Our best and brightest running smartwatches

• Bright 1.4-inch AMOLED display
• Up to 26 hours of battery life in GPS mode
• Premium training and recovery features
• Built-in maps with SatIQ™ technology and multi-band GPS technology
• Lightweight titanium frame and durable sapphire glass
• Built-in LED light

Running efficiency

Measure your overall energy efficiency while running – using running power, stride length, and ground contact time balance that shows how much you slow down when your foot hits the ground – when you pair your watch with the HRM 600 heart rate sensor (sold separately).

Running tolerance

Better understand the impact each run has on your body and receive recommended weekly maximum mileage to continue training effectively without overloading.

Color maps

Whether you run city streets or ride trails covered in lush greenery, the Forerunner 970 smartwatch offers built-in color mapping – now more dynamic, intuitive, and easier to follow.

Adaptive training plans with Garmin Coach

Train for an event, reach a goal, or improve your fitness with Garmin Coach training plans for running, triathlon, cycling, or strength. Selected plans change daily for personalized workouts based on your performance, recovery, and health data.

Training readiness

From the moment you wake up, receive a readiness score based on sleep quality, recovery, training load, and other data, so you can determine if it’s a good day for hard training or to ease off.

Built-in speaker and microphone

When paired with your smartphone, you can make and receive calls via the watch. Plus, control watch functions with voice commands – or respond to text messages using your smartphone’s voice assistant, and much more.

Planning

Morning report

Review customizable data about your sleep, training, heart rate variability status, weather conditions, and many other features as soon as you wake up¹.

Evening report

Prepare for tomorrow before going to bed with reminders about needed sleep, tomorrow’s training, weather forecast, and events.

Turn-by-turn directions

Create or find existing routes in the Garmin Connect™ app or sync them from third-party platforms and get turn-by-turn directions.

Dynamic round-trip route creation

Enter the distance you want to cover and receive suggested routes that will bring you back. If you leave the route, your watch will map a new path reaching the same distance.

Training status

With indicators like heart rate variability (HRV) status, your recent exercise history, and maximum VO2, get a simple insight into your training effectiveness – and learn if you are training productively, at your peak, or under strain.

Recommended exercises of the day

Access personalized workouts. They change after each run to match your performance and recovery.

During recovery

Find out how long you need to recover before the next hard workout based on your last training session.

Body Battery™ energy monitoring

Track your body’s energy level to find the best time for activity and rest¹.

Sleep coach

Receive a sleep score and personalized training for the needed amount of sleep. Track sleep stages and get insights to sleep better and more effectively¹.

Nap detection

Automatically track or log your naps and gain insights into the benefits for your body with review and further nap duration recommendations.

Heart rate variability status

Gain deeper insight into your overall health, stress, and recovery through heart rate variability while you sleep.

Garmin ECG app

The ECG app² uses sensors to record electrical signals controlling your heartbeat. It analyzes the recording looking for signs of irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation (AFib).

Skin temperature

When you wear the watch during sleep, see how your average skin temperature¹ changes. These changes can be related to recent activity, sleeping environment, potential illness, and other causes.

Menstrual tracking

Track your menstrual cycle or pregnancy and receive exercise and nutrition advice. With skin temperature tracking while you sleep, get better predictions of menstruation and earlier estimates of ovulation³.

Race prediction

Access an estimate of your pace for 5K, 10K, half marathon, and marathon if you were to run today.

Predicted race time

This race time prediction shows the race time and pace you can achieve if you continue training well up to the entered race date.

Preparation

Wrist running dynamics

This smartwatch measures key running parameters such as cadence, stride length, ground contact time, and other data.

Stride length loss

Improve your running fitness and understand how much you slow down when your foot hits the ground by pairing your watch with the HRM 600 heart rate sensor (sold separately).

Wrist heart rate measurement

The watch continuously measures your heart rate to track your effort during activities¹.

Multisport workouts

Create customized step-by-step multisport workouts in the Garmin Connect app and send them to your watch for seamless switching between different sport types.

Climb score

Measure your uphill running ability and track progress over time based on maximum VO2 and training history.

Endurance score

This feature measures your ability to sustain prolonged efforts to understand how your training affects your overall endurance.

Acute load

Compare recent training load with the optimal range to improve fitness.

Load ratio

Track short-term and medium-term load ratios to keep your training ramp rate within limits that help you stay healthy and avoid setbacks.

Performance condition

While running, analyze your pace and heart rate to assess real-time performance fitness.

Maximum VO2

See your current fitness level and track changes over time to set goals, evaluate progress, and more.

Stress tracking

Learn if you are experiencing a calm, balanced, or stressful day.

Training effect

Find out how exercise impacts your endurance, speed, and strength.

Health snapshot

Record a two-minute session to log key health stats, then generate a report you can share with your doctor.

Pulse oximeter sensor

Monitor your blood oxygen saturation while awake or asleep⁴.

Cross-training

Download free HIIT workouts, strength exercises, cardio workouts, yoga, pilates, and mobility exercises to change up how you sweat.

Performance

Triathlon and multisport profiles

Automatically record split times with built-in profiles for triathlon, duathlon, combo workouts, and swim/run, or create your own profile.

Wrist running power

See how much power you transfer to the track or road to manage effort and precisely adjust your training.

SATIQ technology and multi-band GPS

Enjoy the benefits of premium positioning and optimized battery life.

PacePro™ pacing strategies

Plan your race day strategy with GPS-guided pacing for your chosen course or distance.

Track running

Your watch will record accurate lap distances in meters on tracks worldwide.

ClimbPro

View data on current and upcoming climbs in real time.

Real-time endurance

Use this data as a guide to achieve your best performance and manage effort.

Upcoming

See relevant stops along your preloaded course at a glance, including aid stations.

Auto Lap® segment measurement

When following a course, your watch will recognize when you pass a mile or kilometer mark on the track and trigger automatic laps there instead of GPS-based miles or kilometers.

Suggested target

If you have a preloaded course for your race, your watch can suggest trimming your data to the finish if you forget to stop the timer.

Built-in sports apps

Take advantage of more than 30 built-in activities, including cycling, open water swimming, strength training, and much more.

Connectivity

Music

Download songs and playlists from your Spotify or Deezer accounts to listen to music without your phone.

Safety and tracking

If you feel unsafe or your watch detects an incident, it will send a message with your real-time location⁵.

Garmin Pay™ contactless payment

Skip checkout lines in stores or at select public transit systems supported by participating providers.

Smart notifications

Receive emails, messages, and alerts on your watch when paired with an iPhone^® or Android™ smartphone.

LiveTrack

Friends and family can follow your real-time location⁵ and view your preplanned routes.

Garmin Connect

View health and fitness information, connect with friends, and much more.

Connect IQ™ Store

Add watch faces, data fields, and apps to your paired watch.

Garmin Share

Sync with friends by sharing saved locations, routes, and workouts with other compatible nearby devices.

¹ activity tracking.   
²The ECG app is a class II.a medical device according to the European Union Medical Device Regulation (MDR) (EU) 2017/745. The ECG app can record an ECG similar to a standard single-lead ECG and can detect the presence of atrial fibrillation or normal sinus rhythm. The ECG app is intended exclusively for people over 22 years old. Always follow the instructions for use. The ECG app is not available in all regions and is only available on selected Garmin smartwatches with the latest version of the Garmin Connect smartphone app and watch software. Visit Garmin.com/ECG for availability information and full instructions for use.   
³The menstrual cycle tracking feature should not be used to support conception, contraception, or contraceptive methods. This device is not a medical device and is not intended for diagnostic use or monitoring medical conditions.   
⁴This device is not a medical device and is not intended for use in diagnosing or monitoring medical conditions; see Garmin.com/ataccuracy. The pulse oximeter is not available in all countries.   
⁵When the watch is paired with a compatible smartphone. For additional details on safety and tracking feature requirements and limitations, see Garmin.com/safety.

Specifications:

In the box:

• Forerunner 970 GPS running watch
• Charging cable
• Documentation