Best Running Watch for High School Track & Field and Cross Country Athletes
Pace yourself better and run smarter with a running watch
By Coach Chris Knighton
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Introduction
In this article, I will share with you the best running watch options for high school track & cross country athletes.
From simple digital watches to GPS Smart Watches, I’ll share with you the best options for your needs.
Running is a sport that requires very few pieces of equipment. Well-fitting running shoes, confidence-inspiring track spikes, and a high-quality running watch (or two… I’ll get to why in a minute) make a huge difference in the success of a high school athlete.
While there is a proper time and place for running without a watch, the best high school runners will wear one regularly.
The three main advantages that a high school athlete will gain from wearing a running watch are:
- accurately time splits on the track or over measured distances.
- keep track of how far, how fast, and or how long they have run.
- automatically log runs into a digital training log that can be reviewed by the athlete and their coach after the run is completed.
No matter your age, it is essential for all youth athletes to have access to a running watch if they want to perform their best.
The list below includes my top picks for high school cross-country and track & field athletes.
Types of Running Watches High School Athletes Should Own
- Digital Watches – Necessary for all Cross Country and Track & Field Athletes (including sprinters, jumpers, and throwers)
- GPS / Smart Watches – Extremely helpful for ambitious Middle-Distance and Long-Distance Runners (not needed for sprinters, jumpers, or throwers)
Because they serve different purposes, ideally, the high-school runner will have one of each style of running watch.
Why Digital Watches are Essential for High School Athletes
Digital watches are a necessity for all Cross Country and Track & Field Athletes. This includes sprinters, jumpers, and throwers.
An inexpensive digital watch is a great “first watch” for a young or new athlete. This athlete may be testing out the sport of cross-country or track & field for the first time and need a simple watch.
Digital watches are simple in nature and easy to use. They tell time and have a stopwatch built in. Some digital watches also have a count-down timer or programmable interval feature.
All track & field and cross country athletes need to wear a watch to their competitions and in practice. This will ensure they time their warm-up properly, arrive on time for their events, can keep track of their daily workouts at practice, and can take splits during competition.
Digital watches do not measure pace or distance, they only keep track of time. But they have one big advantage over GPS watches: they teach cross country, middle-distance, and long-distance track runners to run by feel.
Learning to run by feel is an essential skill in the development of a young runner. An athlete who can run by feel perfectly will outperform a less experienced athlete who is relying on a GPS watch to tell them how fast or slow to run.
While wearing a GPS watch is very popular these days, there are many good reasons to go without one for at least some of your running. Athletes wearing a GPS watch tend to run to the data displays on their watch rather than how they feel on the day. This can be counter productive or unnecessarily stressful during certain types of training.
High-school athletes should talk with their coach to determine when to best use a digital watch versus a GPS watch.
The watches I’ve listed below include models that I’ve personally used or have been used by my own high school athletes.
All come highly recommended.
The Best Digital Watches for High School Athletes
Timex Unisex Ironman Classic 30 34mm Running Watch
Best for These HS Athletes:
All Track and Field Athletes (Running, Jumping, Sprinting, Throwing) and Cross Country Runners.
Digital Watch Description:
The Timex Ironman is a classic digital watch that has great features making it the perfect “first watch” for high school track & field or cross country athletes.
The Ironman Classic has a stopwatch, countdown timer, alarm clock, and can be programmed with very simple time-based intervals.
This watch is water resistant and durable, and may very well last through a high school athlete’s entire career.
Click Here to View “Timex Ironman” on Amazon.com
Casio F91W-1 Digital Running Watch
Best for These HS Athletes:
All Track and Field Athletes (Running, Jumping, Sprinting, Throwing) and Cross Country Runners.
Digital Running Watch Description:
The Casio F91W-1 Digital Running Watch has been a classic for decades. This stylish watch is extremely simple but gets the job done at an affordable price. Prior to the invention of GPS Running Watches, this was one of the most common watches you would see on the wrists of runners.
The Casio F91W-1 tells time, has a stop watch, an alarm clock, and a very rudimentary lap feature. This is the watch I currently use when I train for road and track races.
It looks cool and tells you how long you have been running. That’s all you really need.
This watch is water resistant, very reliable, comes in a variety of cool colors, and is extremely affordable.
Click Here to View “Casio F91W-1” on Amazon.com
Why High School Distance Runners Might Also Want a GPS Running Watch or Smart Watch
While every high school track and cross country runner should own a simple digital watch for learning to run by feel, there are many benefits to having a GPS Running Watch or Smart Watch as well.
GPS Running Watches and Smart Watches do more than just record how long you have been running. They record your distance and pace as well. This can be very helpful data for a high school athlete. The data can also be helpful for their coach. All ambitious distance runners should seriously consider getting a GPS watch because of the helpful data it provides.
GPS and smart watch data can be used to make sure the high school athlete is running the correct distance and pace for their ability level. Many GPS Smart watches will also record heart rate and cadence data.
GPS and Smart Watches are fun to use too! Many young athletes love looking at the data these watches provide. After competing a run, you can see how fast you’ve gone in each mile and see a map of where you have been.
The downside to GPS and Smart Watches is that they can be stressful for some athletes to use. The data they provide can be a helpful tool, but it can also be a hindrance to teaching a young athlete the vital skill of “running by feel”. The wise distance runner will know when to use a GPS watch and when to leave the GPS behind.
High-school athletes should talk with their coach to determine when to best use a GPS or smart watch versus a simple digital watch.
The Best GPS Running Watches and Smart Watches for High School Athletes
Garmin Forerunner 45
Best for These HS Athletes:
Serious Middle-Distance Runners, Distance Track Runners, and Cross Country Runners who want to reach their full potential.
GPS Running Watch Description:
For the serious high school runner, they will want a dedicated GPS watch that they wear just for running. Garmin makes some of the best and most trusted GPS running watches available.
Garmin watches are designed specifically for runners in mind so have all the best features any serious high-school runner would want. The Garmin Forerunner 45 records distance, pace, elapsed time, records where you have run, monitors heart rate, measures cadence, and more.
This watch is small and light weight, making it perfect for running fast and racing.
The Forerunner 45 watch can be programmed with intervals or split manually, making it easy to run even the most complicated workouts. This GPS smartwatch also can control the music playing on your paired smart phone, so you can rock out on your runs without missing a beat!
The Garmin Forerunner 45 is a great option for any ambitious track or cross country runner.
Click Here to View “Garmin Forerunner 45” on Amazon.com
Apple Watch (Smart Watch)
Best for These HS Athletes:
All Track and Field Athletes (Running, Jumping, Sprinting, Throwing) and Cross Country Runners.
GPS Smart Watch Description:
The Apple Watch is extremely popular with high school athlete and is an obvious choice if an athlete already uses other Apple products such as a MacBook or iPhone.
The Apple Watch is designed with the user’s health and exercise in mind and has a wide variety of features that will support a high school athlete.
For runners, the Apple Watch is helpful for tracking your pace, how far you’ve run, and recording a map of where you have been. When it comes to running workouts or racing on the track, an Apple Watch can take splits but since running is not the only function this watch was designed for, it’s not as easy to use or as optimal for running as something like the Garmin GPS Running Watch mentioned elsewhere in this article.
Despite its multi-functionality, many runners find tremendous success using the Apple Watch. The Apple Watch may be the option for you if you want one watch that you can wear all the time whether running, competing, or just hanging out.
Click Here to View “Apple Watch” on Amazon.com
Conclusion
Wearing a running watch is a must for all high school track & field and cross country athletes.
All high school athletes will benefit tremendously from wearing a simple digital wrist watch at practice and in competition.
Ambitious middle-distance and distance runners will benefit tremendously from also owning a GPS Running Watch or Smart Watch to track their runs.
The watches listed above include watches that I’ve personally used or have been used by my own high school athletes.
All come highly recommended.
