Garmin is by far the leader it in GPS running watches. Hands down. Sure, there are some other competitors - like Timex and Suunto - but no other manufacturer has been able to acheive Garmin's integration of GPS technology with wrist watches.

To be sure, some of the previous installations of the Forerunner have been a little bulky, resembling more of a computer strapped to your wrist than an actual watch. But the Forerunner 405, with its sleak design and surprising light weight, has changed all that. Finally there is a GPS watch that actually looks, and feels, like a normal, every-day wrist watch.

The benefits of having a GPS tracking watch that actually looks and feels like a regular wrist watch are pretty obvious. You:

• Don't have a huge, bulky device on your wrist that will distract you from focusing on the things that you should be focusing in on - like your training session, your race, or your exercise
• Comfort is king when doing things that require you to exert yourself, so having something comfortable on your wrist that also allows you to monitor your work out is really important for people trying to get the most from their training program
• Proper running mechanics require that your arms be of as equal mass as possible, so running with a heavy device on your wrist can mess with your form and thus mess with your running times
  

The Garmin Forerunner 405 constantly keeps track of your time time, distance, pace, calories and heart rate (only if you have a heart rate monitor that is compatible with the watch.  All this tracking is then stored within the watch so that you can take a look at it later, analyzing what occured during your exercise. 

The added benefit to your watch keeping all that information stored is that you can use it "compete" with yourself by comparing previous workouts to what you are doing in real time - giving you instant feedback while you are out on the road running. 

Another key feature is the 405's ability to wirelessly transfer data between your watch and your personal computer.  All you need to do is get your watch within range and the information is automatically transmitted - no additioanl work on your part. 

You can even share your locations, your courses, and your advanced workouts with this wireless technology with a friend who also owns a 405.  This way you can compete with your friends or family, or just share an interesting run with them so that they can see what is going on.

Integration with a heart rate monitor makes the Garmin Forerunner 405 especailly powerful.  You are able to find out just how hard your cardiovascular system is working which is important if you are to increase your overall level of fitness on your runs. They key to long distance running is keeping a good pace without over working yourself, and that is made much easier by this type of technology.

Garmin has really gone out of its way to make using the Forerunner easy to use. The following are several short instructional videos on how to use some of this GPS running watch's different features and capabilities.