Review on 🏃 Garmin Forerunner 205 GPS Receiver and Sports Watch: Discontinued Model for Active Users by Tommy Rao

Having recently run my first marathon (July 6th - SF) and half marathon (October 6th - SJ) I was looking forward to something that I could keep track of all important data with outside air. I'm very used and tired of running on a treadmill to find out. I took a chance and got the Forerunner 205. I couldn't be happier. When I opened the package I immediately turned it on inside and it found satellites in about three minutes. Before running it, I took it to work while driving and tested speed, distance and altitude to see how accurate it was. The speed was a little slow when I accelerated, but it was always accurate when I walked at a steady pace. The top speed was correct. Once in the office, I compared the distance on Yahoo Maps and Google Maps: they had 5.4 and 205 had 5.38. The height differs by about 10 feet. My run was next. I took it for a 4 mile run. The pace again fluctuated a bit during the run, but that could be due to my own flawed running style. However, the altitude and speed seemed accurate and were absolutely necessary to maintain a consistent pace (which I wish for in both a half marathon and a full marathon). When I got home, I uploaded my story to the Garmin Learning Center. This software is amazing. It breaks down your time, pace, average speed, top speed, calories burned and elevation (descent and ascent) for your total run and/or for each mile (if you have set Auto Lap per mile). The mapping part of the software is amazingly accurate. I purposely circled the tree and crossed my path back and forth to see if the 205 was chasing him, and it was! Every curve I made was recorded. As a previous reviewer noted, I only noticed my speed was off (it would be 0) when going under an overpass, but it immediately started right up just before I ran away under it. As noted by the same reviewer, this is also when the peak of data for this short section occurred. Also, every time I turned on the 205 it found satellites from 30 seconds to two minutes, but when I turned it on once in the mountains while driving it took about five minutes, which is still not that slow. I've since turned it on while driving, but not in the mountains, and found it very quickly. With so many marathons, half marathons and triathlons lined up this year, I can't wait to run in my 205, something I can't believe I've run without in the past. I can heartily recommend the Garmin Forerunner 205 to any runner, biker or station wagon. Clear recommendation. 5 Stars.