The most basic watches can cover heart rates and calories burned but the more advanced models will record your VO2 max, so you know what your body’s capable of, estimate your recovery time after each session and allow you to set race fueling alerts. Top-quality running watches act as coaches on your wrist, giving you data that shows you what’s going on with your body as you take your strides. And a watch helps you to pace yourself and stay consistent so you run each mile in a specific number of minutes rather than starting out like a speed demon and crashing and burning.

During the run you can check how fast you’re actually going and step up the pace if you’re plodding too slow. In our busy lives, we only have a specific amount of time available to train and a good running watch will help make every second count. When you know exactly how fast you’re running, or even how heavy you land on the floor, you can gradually increase your performance to avoid going too fast too soon and getting injured. These specially designed sports watches can track each stride, record metrics such as pace and heart rate and analyse insights to help you set goals. If you’re ready to take your running performance up a level, one essential that you can’t afford to skimp on is a good running watch.

Best mart sports watch