Garmin launches new Forerunner 55 and Forerunner 945 LTE
To celebrate Global Running Day, the company has released two new watches for both beginner and experienced runners
Garmin is celebrating Global Running Day by announcing the latest additions to its Forerunner suite of watches — the 55 and the 945 LTE. The 55 is a simplified, easy-to-use smartwatch for runners of all levels, while the 945 LTE provides phone-free safety and tracking features to allow athletes to stay connected to their friends and family while they’re out training.
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The Garmin Forerunner 55
Featuring detailed running data, daily suggested workouts and additional built-in sports apps, this watch is simpler and easier to use than other iterations of the Forerunner, making it the perfect choice for beginner runners or veterans of the sport who don’t need as many bells and whistles as more experienced racers (or as high a price point).
“We know there are runners of all skill levels who prefer a simplified running watch,” said Dan Bartel,
Garmin vice president of worldwide sales. “With that in mind, the Forerunner 55 presents informative
and digestible data in a way that can help people reach their running goals, while also encouraging
them to live a healthy lifestyle.”
Along with the usual GPS tracking and heart rate monitoring that you’ll find in most smartwatches, the Garmin 55 offers personalized running workouts based on the user’s training history and fitness level, with Garmin Coach offering on-screen guidance and free 5K, 10K or half-marathon training plans. Advanced features include a finish time estimator that lets athletes select a run distance and view their estimated finish time right from the wrist, cadence alerts to help runners improve their form and built-in recovery time to tell you how long you need to rest before your next big effort. Additionally, the watch includes other types of workouts, like swimming, Pilates, HIIT and more.
The Garmin Forerunner 55 features up to two weeks of battery life in smartwatch mode and up to 20 hours in GPS mode. The Forerunner 55 is available now in black, white or aqua and has a suggested retail price of $279.99 CAD.
The Garmin Forerunner 945 LTE
This is a premium running and triathlon smartwatch with LTE connectivity, allowing runners to stay connected to their friends and family while they’re out on long training runs to improve safety. While the LTE features do require a subscription plan, they are certainly worth the extra step.
“For years, athletes have been able to leave their phone at home and still receive performance metrics, listen to music and pay for purchases with their Forerunner. Now, they can also access safety and tracking features right from their watch, making it even easier to work out without a phone and without worry,” Bartel says.
The Forerunner 945 LTE lets athletes send for help if they need to and stay connected to loved ones — no phone needed. If an athlete feels unsafe or if the smartwatch senses an incident occurred, assistance and incident detection features will send a message with their location to chosen emergency contacts. The watch can also automatically send the runner’s name and location to Garmin IERCC, a professional 24/7 global monitoring and response centre, who will then contact and co-ordinate with local emergency services. The Garmin IERCC will stay in contact with the athlete until the situation is resolved.
The LiveTrack feature allows friends and family to follow along with you on your run in real-time, and even see your entire preplanned course. You can also send pace and mileage updates to your friends and family during a race. This watch also includes maps, tracks your sleep, includes menstrual cycle and pregnancy tracking for women and can store up to 1,000 songs, among several other features.
The Forerunner 945 LTE features up to two weeks of battery life in smartwatch mode and up to seven hours in
GPS mode with music and LTE LiveTrack. Available now in whitestone or black, the Forerunner 945
LTE has a suggested retail price of $849.99 CAD.
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