Runner Puts Garmin Forerunner 305 Through Its Paces in Kenya and Spain

The Weekend Edition of The Wall Street Journal contained an interesting review of the Garmin Forerunner 305 and the MotionLingo Adeo. The author, Mark Schoofs took these fitness gadgets with him on trips to Kenya and Spain to help assess his level of exertion while running on widely varying terrain and conditions. This is a perfect way to use a fitness monitoring gadget.

I've owned a Garmin Forerunner 201 since 2004. This is a sturdy, well-designed unit that I think is made to be mounted to the handlebars of a bicycle. (See Dave's Cycling Dashboard.) Of the two gadgets that Schoofs reviewed, I would have expected that he'd prefer the Forerunner, which turned out to be the case.

The MotionLingo Adeo is a truly off-beat device. You wear it around your waist, and it plugs into your iPod so it can announce over your headphones how far and fast you've run. Think of it as a GPS device that plays a similar role to the Nike + iPod Sport Kit. Comparing the Adeo to the Forerunner, Schoofs said, "... {The} Garmin seems simpler {than the Adeo}. Adeo's belt clip wasn't always secure, and the device occasionally bounced out and fell. With the Garmin, I can see my pace whenever I want, not only when the preprogrammed voice decides to chime in. And I'm free from the earphone wire."

I've had a couple of devices like the MotionLingo Adeo, and I applaud MotionLingo for producing a ground-breaking product. But I'm not sure to whom I'd recommend the Adeo at this point. But the Garmin Forerunner 305 is a worthy training companion to the runner, cyclist, or multisport athlete.

I prefer a non-GPS device as my primary fitness monitor, but that's because so much of my exercise activity is inside of ice arenas where GPS is useless. If you are more of a year-round outdoor exerciser than I am, I'd strongly recommend the Forerunner 305