I delayed buying the 305 because I really wanted a GPS watch that could report cadence. I considered the Polar RS800G3, but it was more than twice the price and not as easy to use. I considered waiting for the Forerunner 405, but I was starting a new season and didn't want to change running logs mid-season. So, I bought the 305 for less than $220 and added the foot pod ($80) a week later. I planned on using the foot pod for indoor workouts. My first run with it was on the treadmill. Although the distance reported differed slightly, it was fairly close without calibration. When I downloaded the data to my computer, I was surprised that it had recorded cadence! But I pessimistically assumed that it wouldn't work when the GPS was in use. My next run was outdoors, and to my surprise the 305 recorded cadence AND GPS distance at the same time! I was even able to change the display to show cadence during my run. That's how easy it is to configure!

This watch greatly exceeded my expectations! I strongly recommend it for any serious endurance athlete!

Garmin Training Center recentlty released the free download for MAC OS users. Great product, has completely transformed my workouts.

I have been running for many years with little more than my stopwatch. After talking with several people in my running club, including some Boston qualifiers, I decided to buy a Forerunner 305 over all other brands and models. After one month of use, I'm very glad I bought it. It's changed the way I run but more specifically the way I train. I'm able to pace myself much better and finish workouts at the right level of exertion. The map of each run is so cool and getting the information downloaded to my PC is extremely easy. The software that comes with it is also fairly user friendly allowing one to see and compare the information in several different graphs and charts.

I would definitely recommend it for anyone looking to reward themselves with a useful gadget. And if you want the freedom, you can always leave the Forerunner at home, however, I'm finding it more and more difficult to leave it behind.

I have been running for about 3 years and, although I have succesfully completed a couple of marathons and several halfs, I have always had problems keeping my effort to the right level (usually overtraining in terms of pace for a given distance). The 305 has proven to be a great partner keeping me in check on my runs. I have been gauging effort based on heart rate and it has allowed me to push my training while making sure I do not overdo it and risk injury. I have been able to increase my milage and I feel much better than in any other of my training cycles. The HR monitor works very well as long as I moisten the sensors with water before I start. The strap is comfortable and has not caused me any problems so far. The GPS seems to track much better than my old FR101. The software is great for single run analysis but I found it to be a bit disfunctional as a general running/training log. Overall, this was a great investment; I highly recommend it.

I use this neat little gizmo for biking and running.

For running, I'm not aware of any other way to get accurate pace information for a course that includes substantial up- or down-hill sections; I think the closest contenders are accelerometer-based pedometers (like the popular Nike/Apple one), but my wife's experience is that these don't always work well if there are changing grades. Plus, the ability to record heart rate information and match it up with speed and elevation is pretty neat.

For biking, the speed information is probably slightly less accurate (and updated slightly less frequently) than a standard cyclometer, especially for rides under heavy tree cover, but I rarely really care _exactly_ what my speed is at any given moment, and the Forerunner provides plenty of accuracy and temporal resolution for my needs.

My favorite feature is the ability to "race against yourself": I have programmed in a few standard courses, so when I go out for a run or a ride I can compare my current performance to my previous one: "at this point in the ride, I'm 67 feet behind where I was last time." This is a great motivator, especially when I'm just not in the mood to go hard: I can't stand gradually (or quickly) falling behind my previous pace, which after all I know is within my power, so I push harder. I really like this feature.

I also like the ability to customize the various displays. For running, I like to see lap time, lap distance, and heart rate on my main screen; for biking, I like current speed, lap distance, and heart rate. On the secondary and tertiary screens (selected by a single button push), I display total time, total distance, average heart rate, and so on (up to 4 variables per screen).

Uploading the data to a computer is a snap, and although I don't do any sophisticated analyses I do like to look at my heart rate versus time (for example) to see how much time I spent at various heart rates, and how the tough sections matched up to my location on the course.

There are a few limitations, though. (1) The GPS accuracy for elevation does not seem to be sufficient to give a reliable estimate of grade (i.e. slope), at least not enough to be useful in the course of a bike ride. I had hoped to gradually learn to recognize different slopes and what they mean to me in terms of effort, but in fact the gizmo sometimes says I'm going slightly uphill when I am going slightly downhill, and such. It's fine for things like total elevation gain, but not accurate enough on a second-by-second basis to be useful for grade. (2) The GPS accuracy for horizontal distance isn't good enough to free me from the track for sprints. From my experience, on my track a lap can be measured as anywhere between 390 meters and 440 meters, which gives an impression of the level of accuracy. For a longish course, the distance will be accurate (or pretty accurate) because errors will cancel out over time, but if you are just out for a jog (not on a track) and want to do a 200 meter sprint, and you aren't willing to tolerate a 5% or 10% distance error, then this isn't going to do it for you. But that 10 or 20 meter error is utterly trivial if you're running a mile or a few miles, so for most circumstances this is not a problem.

The computer software that comes with the Forerunner is pretty rudimentary. It allows you to display heart rate as a function of time, speed as a function of time, distance as a function of time, or anything else as a function of speed, but not (for example) heart rate as a function of distance or heart rate as a function of speed. (When you choose to see "speed versus distance", it overlays a plot of distance versus time on a plot of speed versus time). It also makes odd choices for plot intervals, so each tick mark might represent 53 feet or some other inconvenient interval. And the maps included with the program show only the really major roads, so most of my road rides and all of my off-road runs just show a bunch of points off in the middle of white space. There are online services that remedy this, so that one can see a route overlain on a detailed map or satellite photo and such, but these cost extra.

There is lots of room for improvement in the included software, and the inherent GPS limitations might sometimes cause problems, so I'm not quite giving this product the highest possible ranking. But it's very good.

As a woman runner, I found the 305 a bit bulky for my wrist. It was bigger than I imagined it would be from the photo on the box, and from reading other reviews. This thing is definitely bigger than a regular sports watch. Also, the flat underside part of the watch has a distinct "v-shaped" angle (where it is designed to rest on the charger), which makes it sit on my wrist a little awkwardly, facing slightly more toward the ground than toward my body (I keep feeling like I need to twist it so I can see the watch face better).

However, when looking at the overall size and mechanics of this thing, I always have to keep in mind that it has GPS capabilities, which I suppose isn't something Garmin has been able to make "lady-sized" and compact... yet. But I'll definitely be interested in an upgrade when they do!

I love that I can monitor my running pace with this watch, and the "virtual running partner" function is great. I have trouble motivating myself to run sometimes, and this helps a lot. The heart rate monitor also keeps me from "cheating" and exercising at a lower level than I could be.

I haven't had much trouble with the GPS finding satellites, though a couple of times it took over a minute for the satellites to be located. Not sure if it was clouds, or if the location was at the edge of a "dead spot." In any case, both times this happened, the watch eventually came online, after some prolonged waiting.

As far as monitoring your running pace goes, it seems like there is a slight "lag" between what the watch displays as your running pace and what you are actually running, but the delay doesn't seem too bad to me. I am mostly interested in my overall average running pace at the end of my run, anyway.

Overall, I am very happy that I bought this. I feel that it is really helping me monitor my progress and performance in my half-marathon training program.

Garmin has released Training Mgr for Macintosh as of Feb 2007. Works on intel and non-intel macs running OSX.

I got this critter for Christmas, having asked for it, and am increasingly impressed as time goes by.

Yes, you have to take a minute or so to allow the GPSr to aquire the sats but it is a GPS accruate receiver. Hello? I find that I turn it on and set it on my car or nearby while I do a little pre-stretch or get my iPod ready to go and it's ready when I am.

I've been through the manual and still find new cool stuff. Admittedly a Tri geek, I like all the available data. The functionality of the training software that comes with the unit is great. All the info I want is dumped onto the computer. Graphs, averages, elevations, HR, Speed, Pace, Cadence(extra sensor), etc. Set up courses you do and race yourself. Multisport capability during the same workout for triathletes. I could go on and on.

I am doing the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon in June and found the run and bike courses available for download on their site right to my computer and the F305. I can see the course and especially the elevation changes. Cool. I love this thing and it seems to be accurate as well. I've been using the Timex bodylink and will definately stay with the F305.

My only minor complaint so far, I'd like a wrist mount that would stay put when I rotate the unit on my wrist for the bike part of races. Like I said, very minor. Highly reccommended.

What a deal...I was concerned about how low the price was...but everything works as the much as the pricy one in the store. Delivered fast..and as promised! A runner.

Just purchased the FR 305 last week and have done 10 runs on it so far. I must say I was skeptical after reading many of the negative reviews, but this product has performed nearly flawless. The thing you MUST do prior to using it the first time is go to the Garmin website and download the latest firmware, unit software, USB drivers, and Training Center update. I did these before I even charged the unit and it has performed great.

I'm not sure if the new firmware and software updates fixed problems people were having, but my heartrate was spot-on, my elevation in my area of Alabama was VERY close (not exact by any stretch, but within 25-50 ft of nearby benchmarks), and the satellite lock-on and reception has been PERFECT (even with 2 runs in a wooded area of pine and hardwoods).

The pace issue people were having is still there, but mine was way less of an issue than others. My fluctuations only ranged about 1:00 or less and my overall average pace at the end of the runs was fairly close to my estimate (I'm a 7:00/mile runner, and the FR 305 was showing anywhere from 7:00/mile to 8:30/mile averages--not bad).

As for the "gold" contacts on the back of the unit, if you just make sure you clean them after each workout and dry them off well before placing on the USB charger, there are no corrosion issues (so far).

The only negative item I can think of is the overall size of the display screen--it's a little difficult to gauge your data when running because of the small font and numbers. However, I think Garmin did the best they could considering they had to pack a lot of nice features in a wearable GPS system.

Overall, my experience with the FR 305 has been outstanding and the item does exactly what it is supposed to as long as you follow the manual, update all firmware and software, and clean the unit as per the manual.

Good luck and keep running.