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Garmin Running Watch FAQ | Forerunner 45, 55, 245, 745, 945

Everything You Want to Know About the Garmin Forerunner Running Watch Lineup!

We've created the ultimate Garmin Forerunner GPS running watch FAQ for runners of all skill levels. Every runner is different with their own unique reasons to run. That's what Garmin keeps in mind on their ever-evolving quest to design, improve, and update their running watches with reliable features and form factor for specific types of runners. From the easy-to-use GPS trainer to running watches with on-board music storage and even triathlon-friendly powerhouses that offer advanced performance metrics, the PlayBetter Running Store has a Garmin training partner that’s right and ready for your wrist. Read on to find out all the specifics on this impressive variety of running watches and get the answers you need so that you can get on to your next run!

 


Garmin Forerunner 45/45S FAQs

What's the difference between the Forerunner 45 and the 45S?

The differences between the Forerunner 45 and 45S running watch models are size and color options.

Forerunner 45 Size/Color Options

Display: 1.04" (26.3 mm) diameter

Physical Size: 39.5 x 39.5 x 11.4 mm

Fits wrists with a circumference of 124-185 mm

Weight: 32 g

Color Options: Iris, White, and Black

Forerunner 45S Size/Color Options

Display: 1.04" (26.3 mm) diameter

Physical Size: 42 x 42 x 11.4 mm

Fits wrists with a circumference of 129-197 mm

Weight: 36 g

Color Options: Black and Lava Red

What materials is the Garmin Forerunner 45/45S made of?

Lens:  chemically strengthened glass

Strap:  silicone

What type of display does the Forerunner 45/45S have? 

sunlight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP)

Does the Forerunner 45/45S have a touchscreen?

No

Does the Garmin Forerunner 45 series have a color display?

Yes

What Is the display resolution of the Forerunner 45/45S?

208 x 208 pixels

How much battery power does the Garmin Forerunner 45/45S running watch have?

Both models have up to 7 days in smartwatch mode and up to 13 hours in GPS mode.

Are the Garmin Forerunner 45 running watch models water resistant?

Yes, both are rated to 5 ATM which means they can withstand pressures equivalent to a depth of 50 meters and are resistant to splashes, rain or snow, showering, swimming, diving into water, snorkeling.

How much memory/history storage does my Forerunner 45/45S watch have?

200 hours of activity data.

What health monitoring features does the Forerunner 45 series include?

  • wrist-based heart rate
  • daily resting heart rate
  • abnormal heart rate alerts, high and low
  • fitness age (in app)
  • Body Battery™ energy monitor
  • all-day stress
  • relaxation breathing timer
  • advanced sleep monitoring

What is Fitness Age?

The Garmin Forerunner 45/45S GPS running watch gives you access to Fitness Age in the Garmin Connect app ™ which reinterprets your VO2 Max score in terms of age to make it more relatable by estimating the body’s age using chronological age, activity, resting heart rate, and either body fat % or BMI.

What is the Body Battery energy monitor?

This Garmin-specific feature allows you to track your body’s energy levels so you can find the best times for activity and rest.

Does the Garmin Forerunner 45/45S have GPS?

Yes. In fact, the Forerunner 45 has access to multiple global satellite systems for more reliable tracking, including sensors for GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo.

What other sensors does the Forerunner 45/45S have?

The Garmin Elevate heart rate sensor and an accelerometer.

What activity tracking features does the Garmin Forerunner 45 series offer?

Step counter, move bar (after a period of inactivity), auto goal (learns your activity and sets daily goal), calories burned, distance traveled, intensity minutes, Trueup™ (lets you switch between compatible devices* and keeps your data in sync), Move IQ™ (automatically detects familiar exercise events and displays it in your timeline).

What kind of gym activity profiles are available with the Forerunner 45/45S?

Cardio and elliptical training, stair stepping, and yoga (added through app)

Does the Garmin Forerunner 45/45S basic running watch come with training and analysis features?

Yes! They include:

  • HR Zones
  • HR Alerts
  • HR Calories
  • HR Broadcast (broadcasts over ANT+ to paired device)
  • GPS speed and distance
  • Customized data pages
  • Customizable activity profiles
  • Auto Pause®
  • Interval training
  • Advanced workouts
  • Downloadable training plans
  • Auto Lap®
  • Manual Lap
  • VO2 Max (run)
  • Touch and/or button lock
  • Audio prompt
  • Activity history on watch
  • Physio Trueup

What running features are included in the Forerunner 45 series?

Profiles for running, indoor track running, and treadmill running can be added from the app; GPS-based distance, time, and pace; cadence (real-time # of steps per minute); run workouts; foot pod capability.

Does the Garmin Forerunner 45/45S running watch come with any cycling features?

Yes. Biking and indoor biking profiles can be added through the app. It also has speed and cadence sensor support.

What daily smart features does the Forerunner 45/45S offer?

  • Connectivity
  • Download watch faces, data fields, widgets, and apps with Connect IQ.
  • Smart notifications
  • Weather
  • Calendar
  • Controls smartphone music
  • Find My Phone feature
  • Find My Watch feature
  • Smartphone compatibility (iOS and Android)
  • Pairs with Garmin Connect mobile

What safety and tracking features are available with this GPS running watch?

  • LiveTrack
  • Live event sharing (Android only)
  • Incident Detection during select activities
  • Assistance

What is LiveTrack?

LiveTrack, included on your Forerunner running smartwatch, is a Garmin safety and connectivity feature that creates a real-time view of your location during an activity, so friends and family can follow along.

What is Incident Detection?

Incident Detection is a safety feature that enables, if an incident occurs, the Garmin Connect app on your paired smartphone to send an automated text message and email with your name and GPS location to up to three of your emergency contacts. Incident Detection is included on all Garmin Forerunner GPS running watches.

What is Assistance

If anything should happen when you're on the go, activating the assistance feature will discreetly send a message with your real-time location to your preloaded chosen contacts, making it easier for help to find you. This feature comes with Garmin Forerunner watches.


Garmin Forerunner 55 FAQs

How is the Garmin Forerunner 55 running watch different from the Garmin 45/45S?

The Garmin Forerunner 55 has:

  • New running features: PacePro, Daily Suggested Workouts, Track Mode, and Virtual Run Mode
  • New ways to time your run: Finish Time Estimator predicts your finish for a given distance and Race Predictor shows 5K/10K/Half-marathon/Marathon times based on your performance.
  • Recovery Advisor: After each workout, the built-in recovery time feature lets you know how many hours to rest before another big effort.
  • Women's Health Tracking
  • More Sports Modes: pool swimming, pilates, and HIIT
  • Respiration Tracking
  • More customization: Customize lap banners and auto pause thresholds on your Forerunner 55.
  • Increased Battery Life: Garmin Significantly increased Forerunner 55's battery life from 1 to 2 weeks in smartwatch mode and from 13 hours to 20 hours in GPS mode.

What are the size options of the Garmin Forerunner 55?

The Forerunner 55 running GPS watch comes in one size:

Display: 1.04" (26.3 mm) diameter

Physical Size: 42 x 42 x 11.6 mm

Fits wrists with a circumference of 126-203 mm

Weight: 37 g

What colors are available with the Forerunner 55?

White, Black, and Aqua

What materials is the Garmin Forerunner 55 made of?

Same as the Forerunner 45/45S:

Lens:  chemically strengthened glass

Strap:  silicone

What type of display does the Forerunner 55 running smartwatch have? 

sunlight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP)

Does the Forerunner 55 have a touchscreen?

No

Does the Garmin Forerunner 55 have a color display?

Yes

What Is the display resolution of the Forerunner 55?

208 x 208 pixels

How much battery power does the Garmin Forerunner 55 running watch have?

Smartwatch Mode: Up to 2 weeks
GPS mode: Up to 20 hours

Is the Garmin Forerunner 55 running watch water resistant?

Yes, both are rated to 5 ATM which means they can withstand pressures equivalent to a depth of 50 meters and are resistant to splashes, rain or snow, showering, swimming, diving into water, snorkeling.

How much memory/history storage does my Forerunner 55 watch have?

200 hours of activity data.

What health monitoring features does the Forerunner 55 running watch include?

  • wrist-based heart rate
  • daily resting heart rate
  • abnormal heart rate alerts, high and low
  • respiration rate (24/7)
  • fitness age
  • Body Battery™ energy monitor
  • all-day stress
  • relaxation breathing timer
  • advanced sleep monitoring
  • hydration
  • Women's health monitoring
  •  

What is Fitness Age?

The Garmin Forerunner 45/45S GPS running watch gives you access to Fitness Age in the Garmin Connect app ™ which reinterprets your VO2 Max score in terms of age to make it more relatable by estimating the body’s age using chronological age, activity, resting heart rate, and either body fat % or BMI.

What is the Body Battery energy monitor?

This Garmin-specific feature allows you to track your body’s energy levels so you can find the best times for activity and rest.

Does the Garmin Forerunner 55 smartwatch have GPS?

Yes. In fact, the Forerunner 55 has access to multiple global satellite systems for more reliable tracking, including sensors for GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo.

What other sensors does the Forerunner 55 have?

The Garmin Elevate heart rate sensor and an accelerometer.

What activity tracking features does the Garmin Forerunner 55 offer?

Step counter, move bar (after a period of inactivity), auto goal (learns your activity and sets daily goal), calories burned, distance traveled, intensity minutes, Trueup™ (lets you switch between compatible devices* and keeps your data in sync), Move IQ™ (automatically detects familiar exercise events and displays it in your timeline).

What kind of gym activity profiles are available with the Forerunner 55?

Cardio and elliptical training, stair stepping, HIIT, Pilates, and yoga

Does the Garmin Forerunner 55 running smartwatch come with training and analysis features?

Yes! They include:

  • HR Zones
  • HR Alerts
  • HR Calories
  • HR Broadcast (broadcasts over ANT+ to paired device)
  • Auto Max HR
  • Recovery Time
  • Respiration Rate (during exercise)
  • GPS speed and distance
  • Garmin Coach
  • Customized data pages
  • Customizable activity profiles
  • Auto Pause®
  • Interval training
  • Advanced workouts
  • Downloadable training plans
  • Auto Lap®
  • Manual Lap
  • Configurable lap alerts
  • Improved recovery time
  • VO2 Max (run)
  • Touch and/or button lock
  • Audio prompt
  • Activity history on watch
  • Finish Time
  • Physio Trueup

What running features are included in the Forerunner 55 GPS running watch?

Profiles for running, indoor track running, treadmill running, and virtual running; GPS-based distance, time, and pace; cadence (real-time # of steps per minute); PacePro pacing strategies; run workouts; Race Predictor; foot pod capability.

Does the Garmin Forerunner 55 running watch come with any cycling features?

Yes. Biking and indoor biking profiles can be added through the app. It also has speed and cadence sensor support.

Are there any outdoor recreation features with the Forerunner 55 GPS smartwatch?

Garmin Forerunner 55 includes area calculation, hunt/fish calendar, and sun and moon information.

Does the Forerunner 55 offer swimming features?

Yes! It has a profile and metrics for pool swimming. It also has stroke type detection, drill logging, a basic rest timer (up from 0), repeat on rest timer, auto rest, time and distance alerts, countdown start, and underwater wrist-based heart rate.

What daily smart features does the Forerunner 55 offer?

  • Connectivity
  • Download watch faces, data fields, widgets, and apps with Connect IQ.
  • Smart notifications
  • Weather
  • Calendar
  • Controls smartphone music
  • Find My Phone feature
  • Find My Watch feature
  • Smartphone compatibility (iOS and Android)
  • Pairs with Garmin Connect mobile

What safety and tracking features are available with this GPS running watch?

  • LiveTrack
  • Live event sharing (Android only)
  • Incident Detection during select activities
  • Assistance

What is LiveTrack?

LiveTrack, included on your Forerunner running smartwatch, is a Garmin safety and connectivity feature that creates a real-time view of your location during an activity, so friends and family can follow along.

What is Incident Detection?

Incident Detection is a safety feature that enables, if an incident occurs, the Garmin Connect app on your paired smartphone to send an automated text message and email with your name and GPS location to up to three of your emergency contacts. Incident Detection is included on all Garmin Forerunner GPS running watches.

What is Assistance?

If anything should happen when you're on the go, activating the assistance feature will discreetly send a message with your real-time location to your preloaded chosen contacts, making it easier for help to find you. This feature comes with Garmin Forerunner watches.


Garmin Forerunner 245/245 Music GPS Running Watch FAQs

What's the difference between the Forerunner 245 and the 245 Music?

The Garmin Forerunner 245 Music running watch controls smartphone music, plays and controls watch music, and store up to 500 songs.

The Forerunner 245 can only control smartphone music.

The Forerunner 245 Music is $50 more than the regular 245 running watch without music.

What materials is the Garmin Forerunner 245/245 Music made of?

Lens: Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3

Bezel: fiber-reinforced polymer

Strap:  silicone

What type of display does the Forerunner 245 have? 

sunlight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP)

Does the Forerunner 245/245 Music have a touchscreen?

No

Does the Garmin Forerunner 245 series have a color display?

Yes

What Is the display resolution of the Forerunner 245/245 Music?

240 x 240 pixels

How much battery power does the Garmin Forerunner 245 running watch have?

Smartwatch Mode: Up to 7 days
GPS mode with music: Up to 6 hours
GPS mode without music: Up to 24 hours

Are the Garmin Forerunner 245 running watch models water resistant?

Yes, both are rated to 5 ATM which means they can withstand pressures equivalent to a depth of 50 meters and are resistant to splashes, rain or snow, showering, swimming, diving into water, snorkeling.

How much memory/history storage does my Forerunner 245 watch have?

200 hours of activity data.

What health monitoring features does the Forerunner 245 series include?

  • wrist-based heart rate
  • daily resting heart rate
  • abnormal heart rate alerts, high and low
  • Pulse Ox blood saturation (spot-checked and optionally in sleep)
  • fitness age (in app)
  • Body Battery™ energy monitor
  • all-day stress
  • relaxation breathing timer
  • advanced sleep monitoring
  • hydration
  • Women's Health monitoring

What is Fitness Age?

The Garmin Forerunner 245 GPS running watch gives you access to Fitness Age in the Garmin Connect app ™ which reinterprets your VO2 Max score in terms of age to make it more relatable by estimating the body’s age using chronological age, activity, resting heart rate, and either body fat % or BMI.

What is the Body Battery energy monitor?

This Garmin-specific feature allows you to track your body’s energy levels so you can find the best times for activity and rest.

Does the Garmin Forerunner 245 running watch have GPS?

Yes. In fact, the Forerunner 245/245 Music has access to multiple global satellite systems for more reliable tracking, including sensors for GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo.

What other sensors does the Forerunner 245 have?

The Garmin Elevate heart rate sensor, compass, Pulse Ox blood saturation sensor, and an accelerometer.

What activity tracking features does the Garmin Forerunner 245 series offer?

Step counter, move bar (after a period of inactivity), auto goal (learns your activity and sets daily goal), calories burned, distance traveled, intensity minutes, Trueup™ (lets you switch between compatible devices* and keeps your data in sync), Move IQ™ (automatically detects familiar exercise events and displays it in your timeline), and the Garmin Connect™ Challenges App.

What kind of gym activity profiles are available with the Forerunner 245?

Cardio and elliptical training, strength, indoor rowing, stair stepping, and yoga (added through app).

Does the Garmin Forerunner 245 basic running GPS watch come with training and analysis features?

Yes! They include:

  • HR Zones
  • HR Alerts
  • HR Calories
  • % HR Max
  • %HRR
  • Recovery Time
  • Auto Max HR
  • HR Broadcast (broadcasts over ANT+ to paired device)
  • GPS speed and distance
  • Garmin Coach
  • Customized data pages
  • Customizable activity profiles
  • Auto Pause®
  • Interval training
  • Advanced workouts
  • Downloadable training plans
  • Auto Lap®
  • Manual Lap
  • Configurable lap alerts
  • VO2 Max (run)
  • Training status (lets you see if you're training effectively by tracking your training history and fitness level trend)
  • Training Load (your total training load from the last seven days calculated from estimated EPOC)
  • Training Effect
  • Training Effect (anaerobic)
  • Custom alerts
  • Finish Time
  • Virtual Partner
  • Race an Activity
  • Course Guidance
  • Touch and/or button lock
  • Audio prompts
  • Auto Scroll
  • Activity history on watch
  • Physio Trueup

What running features are included in the Forerunner 245 series?

  • Profiles for running, indoor and outdoor track running, treadmill running, trail running, virtual running
  • GPS-based distance, time, and pace
  • Running dynamics
  • Vertical oscillation and ratio (the degree of bounce in your running motion and the cost benefit ratio with stride length)
  • Ground contact time and balance (shows how much time, in the running motion, your foot is on the ground rather than in flight and lets you check your running symmetry)
  • Stride length (real time)
  • Performance condition (after running 6-20 minutes, compares your real-time condition to your actual fitness level)
  • PacePro pacing strategies
  • Race Predictor
  • Cadence (real-time # of steps per minute)
  • Run workouts
  • Foot pod capability

Does the Garmin Forerunner 245 running smartwatch come with any cycling features?

Yes. These include biking and indoor biking profiles, courses, Race an Activity, compatibility with Varia products, and speed and cadence sensor support.

What daily smart features does the Forerunner 245 offer?

  • Connectivity with Bluetooth®, ANT+®, Wi-Fi®
  • Download watch faces, data fields, widgets, and apps with Connect IQ.
  • Smart notifications
  • Weather
  • Calendar
  • Controls smartphone music
  • Find My Phone feature
  • Find My Watch feature
  • VIRB® remote
  • Smartphone compatibility (iOS and Android)
  • Pairs with Garmin Connect mobile

What safety and tracking features are available with this GPS running watch?

  • LiveTrack
  • Live event sharing (Android only)
  • Incident Detection during select activities
  • Assistance

What is LiveTrack?

LiveTrack, included on your Forerunner running smartwatch, is a Garmin safety and connectivity feature that creates a real-time view of your location during an activity, so friends and family can follow along.

What is Incident Detection?

Incident Detection is a safety feature that enables, if an incident occurs, the Garmin Connect app on your paired smartphone to send an automated text message and email with your name and GPS location to up to three of your emergency contacts. Incident Detection is included on all Garmin Forerunner GPS running watches.

What is Assistance?

If anything should happen when you're on the go, activating the assistance feature will discreetly send a message with your real-time location to your preloaded chosen contacts, making it easier for help to find you. This feature comes with Garmin Forerunner watches.

What colors are available with the Forerunner 245/245 Music?

The Garmin Forerunner 245: Black, White, and Aqua

The Garmin Forerunner 245 Music: Slate Gray and Berry

Does the Forerunner 245/245 Music running watch have swimming features?

Yes, this premium running GPS watch has the following swim features:

  • A profile and metrics for pool swimming
  • Stroke type detection
  • Drill logging
  • A basic rest timer (up from 0)
  • Repeat on rest timer
  • Auto rest, time and distance alerts
  • Pool swim workouts
  • Countdown start
  • Underwater wrist-based heart rate

What outdoor recreation features does the Garmin Forerunner 245 have?

  • Point-to-point navigation
  • Bread crumb trail in real time
  • Back to start
  • TracBack
  • UltraTrac mode
  • Distance to destination
  • GPS Coordinates

Garmin Forerunner 745 Advanced Running and Triathlon Watch FAQs

What's different about the Forerunner 745 ?

The Garmin Forerunner 745 has added features such as:

  • More battery life
  • A barometric altimeter and gyroscope
  • Garmin Pay
  • Music storage; music play and control on the watch
  • Group LiveTrack, dual grid coordinates
  • Floor climbing added to gym profiles
  • Cardio, strength, pilates, and yoga workouts
  • Automatic rep counting
  • HRV stress test (Measures your heart rate variability while standing still, for 3 minutes, to provide you with an estimated stress level, the scale of this is 1 to 100; low scores indicate lower stress levels)
  • heat and altitude acclimation
  • Garmin Live Segments
  • Strava Live Segments
  • Round-trip course creator (running/cycling)
  • Trendline™ poularity routing
  • Lactate Threshold (through analysis of your pace and heart rate, estimates the point where your muscles start to rapidly fatigue)
  • Outdoor recreation profiles: Hiking, Skiing, Snowboarding, Backcountry Skiing, XC Classic and Skate Skiing, Stand up Paddleboarding, Kayaking, Rowing
  • Point-to-point navigation
  • Bread crumb trail in real time
  • Back to start
  • TracBack®
  • UltraTrac™ mode
  • Elevation Profile
  • ClimbPro™ Ascent planner
  • FTP (functional threshold power for cycling)
  • Power meter compatibility
  • Swimming: pace alerts, critical swim speed
  • Heart rate from HRM

What materials is the Garmin Forerunner 745 premium triathlon watch made of?

Lens: Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3

Bezel: fiber-reinforced polymer

Strap:  silicone

What is the size of the Forerunner 745? 

Display: 1.2" (30.4 mm) diameter

Physical:  43.8 x 43.8 x 13.3 mm

Fits wrists with a circumference of 126-216 mm

Weight: 47 g

What type of display does the Garmin Forerunner 745 have?

sunlight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP)

Does the Garmin Forerunner 745 series have a color display?

Yes

What Is the display resolution of the Forerunner 745 running and triathlon watch?

240 x 240 pixels

How much battery power does the Garmin Forerunner 745 running watch have?

Smartwatch mode: Up to 7 days
GPS mode with music: Up to 6 hours
GPS mode without music: Up to 16 hours
UltraTrac™ mode: Up to 21 hours

Is the Garmin Forerunner 745 running watch water resistant?

Yes, the Forerunner 745 rated to 5 ATM which means they can withstand pressures equivalent to a depth of 50 meters and are resistant to splashes, rain or snow, showering, swimming, diving into water, snorkeling.

How much memory/history storage does my Forerunner 745 watch have?

200 hours of activity data.

What health monitoring features does the Forerunner 745 series include?

  • wrist-based heart rate
  • daily resting heart rate
  • abnormal heart rate alerts, high and low
  • respiration rate (24/7)
  • Pulse Ox blood saturation (spot-checked and optionally in sleep)
  • Fitness Age (in app)
  • Body Battery™ energy monitor
  • all-day stress
  • relaxation breathing timer
  • advanced sleep monitoring
  • sleep score and insights
  • hydration
  • Women's Health monitoring

What is Fitness Age?

The Garmin Forerunner 745 GPS premium running watch gives you access to Fitness Age in the Garmin Connect app ™ which reinterprets your VO2 Max score in terms of age to make it more relatable by estimating the body’s age using chronological age, activity, resting heart rate, and either body fat % or BMI.

What is the Body Battery energy monitor?

This Garmin-specific feature allows you to track your body’s energy levels so you can find the best times for activity and rest.

Does the Garmin Forerunner 745 running watch have GPS?

Yes. In fact, the Forerunner 745 has access to multiple global satellite systems for more reliable tracking, including sensors for GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo.

What other sensors does the Forerunner 745 have?

The Garmin Elevate heart rate sensor, compass, Pulse Ox blood saturation sensor, barometric altimeter, gyroscope, thermometer, and an accelerometer.

What activity tracking features does the Garmin Forerunner 745 series offer?

Step counter, move bar (after a period of inactivity), auto goal (learns your activity and sets daily goal), calories burned, distance traveled, floors climbed, intensity minutes, Trueup™ (lets you switch between compatible devices* and keeps your data in sync), Move IQ™ (automatically detects familiar exercise events and displays it in your timeline), and the Garmin Connect™ Challenges App.

What kind of gym activity profiles are available with the Forerunner 745?

Cardio and elliptical training, strength, indoor rowing, floor climbing, stair stepping, Pilates, and yoga.

Does the Garmin Forerunner 745 basic running GPS watch come with training and analysis features?

Yes! They include:

  • HR Zones
  • HR Alerts
  • HR Calories
  • % HR Max
  • %HRR
  • Recovery Time
  • Auto Max HR
  • HRV stress test (Measures your heart rate variability while standing still, for 3 minutes, to provide you with an estimated stress level, the scale of this is 1 to 100; low scores indicate lower stress levels)
  • HR Broadcast (broadcasts over ANT+ to paired device)
  • GPS speed and distance
  • Customized data pages
  • Customizable activity profiles
  • Auto Pause®
  • Interval training
  • Advanced workouts
  • Downloadable training plans
  • Auto Lap®
  • Manual Lap
  • Configurable lap alerts
  • VO2 Max (run)
  • Training status (lets you see if you're training effectively by tracking your training history and fitness level trend)
  • Training Load (your total training load from the last seven days calculated from estimated EPOC)
  • Training Effect
  • Training Effect (anaerobic)
  • Primary Benefit (Training Effect labels)
  • Custom alerts
  • Finish Time
  • Virtual Partner
  • Garmin Live Segments
  • Strava Live Segments
  • Round-trip course creator (running/cycling)
  • Trendline™ polularity routing
  • Hot keys
  • Race an Activity
  • Course Guidance
  • Touch and/or button lock
  • Audio prompts
  • Auto Scroll
  • Activity history on watch
  • Physio Trueup

What running features are included in the Forerunner 745?

  • Profiles for running, indoor and outdoor track running, treadmill running, trail running, virtual running
  • GPS-based distance, time, and pace
  • Running dynamics
  • Vertical oscillation and ratio (the degree of bounce in your running motion and the cost benefit ratio with stride length)
  • Ground contact time and balance (shows how much time, in the running motion, your foot is on the ground rather than in flight and lets you check your running symmetry)
  • Stride length (real time)
  • Performance condition (after running 6-20 minutes, compares your real-time condition to your actual fitness level)
  • PacePro pacing strategies
  • Lactate Threshold (through analysis of your pace and heart rate, estimates the point where your muscles start to rapidly fatigue)
  • Race Predictor
  • Cadence (real-time # of steps per minute)
  • Run workouts
  • Foot pod capability

Does the Garmin Forerunner 745 running smartwatch come with any cycling features?

Yes. These include:

  • Biking, indoor biking, and mountain trail biking profiles
  • Courses
  • Bike lap and lap maximum power (with power sensors)
  • FTP (functional threshold power)
  • Compatibility with power meters
  • Race an Activity
  • Compatibility with Varia products
  • Speed and cadence sensor support

What daily smart features does the Forerunner 745 offer?

  • Connectivity with Bluetooth®, ANT+®, Wi-Fi®
  • Download watch faces, data fields, widgets, and apps with Connect IQ.
  • Smart notifications
  • Weather
  • Calendar
  • Controls smartphone music
  • Plays and controls watch music
  • Stores up to 500 songs
  • Find My Phone feature
  • Find My Watch feature
  • VIRB® remote
  • Smartphone compatibility (iOS and Android)
  • Pairs with Garmin Connect mobile
  • Garmin Pay

What safety and tracking features are available with this GPS running watch?

  • LiveTrack
  • Group LiveTrack
  • Live event sharing (Android only)
  • Incident Detection during select activities
  • Assistance

What is LiveTrack?

LiveTrack, included on your Forerunner running smartwatch, is a Garmin safety and connectivity feature that creates a real-time view of your location during an activity, so friends and family can follow along.

What is Incident Detection?

Incident Detection is a safety feature that enables, if an incident occurs, the Garmin Connect app on your paired smartphone to send an automated text message and email with your name and GPS location to up to three of your emergency contacts. Incident Detection is included on all Garmin Forerunner GPS running watches.

What is Assistance?

If anything should happen when you're on the go, activating the assistance feature will discreetly send a message with your real-time location to your preloaded chosen contacts, making it easier for help to find you. This feature comes with Garmin Forerunner watches.

What outdoor recreation features does the Garmin Forerunner 745 have?

  • Outdoor recreation profiles: Hiking, Skiing, Snowboarding, Backcountry Skiing, XC Classic and Skate Skiing, Stand up Paddleboarding, Kayaking, Rowing
  • Point-to-point navigation
  • Bread crumb trail in real time
  • Back to start
  • TracBack®
  • UltraTrac™ mode
  • Elevation Profile
  • ClimbPro™ Ascent planner
  • Distance to destination
  • Barometric trend indicator with storm alert
  • Trail run auto climb
  • Vertical speed
  • Total ascent/descent
  • Future elevation plot
  • GPS Coordinate
  • Area calculation
  • Hunt/fish calendar
  • Sun and moon information

Does the Forerunner 745 advanced running watch have swimming features?

Yes, this premium running and triathlon watch has the following swim features:

  • A profile and metrics for pool swimming
  • Stroke type detection
  • Drill logging
  • A basic rest timer (up from 0)
  • Repeat on rest timer
  • Time and distance alerts
  • Pacing alerts
  • Pool swim workouts
  • Critical swim speed
  • Auto rest, time and distance alerts
  • Countdown start
  • Underwater wrist-based heart rate
  • Heart rate with HRM strap

What colors are available with the Forerunner 745?

Black, Neo Tropic, Magma Red, and Whitestone


Garmin Forerunner 945/945 LTE FAQs

What's different between the Garmin 945 and the 945 LTE premium running watches?

The Forerunner 945 LTE is designed to allow athletes on the go to leave their phone at home. You can now opt for phone-free safety and tracking features, spectator messaging, and live event sharing while still getting the wealth of detailed training data, performance monitoring tools, and smartwatch features that this training watch is known for. Here are some of the details:

  • Assistance and incident detection features can send a message with your location to chosen emergency contacts if you or the Forerunner 945 LTE senses danger
  • The Forerunner 945 LTE can automatically send your name and location to the Garmin IERCC, a 24/7 staffed professional emergency response coordination center that can contact and coordinate with emergency services or others to provide assistance
  • LiveTrack lets family and friends follow along in real time and even see your entire preplanned course
  • During a race, your can send pace and mileage updates to loved ones and receive motivational audio and text messages from spectators
  • A subscription plan is required to use the LTE-connected features

What materials is the Garmin Forerunner 945/945 LTE premium running triathlon watch made of?

Lens: Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3

Bezel: fiber-reinforced polymer

Strap:  silicone

What is the size of the Forerunner 945? 

Display: 1.2" (30.4 mm) diameter

Physical:  47 x 47 x 13.7 mm

Fits wrists with a circumference of 130-220 mm

Weight: 50 g

What type of display does the Garmin Forerunner 945/945 LTE have?

sunlight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP)

Does the Garmin Forerunner 945 series have a color display?

Yes

What Is the display resolution of the Forerunner 945 running and triathlon watch?

240 x 240 pixels

How much battery power does the Garmin Forerunner 945/945 LTE running watch have?

Smartwatch Mode: Up to 2 weeks
GPS mode with music: Up to 10 hours
GPS mode without music: Up to 36 hours

Is the Garmin Forerunner 945 premium running watch water resistant?

Yes, the Forerunner 945 rated to 5 ATM which means they can withstand pressures equivalent to a depth of 50 meters and are resistant to splashes, rain or snow, showering, swimming, diving into water, snorkeling.

How much memory/history storage does my Forerunner 945 watch have?

200 hours of activity data.

What health monitoring features does the Forerunner 945 series include?

  • wrist-based heart rate
  • daily resting heart rate
  • abnormal heart rate alerts, high and low
  • respiration rate (24/7)
  • Pulse Ox blood saturation (spot-checked and optionally in sleep)
  • Fitness Age (in app)
  • Body Battery™ energy monitor
  • all-day stress
  • relaxation breathing timer
  • advanced sleep monitoring
  • sleep score and insights
  • hydration
  • Women's Health monitoring

What is Fitness Age?

The Garmin Forerunner 945 GPS running watch gives you access to Fitness Age in the Garmin Connect app ™ which reinterprets your VO2 Max score in terms of age to make it more relatable by estimating the body’s age using chronological age, activity, resting heart rate, and either body fat % or BMI.

What is the Body Battery energy monitor?

This Garmin-specific feature allows you to track your body’s energy levels so you can find the best times for activity and rest.

Does the Garmin Forerunner 945 running watch have GPS?

Yes. In fact, the Forerunner 945 has access to multiple global satellite systems for more reliable tracking, including sensors for GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo.

What other sensors does the Forerunner 945 have?

The Garmin Elevate heart rate sensor, compass, Pulse Ox blood saturation sensor, barometric altimeter, gyroscope, thermometer, and an accelerometer.

What activity tracking features does the Garmin Forerunner 945 series offer?

Step counter, move bar (after a period of inactivity), auto goal (learns your activity and sets daily goal), calories burned, distance traveled, floors climbed, intensity minutes, Trueup™ (lets you switch between compatible devices* and keeps your data in sync), Move IQ™ (automatically detects familiar exercise events and displays it in your timeline), and the Garmin Connect™ Challenges App.

What kind of gym activity profiles are available with the Forerunner 945?

Cardio and elliptical training, strength, indoor rowing, floor climbing, stair stepping, Pilates, and yoga.

Does the Garmin Forerunner 945 basic running GPS watch come with training and analysis features?

Yes! They include:

  • HR Zones
  • HR Alerts
  • HR Calories
  • % HR Max
  • %HRR
  • Recovery Time
  • Auto Max HR
  • HRV stress test (Measures your heart rate variability while standing still, for 3 minutes, to provide you with an estimated stress level, the scale of this is 1 to 100; low scores indicate lower stress levels)
  • HR Broadcast (broadcasts over ANT+ to paired device)
  • GPS speed and distance
  • Customized data pages
  • Customizable activity profiles
  • Auto Pause®
  • Interval training
  • Advanced workouts
  • Downloadable training plans
  • Auto Lap®
  • Manual Lap
  • Configurable lap alerts
  • VO2 Max (run)
  • Training status (lets you see if you're training effectively by tracking your training history and fitness level trend)
  • Training Load (your total training load from the last seven days calculated from estimated EPOC)
  • Training Effect
  • Training Effect (anaerobic)
  • Primary Benefit (Training Effect labels)
  • Custom alerts
  • Finish Time
  • Virtual Partner
  • Garmin Live Segments
  • Strava Live Segments
  • Round-trip course creator (running/cycling)
  • Trendline™ polularity routing
  • Hot keys
  • Race an Activity
  • Course Guidance
  • Touch and/or button lock
  • Audio prompts
  • Auto Scroll
  • Activity history on watch
  • Physio Trueup

What running features are included in the Forerunner 945 series?

  • Profiles for running, indoor and outdoor track running, treadmill running, trail running, virtual running
  • GPS-based distance, time, and pace
  • Running dynamics
  • Vertical oscillation and ratio (the degree of bounce in your running motion and the cost benefit ratio with stride length)
  • Ground contact time and balance (shows how much time, in the running motion, your foot is on the ground rather than in flight and lets you check your running symmetry)
  • Stride length (real time)
  • Performance condition (after running 6-20 minutes, compares your real-time condition to your actual fitness level)
  • PacePro pacing strategies
  • Lactate Threshold (through analysis of your pace and heart rate, estimates the point where your muscles start to rapidly fatigue)
  • Race Predictor
  • Cadence (real-time # of steps per minute)
  • Run workouts
  • Foot pod capability

Does the Garmin Forerunner 945 running smartwatch come with any cycling features?

Yes. These include:

  • Biking, indoor biking, and mountain trail biking profiles
  • Courses
  • Cycle map (routable cycling-specific street map)
  • Bike lap and lap maximum power (with power sensors)
  • FTP (functional threshold power)
  • Advanced Vector support
  • Compatibility with power meters
  • Race an Activity
  • Compatibility with Varia products
  • Speed and cadence sensor support

What daily smart features does the Forerunner 945/945 LTE offer?

  • Connectivity with Bluetooth®, ANT+®, Wi-Fi®
  • Download watch faces, data fields, widgets, and apps with Connect IQ.
  • Smart notifications
  • Weather
  • Calendar
  • Controls smartphone music
  • Plays and controls watch music
  • Stores up to 500 songs
  • Find My Phone feature
  • Find My Watch feature
  • VIRB® remote
  • Smartphone compatibility (iOS and Android)
  • Pairs with Garmin Connect mobile
  • Garmin Pay

What safety and tracking features are available with this GPS running watch?

  • LiveTrack
  • Spectator messaging (with LTE subscription)
  • Group LiveTrack
  • Live event sharing (Android only)
  • Incident Detection during select activities
  • Assistance
  • Assistance plus (with LTE subscription)

What is LiveTrack?

LiveTrack, included on your Forerunner running smartwatch, is a Garmin safety and connectivity feature that creates a real-time view of your location during an activity, so friends and family can follow along.

What is Incident Detection?

Incident Detection is a safety feature that enables, if an incident occurs, the Garmin Connect app on your paired smartphone to send an automated text message and email with your name and GPS location to up to three of your emergency contacts. Incident Detection is included on all Garmin Forerunner GPS running watches.

What is Assistance?

If anything should happen when you're on the go, activating the assistance feature will discreetly send a message with your real-time location to your preloaded chosen contacts, making it easier for help to find you. This feature comes with Garmin Forerunner watches.

What outdoor recreation features does the Garmin Forerunner 945 have?

  • Outdoor recreation profiles: Hiking, Skiing, Snowboarding, Backcountry Skiing, XC Classic and Skate Skiing, Stand up Paddleboarding, Kayaking, Rowing
  • Point-to-point navigation
  • Bread crumb trail in real time
  • Back to start
  • TracBack®
  • UltraTrac™ mode
  • Around Me mode
  • Elevation Profile
  • ClimbPro™ Ascent planner
  • Distance to destination
  • Barometric trend indicator with storm alert
  • Trail run auto climb
  • Vertical speed
  • Total ascent/descent
  • Future elevation plot
  • Preloaded topographical maps
  • Preloaded road and trail maps
  • Downloadable cartography support
  • Compatible with Basecamp™
  • GPS Coordinate
  • Projected waypoints
  • Area calculation
  • Hunt/fish calendar
  • Sun and moon information
  • Xero™ locations

Does the Forerunner 945 advanced running watch have swimming features?

Yes, this premium running and triathlon watch has the following swim features:

  • A profile and metrics for pool swimming
  • Open-water swim metrics
  • Stroke type detection
  • Drill logging
  • A basic rest timer (up from 0)
  • Repeat on rest timer
  • Time and distance alerts
  • Pacing alerts
  • Pool swim workouts
  • Critical swim speed
  • Auto rest, time and distance alerts
  • Countdown start
  • Underwater wrist-based heart rate
  • Heart rate with HRM strap

What colors are available with the Forerunner 945/945 LTE?

Black and Whitestone

Does the Garmin Forerunner 945/945 LTE running smartwatch come with golfing features?

  • Preloaded with 42,000 courses
  • Yardage to front, middle, and bacd of the green
  • Yardage to doglegs/layups
  • Measures shot distance
  • Digital scorecard
  • Stat tracking
  • Garmin Autoshot™
  • Auto Courseview updates
  • Green View with manual pin position
  • Hazards and course targets
  • Pinpointer
  • Handicap scoring
  • Truswing compatible
  • Round timer/odometer

How Do Garmin Forerunner Watches Compare to Other Running Watches?

Man wearing a Garmin Forerunner GPS watch running on a road next to a canyon

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