Timex Ironman T5J985 Unisex Trail Runner Bodylink Heart Rate Monitor Watch

I am training for a marathon and this has been the perfect watch. It has been excellent at halping me pace my runs as well as measuring distances without having to drive the runs in my car for accurate distances. Highly recommend this.

I really like this watch, as a person who use to run and then stopped and now am going to pick it up again, I've read that this is the tool to use to monitor one's training. The watch is straight forward, as Timex watches tend to be. The only caveat, to me, is the synchronization of the GPS to the watch, I seem only to be able to sync the GPS first, then the heart monitor, not the other way around, but that is no major issue, once all is in sync, it works like a charm. Battery life is as expected for an electronic gadget that one uses, real-world scenario: the more you use it, the faster the batteries will drain, even with that, I would recommend it to everyone.

I'm a road/mountain cyclist as well as a new runner. The GPS and heart rate monitor work great. The summary data is extremely useful for ascent and descent rates, as well as the pace function. I have had no problems with GPS lock-on both in California and Texas. I'm moving to Europe, and we'll see how it does over there. Additionally, Garmin and other GPS watches don't give you real-time "latitude/longitude" display, in case you get lost on a trail. The timex does!!! As well as the ability to add waypoints so you can use the compass function to get back to your campground or car. All for under $200, is a lot of watch for the money. Enjoy!!!!

UPDATE!!!! I just moved to Germany and the GPS works fine over here as well. I ran with it in the mountains with heavy tree cover and had no loss of GPS signal.

Great price, arrived quickly, works well. GPS sometimes a little slow to get a signal.

I've never owned a GPS or training watch before, and I'm training for my very first marathon, so I researched for months to learn about every model by every brand. After reading hundreds of reviews from every source available, I bought the Timex T5J985 Ironman Trail Runner. I can't say enough about this training system. It's not just a watch, it's a training SYSTEM. I've read that other brands have several concerns, i.e., GPS not locking up or dropping out and never recovering, re-charging systems terminally failing, inaccurate data, etc., and I've experienced NONE of these problems. I will however, tell you that while I was on a training run in the middle of tropical storm Fay (I live in Miami) the GPS did lose the signal once, but while I was still on the move, the GPS was locked back on in the time it took me to look down at the watch (because it had "beeped" at me) and all I had to do was hit the "DISPLAY" button to link back up. This all happened in a matter of seconds, literally, and I never lost any of the total run's data like some of the other users had claimed. I run under moderate tree cover as well, and have NEVER had a problem. Now on to the watch functions...

This watch is AS ADVERTISED, and then some. The chrono functions flawlessly with three lines of data in real time across an ample watch face. You can select which data you prefer to view by toggling the DISPLAY button. I like to see my HR, PACE, and DISTANCE. You can also choose from LAP TIME, SPLIT TIME, and SPEED as well as others. The VERTICAL mode gives you data pertaining to your altitude. Since Florida is at sea level, I don't have occasion to use this feature much, but I will tell you that the watch tracks it automatically through the GPS, and at the end of my training runs, I chuckle to see that I've ascended a little over 200 ft., and descended about the same...lol. The FINISH mode is absolutely awesome! It predicts your finish time if you input a certain distance! On my longer runs, I'll input 26.2 miles, and select the finish time prediction in place of my average pace on the main chrono screen. It keeps a running time based on my pace and distance, and even coaches me if I'm going slower or faster than my input finish time! It's like having a coach on your wrist. The NAVIGATE mode is great for orienteering. It gives you LAT and LONG and your degree points, again in a three-line display. The WAYPOINTS mode is phenomenal. You can set waypoints (10) with a "tracking" mode to navigate you back to a particular waypoint should you get lost! While tracking, the face changes to a real-time compass face, with the distance you are from your waypoint, and you can see your progress toward or away from your waypoint as you walk. The LAP DATA mode gives you detailed information about each one of your laps or splits including lap or split time, ongoing event time, speed, pace, HR, distance, and elevation increases and decreases. the SUMMARY mode gives you detailed overall information concerning your entire event including avg speed, max speed, avg pace, best pace, event total distance, odometer, total ascent, total descent, at/above 1,000 ft., avg HR, max HR, min HR, HR zone times, recovery HR, total event time, and GPS battery level. There is a dual TIMER mode, a 5-ALARM mode (with backup) and a CONFIGURE mode in which you can set your default values for every function.

This watch was easy to use out of the box, and I got started with it right away. The GPS has never taken more than a minute to lock on, and I turn it on as I'm stretching for my run, so that when I'm done stretching all I have to do is switch to CHRONO mode, hit the START button, and go. No waiting! I did not purchase the data transmitter since I don't need to see my data on a graph. I'm not an elite athlete, and I can tell what areas I need to work on simply by tracking the data in SUMMARY mode.

I swear by this watch, and would recommend it to ANYONE...from the professional to the amateur to the beginner. CUDOS, TIMEX for getting the job done yet again!

Enjoy your workouts!