Timex Ironman Run Trainer

Comments about Timex Ironman Run Trainer Monitors:

I wanted to like this watch, and was ready to live with some minor annoyances because of the relatively low price. However, after two new watches went south, each after 3 months, I have given up on it. Here are my thoughts, in alphabetical order, by category.

Accuracy – Very good to excellent in predominantly open areas. I used the watch in 10-mile and 20k races, and the miles recorded were very close (0.09 miles over) to the certified course distances. Some of this overage may be due to my not being able to run every tangent. Predominently densely wooded areas are a different story: on several occasions, the watch recorded 4.8 miles on a 5-mile measured course. This is a large error (4%). This has happened with both Timex Run trainers that I have owned.

Bulk – It's a nice size, given the capacity to display 4 lines of data, and is much less clunky looking than my older Garmin 205.

Battery charging – Excellent. The firm alligator type grip lets me know that I am hooked up correctly. I never experienced charging malfunctions, such as battery drain or non-charging due to the hook-up.

Customer service – Excellent. I contacted Timex a couple time and the service representatives were helpful, courteous, and readily available. When I sent my first watch back for warranty repair, Timex sent me a new replacement watch in a reasonable time and without any hassle.

Display – Fair to good. I bought this watch primarily because it can display 4 data elements (elapsed time, miles run, current pace, average pace) on one screen—useful because it eliminates the need to push a button during a run, and, for me, potentially push the wrong button. The watch does portray up to 4 data elements with acceptable, but not great delineation. All 4 elements are displayed vertically, right justified, and, as a result, are somewhat mushed together. Even though I know which element is which, it takes a little longer to focus on the one that I want to see. (Some of this may be a function of my older eyes – I am a senior.) This is not great when running on uneven surfaces. The display would be better if the elements were differentiated somehow, such as alternate right and left justifying them.

Ease of set-up – I find Timex product instructions to be somewhat opaque, but I did figure it out after a while.

History – There is a log that shows a number of data elements for overall results of each run (e.g., fastest pace achieved, average pace, etc.). But, what be nice to have—and which is missing—is the ability to see how fast each lap (e.g., each mile) is run to dissect how I did over the course of the run. Garmins have this feature.

Overall reliability – Poor. This is the Timex Run Trainer's greatest failing in my experience. After 3 months, my first watch started giving unreliable results, such as average pace calculations that were clearly wrong (say, showing me an average pace of 8:10/mile for a 40-minute, 5-mile run (as recorded by the watch). I sent the watch back for repair after 5 minutes mysteriously disappeared during a marathon. That is, the watch had a finishing time 5 minutes quicker than chip time. Again, after 3 months of use, my second watch is giving me problems. It told me that after 20 minutes of running I had covered over 6 miles, for a 3:09/mile average pace—would that this were true (Hello Rio in 2016).

Satellite access and retention – Very good. It usually takes 20-40 seconds to acquire a satellite and I was never aware that satellites were dropped.

Comments about Timex Ironman Run Trainer Monitors:

For all of you who have a Garmin or are thinking about buying one anytime soon, think twice before making that purchase and check out the new Run Trainer by Timex. Timex really did it right by making a watch that wasn't too big yet gives clear, concise, easy to read, accurate data during workouts. Just this morning on my run, I was very impressed by how comfortable it was on my wrist and how easy it was to toggle between screens to view data. Today I preferred to have my heart rate shown nice and big in the middle display and it was perfect! In addition, the GPS connection was super quick to pick up the satellites, and was 100% accurate the whole time. And for the price? Wow...it is so worth the money. I run a lot and this watch is incredible. Give this watch a shot. You won't be disappointed!

Comments about Timex Ironman Run Trainer Monitors:

I purchase my Run Trainer Dec. 2011, since purchased I run 3-4 times a week. I am a 5K to Half Marathon runner, the watch performs as designed. I run with the Heart Monitor and Foot Pod accessories, they assist me during my runs and provides me performance profile data comparison capability. A free upgraded Training Peaks web site sensor data analysis software tool is offered with the Timex Run Trainer. Training Peaks software assists with tracking your runs and each run is uploaded to your accounts calendar. The performance profile data can be analyzed for any user specified segment of a run.

The Device Agent personal computer user interface permits user programming with ease, although manual programing using the watch menus is possible too.

Never had a failure for either battery life or upload sensor data to Training Peaks.

DC Rainmaker blog provides an excellent review of the Timex Run Trainer GPS watch.
(search for 'dc rainmaker timex-run-trainer-gps-in-depth-review')

Comments about Timex Ironman Run Trainer Monitors:

Posted a review before and the site must have deleted it. Wasn't impressed with product, and that was before it stopped working. Unit can no longer find a GPS signal so I'm returning it to Timex. Too late to return to RRS.

Comments about Timex Ironman Run Trainer Monitors:

Altimeter is inaccurate. I started it at sea level and it showed 47feet. Battery does not last long so you need to remember to charge it before your workouts. Odometer and speedometer are accurate. Face is easy to read. Directions are poor. They direct you to a website that wasn't working. If you can get this at a discount it is a decent product. It is not worth paying full price.