your distance. The history feature tracks your progress if you are working on endurance or speed. When traveling I can just run a straight road for half of my desired distance and then turn around and come back, no more worrying about getting lost.

I have had fun playing with the Garmin 201 that I got but I am not all that impressed by it. A couple things that I didn't like.

1. The pace display. This seems to jump around too much. On a recent run with this I was going along a flat road in the country with no trees or anything else to block the sky. I was running at a pretty steady rate, probably around 7:20 per mile, during a 30 seconds stretch the Garmin displayed my pace jumping around from 6:10 to 8:40, with lots of times in between. The pace reading is totally useless and that was one of the main things I thought I might use the Garmin for.

2. I run the same route everyday, when I use the Garmin I always start it at the same spot on my driveway and I always run on the same part of the road, there is never any traffic I need to avoid, etc. so my distance covered should not vary by much each run. However the distance Garmin shows to the first intersection I get to has ranged from 1.98 miles to 2.17 miles. This seems to be an awful large variablity, about 10% variation and I have only worn the Garmin about a half dozen times.

It is a fun toy but its inaccuracy/inconsistency is far too great for it to be a useful training tool.

I bought this for my girlfriend. She is a broke college student and she's training for the Chicago Marathon. She had been running with a friend of hers for a while and loved that she could track her pace and distance with her friend's Garmin Forerunner. I bought on for her for a gift and she continues to use it. It lets her set goals and train to reach them.

Take warning, this device only works outdoors. It needs a clear view of the sky in order to track the GPS signals.

Other than being expensive, I think it's a good way to stay motivated about running

I thought this was the best purchase that I have ever made at Amazon or any store for that matter. Not only am I beyond satisfied with the product but the delivery was so prompt that there was no worry about possibly missing the mail man. I loved doing business with Amazon for this product and plan to do it for other products as well.

I started running with this unit about two months ago and could not be happier. It keeps stats of each of your runs, so you can easily go back and review your perfomance for up to two years.
Sometimes it takes up to 3-5 minutes to find a signal when I first turn it on, but once it finds a signal it keeps it.
Overall, this is a good training device.

I purchased this product and, before my first use of it, I had to send it back to the manufacturer for repair. The unit I received didn't work right. Maybe I had a bad luck. It may be a software problem and hopefully it will be corrected soon.

I feel the unit is a bit bulky. The display font is large and bulky, too. The wrist band is unnecessarily large, thick and, again, bulky.

My hope is the nice functions of this unit will cover all these negative comments.

For a little money this thing does lots of things! With some linkable, no cost software, I can analyze every move I made during a run or a bike ride, the altitudes, the wind speed,calories burned, everything! The primary thing it does, though, is to inspire the best out of me without having to have a running partner. A great piece of running equipment I don't ever want to do without again. I bought it just so I could know how far I'd run. I wear it because it does so much more!

Bought this item for my wife to use for running and hiking. Works great for both running and hiking although semi-dense tree cover can affect the unit greatly. In comparison I have Garmin Etrex Legend C and have noticed that it keeps a receiving a signal in much more dense forest than the Forerunner, which is expected considering the size difference. The rechargable battery seems to last for quite a long time which is a definite plus. The Forerunner 201 is a great unit, especially for the price. I would recommend the Forerunner 201 to anyone interested in a 'training' GPS that will not be used in a heavily forested area.



I am coaching a marathon running group. The 201 is great for being able to make up running routes on the fly. We know exactly how many miles we have run, our time and pace. I set the lap counter for 1 mile intervals giving us our pace for each mile.

The 201 is reliable and user friendly, but my only criticism is the software is not compatible with the Mac.

I hate running gadgets. I've never liked wearing watches, pedometers, heart-rate monitors. Even the Forerunner 201 didn't interest me until I ran with a friend who had one.

I ordered the 201 not expecting much, but was completely blown away once I started using the thing. Once up and running (more on that below), the GPS has been extremely accurate so far. Not only that, it has dramatically increased my awareness of my running and training.

Specifically, this unit makes it extremely easy to not only tell how far you've run, but also your pace and split times. The ability to (easily) program it to lap at certain points (for me it's every mile) allows me to analyze my pace over the course of my runs (which average about 10 miles daily). With the help of free 3rd party software easily found on the net, I'm not only able to analyze my splits, but to also download the Forerunner data and view it in 3D and color coded to look at my speed while climbing hills, etc. Some of the free software also does a 3D fly-by of your run.

The Garmin software that comes with the unit is also useful, if not a bit limited compared with the ample free software available online. Still, the Garmin Logbook is a great FREE tool that gives you quick access to your run data.

I have only a few pices of advice for folks considering buying the Forerunner 201. First, when you first turn it on, you need to be outside and be PATIENT. It might take 30+ minutes the first time for it to lock on the satellites. After that, it's much faster--don't worry. Next, if you're concerned about whether it's comfortable (based on the odd shape), I was too, but I've found that it is not a problem at all. It's very lightweight and the unit actually sits very naturally on your wrist/arm. Finally, just do a Google search for "forerunner software" once you get the unit. You'll find some good stuff available.

I love it...great to have a virtual partner and great for traveling. I never have a set route so this allows me flexibility in running in different locations yet keeping up with a training schedule.

I run the same distance every other day on the same trail. The area is wide open and I get very good signal strength from the GPS unit. The problem is every day I get a different reading on the distance run from the unit. The margin of error is as much as 10%. When I emailed the problem to Garmin I was told this "small" deviation is usual. I also called and spoke to a representative and I was told that the difference was normal.
Understand I'm not a great runner so when I run I try and measure my performance each and every time. This unit is absolutely not worth the money. It does act as a great stopwatch though. However I think I can get a much cheaper stopwatch rather than spending 120+.
I would sell the unit on eBay but I don't want to stick someone else with what I believe to be a big purchase mistake.
Attached is the response I received from Garmin. I hope this helps you make your purchase wisely.
Thank you for contacting Garmin International. The unit's accuracy levelcan have a tendency to vary. Because the read on the satellites changes constantly, it can be typical to see slight variations when reading the same path repeatedly. It should be close, but most likely won't be exact. You also might want to adjust your Pace Smoothing setting, this function in
the Setup menu is designed to help accuracy by reading your average speed over a period of distance and can help with the accuracy you are seeing when the unit records your workout. I hope this will help you.


It's great having children who are gainfully employed.

Last Father's Day the three of them presented me with this great toy to aid me with my running habit of more than 40 years. The Forerunner 201 has a variety of helpful tracking, monitoring, and navigational features. The History function enables me to view your workout statistics broken down by individual laps, days, cumulative weeks, or your entire workout history

It even provides a map of my route. I can even save "waypoints" or locations to mark the coordinates of a place to which you want to return.

The large display is large and easy-to-read. I can even view it without my glasses, which I never wear while running. A rechargeable lithium-ion battery charge easily lasts the promised 14 hours out of the.

As a runner who usually runs alone, I love the "Virtual Partner." It enables me to set goals for each of my workouts. I then compete with a digital character displayed on the Forerunner's screen. I can then see visually track how far off the time, pace, or distance I am compared to my virtual training buddy. My digital character even stops when I do.

The software is great. It provides a visual record of my all my recorded workouts.

Over the years I have tried most of the running gizmos and been disappointed. Not so with the Forerunner. This is great. If you are in the market for a running watch, spring for this model. You will not be disappointed.


I run about 15~20 miles a week. Most of them on the road and dirt trails/woods. Reception can be poor when I'm in the woods, but I haven't had too much problem. It's so nice to know how fast and long I'm running when I'm running. Using this, I mapped out several run routes (10+ different routes from 3 miles to 12 miles) for my running group, and we use the map and the measured distances to choose and vary our run routes every day.

If you run or bike irregularly shaped routes and want to know how your time is improving (or not), this is a worthwhile investment.

I use the forerunner as my bike speed/distance/time device. the display is much bigger than a traditional bike computer, and lights up at night, with almost no weight penalty. It also downloads a log book which I find very motivational.
I was able to figure out the instructions, which means that they must be well written and easy to use.
I wish the software would permit direct printing and the ablity to edit the log, for example when I leave the unit on after a ride, the timer keeps running lowering the average recorded speed. this log error cannot be corrected, nor is there a print function other than "print screen" I assume the next generation will permit the downloading of maps, which also is not now possable.
the rechargable battery lasts me sufficenly for two full days on the bike, no problem.


I was very excited when I learned about this product, as I have been looking for a good way to get real-time running pace feedback. Unfortunately, between buggy software and poor GPS reception, this Garmin unit was essentially useless to me. In fact, I exchanged the first one I purchased because it worked so poorly, I assumed it was broken. The second one behaved almost identically: the display locked up on me when I first tried to initialize the device, and after hard rebooting and finally getting the GPS to lock on to a sufficient number of satellites (which took probably 30 minutes or more), the signal reception was intermittent, so I rarely had reliable pace data during my run. I have other GPS devices, and this is by far the worst in terms of GPS signal reception. Happily, I discovered the Polar S625X, which I heartily recommend. (It's available at Amazon.) The Polar uses a completely different technology to measure pace: instead of GPS, it uses a small accelerometer that ties into the laces of one of your shoes. It's extremely reliable and quite accurate -- it's been a game changer for my running. The Polar watch also has a heart rate monitor, which the Garmin 201 does not. (The Garmin 301 does.)

When it works the watch is great. However, I live in a city and if I get a satellite signal within 5 minutes I'm lucky. The watch then constantly loses signals is inaccurate. When running on a course that has very few trees or tall buildings, the unit is excellent. So buyer beware. If you live in a city or run on a course that is wooded, the watch may not work well.

The Garmin 201 is a great training partner. The real-time speed and distance information was invaluable to me while running a marathon recently.

It's lightweight and very comfortable to wear.

I've had one for some 18 months. It has great functions, although I didn't try the Virtual Partner - I don't believe that will work well because it loses GPS signal too often. And I jog in a park! Someone jogging around tall buildings will probably have more trouble. BUT, after some 18 months of not very intensive use (I usually jog outdoors only twice a week, since it rains a lot where I live), the unit went hayware. It started turning itself on and off repeatedly. It started in the middle of a night, waking me up with its beeps and only stopped when it ran its battery out. I emailed Garmin about this - no answer. Then I tried calling then up, but "all our representatives are busy, expect to wait for 15 to 20 minutes" and the international call would fall before that. Disgusted, I threw it away and plan to try some other brand. If you think that something that costs around 150 bucks should last only 18 months, go ahead.

We bought this GPS for my mom- an avid walker and Volksmarcher. After a 3 minute lesson from wife (who also has one)off we went on a 10km hike. My mom is not super tech savy, but she took to it right away and liked that it showed her the time, distance, and watch time (so she didn't have to wear her watch). It was easy for her to set up her settings (weight, auto pause etc). She also remarked that it was very light and not a nuisance on her wrist. I like the security of it- the ability to back track on your route should you become disoriented.
Our family will probably purchase our third one (for me) soon.

I bought the Garmin Forerunner because a friend of mine had one and loved it. I don't ever run without it. It shows you how fast you are running, how far you have gone, and how many calories you burned. I have used it in some of my marathons and half-marathons to keep me on track.

I gave my non-technical wife the Garmnin Forerunner 201 as a gift last year with some reservation because she does not usually go for new gadgets (I am stll the only driver of HER Tivo). However, she loved the Garmin. With the Forerunner, she can walk a new route every day, and maintain an accurate record of how far she goes whether she changes paceor even stops for a rest. We don't usually connect it to the computer, but I had fun creating maps for her of the routes we took during a ski trip last spring. We both highly recommend this product.

The 201 is an excellent tool to help with pace and distances when walking or running. Light and user friendly.

I just got my new Garmin Forerunner in the mail and I already love it. I have run a few times with it so far and it's so accurate. I have many routes around my house that I run and have run them since I bought this and it's pretty much right on the button, give or take a 10th of a mile or so...

I am so happy I bought it. I want to train for another marathon this summer so this will be so great to have for my long runs!

I haven't really looked at all it can do yet but so far I am really happy with it.

First, know that that Garmin just announced (1/05/2006) the ForeRunner 205, the next-generation model they claim has less trouble with trees or tall buildings. It's the size of a large heart rate monitor - quite a bit smaller than the 201- but about $100 more.

That said, I've had the 201 for three weeks and am happy with its performance with the exception of the live pace function. Here are my observations so far:

Distance
I've found that it's very accurate. In about 10 miles where I compared the 201 readout versus known distances, about two thirds came within +/- .01 mile. The others were usually off by .02, with one off by .03. If you run a 9-minute-mile, that means most mile times are within 5 seconds, which should suit most runners' needs.

Interference.
I ran through a forest preserve with tree cover (no leaves in Chicago this time of year) with very infrequent satellite loss. Through town, with two- and three-story buildings, the same result. I did try the unit in downtown Chicago and it couldn't locate satellites, but this is consistent with Garmin's claims. The manager of my local running store claimed similar experiences. Overall, I had very few problems.

Speed/pace
I'm not sure why, but the speed/pace isn't very accurate. My 9-minute-mile pace jumped from 7 to 11 minutes, rendering this feature unusable for me. However, when I used average speed per lap - with my laps being one mile - the accuracy problems went away, perhaps driven by averaging over the longer distance. So, I'd recommend using this to pace your miles as a whole rather than your speed at any given moment.

Size
It looks big but is light. With 25 miles so far, it hasn't bothered me at all.

Unexpected cool features
Some web sites allow you to upload your GPS data and view your run superimposed on a commercial map, such as Google Maps (as of 1/12/06 this was offered at www.gpsvisualizer.com). Also, if you get lost, the 201 will point your way home via the map function.

Overall, if real-time pace isn't important to you (again, I'd recommend using the lap pace which seems accurate) and you don't have any more sky obstructions than a typical suburbanite, I'd highly recommend the 201.

Good luck, and happy running!


Got this for 99.99 on Amazon.com. Way less than 149.99 which was as low as I saw it in the stores. Also no tax on Amazon purchase. Well worth the money. After about 20 minutes of reading manual and quick guide, you should be able to operate to the extent most will use it. It is nice to just run without having to map route with car odometer first. It seems kind of large to wear on wrist, but you get used to it after about 5 minutes of running with it. The beeper which sounds when you complete a lap distance of your definition is nice. No need to keep looking at the screen while running. Those needing reading glasses will approve of this feature. You can make your run and look at the stats after you complete the run. The figures for overall time are very large and most people should be able to read these even if they wear reading glasses. It takes about a minute to acquire the GP signal in my area before I head out running. You can start out walking while waiting for this to sync up. I live in the burbs so no problem for me with signal. If you run under some trees or between buildings, this may throw of your pace count, but once good signal strength returns, the unit will make corrections. So don't rule it out if you live in a city. I would make my start and end of run area in a clearing area so you can get a good fix for your start and completion. The Garmin is a gadget that makes running a little more fun. Great for travel when you have to run in unfamiliar terrain and want to know how far and where you are running. Nice for the price and a cool gift to give a runner or biker.

I bought the Garmin 201 on a whim the night before the Waves to Wine event in California Wine country. It justified itself the very next day when a turn was poorly marked by the organizers.

I have been riding with it three times a weeks since then and it is a terrific gadget. Keep in mind that this is NOT a navigation tool. You cannot download maps. However it is ideal as a training aid. As mentioned elsewhere, the altitude (and therefore the gradient information) is not nearly as accurate as the X,Y coordinates but this is true for all GPS units, including factory installed navigation systems in cars.

The software that comes with the unit is ok but if you really want to maximize the value, look into the topo! software on the national geographic web site. With this software, you can plan your route ahead of time and download way points into the GPS unit. Also topo! will give you a much more accurate altitude information and you can obtain a profile of your ride.

I have been running for about a year and now it is a little nicer with my Garmin Forerunner 201. I use to have to get in my car and clock my course to know how far I went. It is nice to know I don't have to do that any more. It is nice to know what my average pace is for training. It is nice to know what my best pace is. It is nice to know that I can keep track of all my training information and check my progress when ever I want. This was the best investment I have made for my running. I thought it might be nice for you to know.

Great tool to track milage, pace, elavation, speed whatever you need. Very accuarte and very rarely loses signal(only when I'm downtown in between very tall buildings and not for long). Good battery life as well virtual assitant settings are great. Only thing that can be a pain sometime is waiting a minute or two outside to get a GPS lock on your location.

I recently bought the forerunner 201. I chose this model mainly because I don't need the heartmonitor. I now can't imagine running without it. I have been on 2 mini vacations and I use it to measure distance and time of run. It's great because I don't have a route while traveling but I still have a great run without the guess work. I like to cross train too so it's so helpful with rollerblading, biking and hiking. I am currently working on my speed. It tells me my miles per minute so I know how I am doing. Not a negative comment on this product!

I received the 201 as a Christmas present. I've put a little over 50 miles on it, and so far, the 201 has been great.

Comfort:
The 201 is designed to be worn on your wrist, but includes an extender so you can wear it on your arm. I've only worn it while wearing long sleeved shirts, so I don't know how it feels against the skin, but on top of a shirt it is plenty comfortable. It may seem big, but it light and doesn't bother me.

Accuracy:
One of my most recent runs, was the Rock 'N' Roll Arizona half marathon (13.1 miles). My 201 measured it out to be 13.20, which I'm plenty happy with because there was probably some distance added weaving around people. I haven't taken the 201 on any heavily wooded paths, so it is rare that I lose a signal, and when I have, it is only temporary. There are 3rd party software programs that will put your data onto a satellite map, and usually the 201 is accurate, but there are times when the line will go off the trail.

Mac Support:
One of my biggest gripes with Garmin, is their Training Center software was only available for PCs. However they just announced that they were making TC for Mac and should be ready in "Spring 2006".



For $100, the Garmin Forerunner 201 is a great buy if you want to track your workouts. Garmin is releasing the Forerunner 205 in February, which will have a more accurate GPS, and a better design, but it will be $250.

I would love to HAVE the product so I could write a review. I ordered this item on December 15th of last year, and as yet, all I've gotten from Amazon is form e-mails telling me that there has been a delay in shipping. If this product is anything like Amazon's service, It's so bad that it causes cancer!

As a collegiate track/cross country athlete (17 years old), I found the Garmin Forerunner 201 to be one of the most important things in my training.

Before I got this, I was always surrounded by a ton of athletes who would train using these devices (or the 101/301), and still am. I was amazed by the features, but was thrown off by the price (again, i'm a broke college student). So with this in mind I used Google maps, and variatios of it to measure out my runs. This got very time consuming, not to mention inaccurate.

So I buckled down and got it, and boy was I happy! It's like having a computer on your wrist. It has all the good stuff you read about(tells pace, distance, time, time of day, etc.) and many more. It logs your weekly and total mileage, so you don't have to sit and crunch numbers anymore. It also finds your average pace for the week. The training assistant is pretty neat to have, especially if you're doing intervals or track workouts, and can't remember all your times. You can also set it to tell you your pace and give an alert at whatever distance you want. The map mode isn't quite what I expected (I was looking for a full on city map), but it shows a trail of where you have ran for the total run, great to avoid getting lost.

I can go on and on about how cool this little guy is, but that's boring, let's get to the flaws.

Cons: WEEEEAAAAAKKK signal. If you like to run in a park with tall trees shadowing your every step, you won't get a very accurate measurement. I've read reviews where people say the signal gets lost behind tall buildings, but I live in the suburbs so i've never had any problems. If you go inside ANY building, you will lose the signal, and the device will continually annoy you with 'Weak GPS Signals' until you go out in the open again.

After storing your run in the history, you can't navigate through the map mode very well, unless you upload your run into your computer. Which brings up another con; the software sucks. It's very user friendly, but only because it doesn't have much features. It displays a simple graph of your overall pace, time, and distance, and a map of your run. It also lists your total runs, but in a hard to navigate style. It would be much nicer if it came with a type of training log to personalize.

And the serial port?!? I can't believe Garmin is forcing us to rely on a serial connection, when we are in the USB age. And the cable they provide you with just barely wraps around to the back of my computer.

Of course, don't let these little annoyances stop you from getting this. It's a great tool, and I seriously recommend it. Rob a bank, collect cans, steal your little sister's piggy bank, do whatever it takes, this is a great product that will last a good while.

This is without doubt the most useful piece of running equipment (other than good shoes) that I have ever purchased. Gone forever are the days of running tempo runs, intervals, and other routine workouts and finishing each run only to discover I had run too fast or too slowly. The Forerunner 201 lets me train at the precise paces I have targeted for myself and if I want it too it can alert me audibly if I fall off the pace or exceed it all within ranges I preset before workouts. It is very durable, water resistant, has no trouble tracking GPS in rainy/cloudy conditions, and the battery life is tremendous (15 hours running time on one charge, with charging taking only a few hours). The Interval Partner feature allows me to set the pace/distance/time or any combination of those and then I race against my Forerunner partner, as the device tracks my position relative to my partner (i.e. how far ahead or behind I am). The device stores over 1 year's worth of workout data, and an easy to use interface connects it to my PC for downloading the data to Forerunner Logbook software where I can analyze my workouts. I travel a lot and this device is great because I can walk out the door of my hotel and start running, no need for premeasured courses or trails, as I always no how far I've run and the pace/total time. It even prevents one from becoming lost, because you can backtrack the distance you run following the "back to start" feature. Garmin is releasing a new version of the Forerunner on 2/13/06, and it promises to be even better (which is amazing considering how useful the 201 is). I have owned the 201 for 4 years and I will be buying the new version simply because the 201 is such an easy to use runner's best friend.

This is a great motivator for every single run. Provides a much better idea on how far, long you've been running. Have been improving my pace consciously since I've bought the Forerunner.

Only thing missing is heart rate option.
Maybe one day they'll put an mp3/ipod chip in there too.

I have had the Garmin 201 for nearly 2 months and have found it to be an excellent training aid. Most of my training takes place in the flat farmlands of Northern Ohio and I have found the distance measurements accurate in comparison to other methods of measurement (e.g. car and bike odometers). Over the course of a workout the "average" pace and distance seem to be spot on in the open farmland. I have observed erratic behavior of the "current" pace during the course of a run sometimes showing that I am running much quicker or slower than I believe is correct even though I have not perceived a change in pace. I have experienced lost signals in the county parks that line the nearby river valleys. My first 5k race on flat ground registered 3.11 miles whereas a trail half marathon (13.1 miles) in a river valley registerd about 12.5 miles.

I have enjoy using this item. It has help me to train better and to determine how hard I should push myself for race day. I am still learning about the 'Navigation' feature since you learn as you use it. The one thing is that it doesn't work when tall buildings are around, the GPS can't located a satellite and it also gives wrong information about your pace. Like I said, you learn as you go.

I bought this for my husband for Valentine's Day - he absolutely loves it. A friend recommended the product to me - she loves hers as does her husband. I've also used it and I like how accurate it is and how easy it is to use.

Awesome. Sometimes signal is weak and pace/mile fluctuates every couple seconds. Otherwise, acurate to a tenth of a mile over a recent 7 mile run on a measured course. Good value at $100.



If you are one of those people that gets bored running on a treadmill all of the time, the Forerunner is for you. I used to run on a treadmill simply because it tells you how fast, how far you have gone, and how many calories you have burned. Not only does this Forerunner give you this information--on a large, easy to read while running display--but it tracks your progress and provides a training partner for you (something a treadmill doesn't offer). In addition, the Forerunner doesn't regulate your pace like a treadmill. This forces the runner to watch their own pace, allowing them to learn what a particular pace feels like -- an essential skill for anybody who runs in races. A must have for anyone - whether you're just tyring to get in shape or are a serious runner gearing up for a race. The one drawback, however, is that this version of the forerunner doesn't monitor your heart rate. If this is an option that you require, check out the Forerunner 300 series.

Bought this for my husband who is training for a marathon, he loves it especially the feature that keeps him on pace with the time he needs. It has options for what you want to track and stores the info so you can track it on the computer. I recommend this for anyone in a training regimin, I think you will be happy with it.

I really enjoy the 201. I have had very little issues with loosing the signal, so I am very satisfied. The feedback during a race has really helped to achieve my goal for that race. The new version looks to improve on the signal loss and size issues, but I'm not sure if its worth the premium.

This watch never seemed to locate its location. Worst of all, after swimming in the pool, water got into it and stopped working for good. Stay away from it!!

works great. great price. used it on my motocross bike for lap times. does not work so well in the woods, though. used it on my mountain bike and road bike for speed and pace and unlike my bike computer i can download my results on the computer, just wish it had a usb plug. plan on using it on my jet ski this summer also.

Great product if you're in the open with a clear sky. If you run in a city with buildings or a park with trees the GPS is useless. The other features are great, the unit is lite and easy to read while running. Software that integrates with the unit is the icing on the cake.

I purchased this personal trainer primarily to keep track of distances I run and it has helped increase my run times. The virtual partner tool helps motivate my to run harder and if you dont want to use that, you can use the interval tool which helps just as much. This is a great investment for runner's or bikers.

The Forerunner was the best product that I have purchased in a while. I just completed my first marathon 3 weeks ago and during my training I was having a very difficult time judging distance and pace because I was traveling every week. With the Forerunner, I was able to keep accurate track of actual miles run and pace, which was key to understanding my progress.

I've never had a problem getting a satellite signal. One of the nice surprises has been the "Training Center" software which you can download all of your runs into. This shows elevation, pace, speed, and time for every part of your race. Using this, you can see where you are starting to slow down, or what pace you are keeping when you are running hills.

I've heard that the distance isn't precisely accurate, but since I am a 'middle of the pack' runner I wasn't that concerned about +/- a tenth of a mile.

Unless you're running on a track, treadmill, or in a race, you probably don't know how far you're traveling. The Garmin Forerunner 201 will help solve this problem. I purchased this unit in December 2004 and have logged many miles with it strapped faithfully to my arm.

Just to address some of the concerns I've seen in the reviews:
1) It does take some time to acquire a signal. If you travel more than 500 miles from home, it can take 10 minutes or more to figure out where it is. Aside from that, even staying locally it can take 1-5 minutes to fully acquire signals. This is a good time to stretch and get into a good frame of mind.

2) It's GPS, so it's only accurate to w/in 3 feet or so. This means over several miles, it may be off plus or minus a 10th of a mile. However, when you generally run the same routes, you get a feel for the average distance.

3) It seems to have problems under tree cover. If you're running in a straight line, this isn't a big deal. Once it gets it's next reading, it can figure out how far you've travelled. If you're on a twisting road or trail, it may not give you credit for the entire distance you covered while it was having trouble finding signals.

4) The log software is really cool. Download it from the Garmin website for deeper analysis of pace/distance/elevation/totals.

5) This is not a device for figuring out where you're going. If you're out on a run and you need to figure out how to get back to where you began, it is a handy aid. But some other reviewer apparently expected turn by turn driving directions. I never saw anything like that in the marketing for this device. If that's what you're looking for, you're looking at the wrong unit.

With all that said, I have found it to be a highly effective training aid. My speed sessions and long runs have improved considerably over the last year.

I bought this unit trying to be cheap. I thought it would get me from point A to point B, but all it has is an arrow with a dot. As long as you have the arrow pointint to the dot, you'll get there. I also had to by expensive software to run the unit. If you are looking to get a GPS unit to get you places, this unit is not for you. By the time you buy the unit and the necessary software, buy to one that cost more and tells you turn for turn on how to get somewhere.

1) PRO: Garmin is a great company with excellent customer service. They immediately replaced my watch when the battery failed under warranty.
2) PRO: The 201 has many neat features and they all work great.
3) CON: You must wait for for GPS signal acquisition before you start your run, and it is slow, it takes a minute or two.
3) CON: Because the positional accuracy is limited, the pace error is high, especially if you don't run in a straight line. While running around my 1/4 mile track at a steady 8 min/mile pace, with pace smoothing maximized, the 201 will indicate values ranging between a 7.5 min/mile and an 8.5 min/mile.

Overall it is a cool device, just not quite accurate enough for me.

I bought this back in September and raved about it to everyone I know that runs. The Forerunner was an excellet tool for tracking my run distances and training progress.

At times, I was annoyed by how long it would take to acquire a GPS signal. It wasn't too bad, as it gave me an excuse to stretch.

The joy of my Forerunner 201 ownership came to a screeching halt as I was waiting at the starting line of a half-marathon last weekend. About 10 minutes before the race, I turned on the Forerunner, allowing ample time to acquire a GPS signal. After about 3 minutes, I looked down and saw that it was still trying to acquire the signal...however, the signal strength bar was not moving. The race started, and the bar was in the same position. At that point, I knew it was not to be, so I put the Forerunner in my pocket and was unable to use during the run. After the run, still in the same position, so I tried to shut it off...nothing happened after hitting the power button--the screen remained.

Alas, my Forerunner is dead, a short life of 6 months and a few hundred miles. It was great while it lasted.

The GPS was purchesed for our daughter who is at home for the summer from college. She has used it every day and just loves it! She is able to keep track of the miles that she has run along with enjoying the personnal trainer. Her pace has improved. Thanks for creating such a wonderful product.

I wish I could return it. was the worest purchase I have made

It is anexcellant product. I have a heart monitor so I didn't need this function from Garmin. Only one issue is I wear reading glasses and the display customization is a little limited to get the results Iwant but it is better than anything I own.

This thing only works on clear days on open roads. If you plan on running on cloudy days or on paths with trees do not bother with this thing. I was very dissapointed.

For the money (thru Amazon), it's a great deal. The wife bought one of these at a local running store for $159 (on sale they said). It worked so well that I looked on Amazon and it was so much less in price that I bought myself one. I already have a Polar that works great, but this one was half the price and does just as good a job. The only thing we have found a little disappointing is if you have a lot of trees around on your run especially on trails, we lose the signal for the GPS at times. On open ground, it's super accurate and we have had no problems. We measured a mile with a measuring wheel, then used the Garmin and it measured exacly 1 mile. Kind of nice when making new running coarses.

I am very disappointed Amazon's product service. I just got my Forerunner 201 but it is returned product (it even looks used) and AC desktop charger is missing. I don't think I can trust Amazon anymore.

My product is exactly what I thought it would be, it is extremely useful for marathon training! The only downside is that if you run under alot of trees, the tracking can get screwed up, and the pace is not always accurate.

The forerunner 201 works well and has allowed me to keep track of my workouts. I should have had one along time ago.

This device is great at giving time and distance. However I often found the pace times to be a little off. I also had trouble getiing a strong signal. The computer software included is great it allows you to look at past workouts very easily and displays everything in an easy to read format on your computer. It also saves all of you workouts.

Definately worth the money. I only have trouble losing signal in heavily covered areas. Great for use to manage lap times and unknown distances. This device is not designed to give exact locations, so don't use it to guide yourself in a new area. Be careful when running on tracks, it sometimes cuts the corners when triangulating. It is most accurate with straight distances. Worth the buy, not worth upgrading to the newest model. I run with people who have the upgraded model, they work basically the same.

The Forerunner 201 is an excellent product to calculate the distance you run, pace, time and calories burned. Also will store your runs daily so you can compare your times from the past day or 2 months ago. Easy to navigate the menu for a beginner or intermediate runner. The only negative comment I have is the system should have a USB cable instead of the serial cable which is provided to upload your running data into the training software that is availalbe via Garmin's web sight. Would like to upload running data into home PC, but I only have 1 serail port which is for the monitor. This is a feature that Garmin overlooked.

I was trepidatiously purchased the 201 after reading some of the negative reviews on here, but I'm glad I disregarded those as "operator error." The two complaints I read the most were:

Takes Forever to Find Satellites: Never been a problem. I set the 201 out while I'm getting my iPod, hydration gear, shades, etc. out; it's done before I'm done. I have a feeling some of the complaints are from people wearing it on their wrists while waiting for it to track or moving. Set it down, turn it on, and you'll have satellites in less than a minute. I do... every time.

Customer Support (or lack of it): I contacted Garmin's customer service because I had a question about the mapping in the Training Center software (which you download for free from their site). I got a very detailed and personable response within 24 hours.

I love the 201 and coupled with the MotionBased web site, it has everything you need to get detailed analysis and maps of your workouts.

I've tested this item out on several occassions and the accuracy is perfect. Works great and I have never had a problem in the few hundred miles I've used it on.

I have 2 friends who have the 205 and I just cant see the reason to spend the extra $150 for it. This tracks my time, pace & distance. There are also several items like calories burned, fastest pace, etc. I use coolrunnig.com to keep my running journal and have not used the software for the device. If you are debating between the 2, get this one and save the use your savings to some new running shoes.

I love this thing! It is easy to use and makes me actually look forward to excercising! I have been recommending it to all of my friends. It is fun to be able to track results and keep track of my workouts.

The garmin is fantastic! It a great training tool that I couldn't do without. A watch is good, but who can calculate pace when you are running full-out. The 201 is a little large on the wrist but a great value. I've owned two and the first one I lost.

It's great to be able to know excate pace and mileage.

I definitely recommmend this as great training device for anyone who wants to track distance, time and calories expended. It is a less expensive model without the heart rate monitor (as a girl I don't want to wear that running anyway). Only draw back is the design is a little large and not ergonomic.

I have purchased many electronic devices that have been a huge disappointment, including a handheld GPS unit. So perhaps I didn't have high hopes for this particular unit, given the pricerange and the ambivalent reviews.

However, this does exactly what it is advertised to do, and does it extremely well. It is versatile, working for both running and biking with different speed modes. It finds satellites very quickly versus the other GPS receiver that I have. It seems durable, and the size is not overly cumbersome once you have had it on for a few minutes--it's like an oversized wristwatch.

When it comes to training, I can't believe I ever trained without this. The interval training feature has been invaluable, automatically setting distances and rest periods with no intervention from me. The display is very intuitive. And, except for a few times losing the signal in heavy tree cover, I have had no problems with the reception or the apparent accuracy of the unit.

Lastly, the history feature of the unit is wonderful. The device itself has a pretty good history display, keeping track of days, distances, paces, calories burned, and so forth. But, when you download the training software from Garmin, and upload your data to the machine, it makes it even better.

Yes, I agree the cable to do the upload could have been a USB cable rather than a serial cable, but I suspect there were size issues to deal with here, even with a mini-USB plug, that made the serial cable the best choice. I would say that the device/PC interface is probably the one weak spot here.

Lastly, I bought the bike mount for this...but then realized you can just wear it on your wrist! So I haven't even used the bike mount.

All in all, one of my best purchases, especially given the price point.

Since I purchased the Foresunner 201 I cannot run or bike without. It works perfectly, it is very simple to use and it makes my training much more enjoyable. It would have been nice if both the pace (run) and the speed (bike) could be monitored at the same time. But unless you run duathlons like me, it is a minor problem. The battery life is amazingly long. I highly recommend this product and the bike mount accessory. You do not need to buy any (extra) charger as it obviously comes with it.
The connection with the computer is a bit outdated and probably you can use it with a laptop, for example. But it works with any PC desktops.

I love running and walking with my Garmin. It helps to keep me focused and feeling successful. My only gripe if the impact of buildings and trees on its accuracy. The battery life is great as are the features. I recommend it highly but with the advise to be patient when in an area with high physical features-

The Garmin 201 is a good overall running GPS. I run in both city and country areas, and I don't have trouble losing the signal. It takes it a minute or so to find the satellite when I turn it on, so turn it on when you are warming up. The price is becoming resonable now that there are other newer (more expensive) Garmins out there. The computer interface is easy to use, and works as advertised, although I still use a paper logbook. If you forget to log a run, the device keeps the records of your past runs.

That said, I'm on my third Garmin. The first one quit working after I ran during a mist/light rain. It wouldn't turn on, and trying the reset didn't work. I sent it back (still under warranty) and was sent a reconditioned model within 72 hours. That was nice. That unit stopped working after about 2 years. It wouldn't turn on, even though when it was being charged it would say "Fully charged."

That said, when I went to replace it, I couldn't find anything I liked better. I cover it with plastic when running in rain. And I know where the receipt is.

we have had trouble from the beginning with this product. i got it to train for a marathon and it has not been accurate at all. the distance and pace per mile jumps all over the place from a 6 minute pace to an 11 minute pace when i know this cannot be the case. i am an established runner, the pace differenc is not accurate. i have the original box and need to speak to someone or send it back for a replacement.

Overall this is a great product that works well and does exactly what it should. The only real drawbacks are what others have mentioned already. The serial interface is a pain, but for a few dollars you can buy a cable on ebay that will convert serial to USB, so that's not a huge deal. The other thing is the reception. It is not bad, but definitely not great. In addition when you are going at a decent pace and then make a sharp corner, your info is way off for a few seconds while the unit realizes that you are not still moving in the same direction. I'm not sure if Garmin has fixed this with the new Forerunners, but this can be a pain sometimes when you turn a corner and suddenly the unit shows that you are barely moving!

The other thing I have experienced is that the contacts on the charging unit get corroded, so the connection to your PC can be shady sometimes. I have to periodically brush off the contacts to try to upload to my PC.

One thing that has improved is the ability to use the Training Center software instead of the Logbook software which was the only thing originally available with the 201. If you don't have it, check it out on the Garmin website.

Overall a great product that I have been very happy with and has seen me through a couple of years and many, many miles! If the new models improve on this they are definitely worth the money.

Great piece of equipment. I use it to pace my basic training unit at Fort Benning while on foot marches and during runs. I recently used it on a foot march during a pretty heavy thunderstorm. Being out in the middle of nowhere with heavy cloud cover didn't seem to faze it much. A bit slower loading in its location with the satellites, but it still worked. During this march, it was soaked in water and sweat. It also got a taste of some mud when our evac. vehicle got stuck on a dirt trail. However, I wasn't able to manipulate the "custom" pace alarm within my specified time. It only allowed me a 10-minute gap instead of a preferred 2-or-3-minute gap. The battery provides a pretty decent charge and the settings are otherwise easy to manipulate.

I use my forerunner everyday! I couldn't have found a better deal anywhere else. Thanks Amazon!

I'm a novice racewalker training for my first marathon in September. The Garmin Forerunner has been a great help with my short/long distances training.
POSTIVES: Adjustable strap (have small wrist); easy to navigate through menu modes; backlight; LCD display easy to read for quick glance; training assistant-virtual partner, pace/speed alert,time/distance alert, history, custom page. Applied for Amazon credit card and received $30 off the price.
NEGATIVE: My device charges only up to 14 hours instead of the 15 hours as stated in the manual. But 14 hours is still alot.


This Garmin Forerunner 201 GPS stopwatch is a fabulous training aid. Offers accurate distance and pace measurements, with continuous updating during the run. Options available in the device include: Alarms to notify you when you are going faster or slower than your chosen pace, Automatic splits at distances you can determine, keeps all information on each run for ready review, can download data into your computer.

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