If you want to take your running regime to the next level by investing in a running watch, you are certainly spoiled for choice in 2026. From Garmin to Coros via Suunto, Polar and Apple, there are many different kinds of sports watches at many different price points that offer different form and function. It can be hard to decide what is best for you.

I’ve tested scores of running watches in my decade as a technology journalist, and can vouch for the quality of Garmin watches, which is why picking one up at a greatly reduced price is always special.

Right now, you can get the Garmin Forerunner 165 for just £182.99 from Decathlon, a huge discount on the watch’s usual £249.99 RRP.

The Forerunner 165 was released in February 2024 and has gained a reputation as a solid, dependable entry in Garmin’s running focussed range – but despite the name, it can track far more than just your runs.

With an AMOLED touchscreen, 11 days of battery life and built-in GPS, wearing this gadget 24/7 will soon rack up reams of health and fitness data for you to pore through on the Garmin app for iPhone or Android. It’ll track your steps, distance, calories burned and heart rate, as well as sleep, stress and more.

But it’s activity tracking where the Garmin steps things up above what is possible on a Fitbit or even a competing, more expensive Apple Watch.

Garmin’s metrics are built for deep insight into running data, so you’ll get an indepth read out post-workout with your pace, cadence, elevation change and more besides, all thanks to the sensors and GPS in the watch that tracks your route very accurately.

View the Garmin Forerunner 165 at Decathlon

After you’ve done some runs and punched in your health details and workout wishes, the watch can even build a training program for you. Whether you want to build towards a 5K, 10K or half marathon, you’ll be able to take Garmin’s advice and do the exercise it suggests to get yourself ready in time for race day.

Garmin also has an excellent feature called body battery, which the firm says spits out a number out of 100 at all times to let you know where it thinks your energy levels are at. Take it with a slight pinch of salt, but I’ve found it to be a good indicator of whether I need to rest up or hit the trail. It might even make you feel less bad about taking that mid-afternoon nap if your levels are flagging.

The software is also good for letting you know how long you should take to recover from strenuous activity, plus the watch can be used to track your menstrual cycle or pregnancy, taking this all into account to recommend the right kind of exercise and nutrition. Although Garmin offers a paid tier for its app, I have never paid for it, finding the free features more than in-depth enough.

As you can see, you get a lot of function when you go for a Garmin over an Apple Watch or Samsung Galaxy Watch. Though Apple and Samsung offer users third party apps – something Garmin lacks, so you can’t get Google Maps or AllTrails on your wrist – Garmin has both tech giants soundly beaten when it comes to pure health tracking tools.

It’s not clear how long the Decathlon sale on the Garmin Forerunner 165 is on, but it’s the best price I can find in the UK for the watch at the time of writing.