6 Best Running Watches For Young Athletes That Grow With Their Goals
Discover the 6 best running watches for young athletes. With features scaling from basic tracking to advanced metrics, these picks grow with their goals.
Your daughter comes home from the first week of cross-country practice, energized and excited, asking for a "real" running watch like the older kids have. Or maybe your son has started timing his laps around the block, meticulously logging them in a notebook. The moment has arrived, and you’re wondering how to support this new passion without buying a complex gadget they’ll either outgrow or lose interest in by next season.
Choosing a Watch for Your Developing Runner
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When you’re looking at a wall of running watches, the decision can feel overwhelming. It’s tempting to either grab the cheapest option or over-invest in a device with features a 12-year-old will never use. The key is to think of this not as a one-time purchase, but as an investment in their journey with the sport.
The right watch for a 9-year-old just joining a "Girls on the Run" program is very different from what a 15-year-old varsity hopeful needs. For younger kids, the goal is fun and basic feedback—"Look how far I ran!" For teens, it can become a genuine training tool for pacing and analysis.
The goal is to find a watch that meets them where they are but has room to grow. A good starter watch should be simple to use but offer features they can discover as their interest and understanding deepen. This approach respects your budget and their evolving commitment, ensuring the technology supports their passion rather than complicating it.
Garmin Forerunner 55: The Perfect First Running Watch
Track your runs accurately with the Garmin Forerunner 55 GPS watch. It offers daily suggested workouts and monitors heart rate, with up to 2 weeks of battery life in smartwatch mode.
Think of the Forerunner 55 as the perfect first, purpose-built running watch. It’s not a complicated smartwatch trying to do everything; it’s a focused tool designed to do one thing exceptionally well: track a run. This clarity is its greatest strength for a young athlete just starting to explore the sport.
It delivers the core metrics that matter most to a beginner: accurate GPS for distance, current pace, and overall time. It’s simple to operate with tactile buttons—a huge plus when hands are sweaty and you don’t want to fuss with a touchscreen. The watch also includes safety features, like incident detection, which can provide peace of mind for parents.
What makes the Forerunner 55 a device that grows with them is its introduction to structured training. Features like daily suggested workouts and recovery time advisor gently introduce concepts that will become important if they stick with running. It builds a foundation of knowledge without overwhelming them, making it a purchase that can easily last through all of middle school and beyond.
COROS PACE 3: Lightweight Champ for Serious Youth
You’ll know when your child is ready for a watch like the COROS PACE 3. They’ve moved past just finishing the run and have started asking about their split times, their cadence, or how to pace themselves for a 5K. They have shown a consistent interest for more than one season, and their goals are becoming more specific.
The PACE 3’s standout features are its incredibly lightweight design and its phenomenal battery life. At just 30 grams, a young runner will barely notice it on their wrist, eliminating a common complaint about bulky GPS watches. And for busy families, a battery that lasts for weeks means one less device you have to remember to charge every single night.
This watch is a remarkable long-term value. It offers dual-frequency GPS for incredible accuracy—a feature typically found in much more expensive models—and provides a full suite of advanced running metrics. It’s the perfect step up, providing the data a dedicated middle or high schooler needs to improve without the premium price tag of an elite-level device.
Apple Watch SE: All-Around Smartwatch for Athletes
Let’s be practical: many young athletes want an Apple Watch. The SE is the most sensible entry point into that ecosystem, and it’s a fantastic all-around device for the kid who does more than just run. If your child also plays soccer, swims, and needs a reliable way to get in touch after practice, the Apple Watch SE is a powerful contender.
Its GPS and heart rate tracking are excellent, and the native Workout app is intuitive and powerful enough for most young runners. The vibrant screen is easy to read, and the integration with Apple’s ecosystem is seamless. It provides the core running data they need while also delivering on the communication, safety, and app features they (and you) want.
The decision to choose an Apple Watch SE comes down to its primary role. If you need a communication and multi-sport device that is also great for running, this is your answer. The trade-off is battery life, which requires nightly charging, and the potential for more distractions with notifications and apps. It’s a versatile tool, best for the balanced athlete rather than the single-sport specialist.
Fitbit Charge 6: A Simple Start to GPS Tracking
For a younger child (ages 9-12) or a runner who finds a full watch too bulky, the Fitbit Charge 6 is an ideal entry point. It’s less of a "watch" and more of a sleek, comfortable band, which can be a more approachable form factor for kids. It makes tracking activity feel less serious and more like a fun, everyday challenge.
The Charge 6 now includes built-in GPS, a crucial upgrade that makes it a legitimate tool for tracking runs without needing a phone. It provides the basics—distance, pace, and heart rate—in a simple interface. Fitbit’s app is also a major plus, as its gamified goals, badges, and community features are highly motivating for this age group.
This is a fantastic "test the waters" device. It allows a child to engage with their activity data and see if it fuels their interest in the sport. If they eventually want more advanced running metrics, you haven’t made a huge financial investment, and the Charge 6 continues to be a top-tier general health and activity tracker for them or even a younger sibling.
Amazfit Bip 5: Affordable GPS for Young Beginners
Sometimes, the biggest hurdle is the price tag. The Amazfit Bip 5 is the answer for parents who want to provide a functional GPS watch to support a new interest without the financial anxiety. It proves that you don’t need to spend a lot to get the core features a new runner needs.
The Bip 5 delivers the essentials: reliable GPS tracking, a large and easy-to-read screen, and impressive battery life. For a young runner, being able to clearly see their distance and time mid-run is the most important feedback, and this watch handles that job perfectly. It gets them into the habit of tracking their runs and seeing their progress over time.
While it may not have the advanced analytics or polished software of its more expensive counterparts, it absolutely nails the fundamentals. It’s a low-risk, high-reward starting point. If the running bug truly bites, you can upgrade in a year or two, and if it doesn’t, you’ve provided a great tool for a season of exploration without breaking the bank.
Garmin Forerunner 265: For the Competitive Teen
This watch is for the high school athlete who lives and breathes running. They’re the one analyzing post-race data with their coach, aiming for a personal record every meet, and training through the summer. For this athlete, a watch is no longer just a tracker; it’s a critical piece of performance equipment.
The Forerunner 265 provides a level of data that can directly inform training. Features like Training Readiness and HRV Status help an athlete understand their recovery and avoid overtraining—a crucial lesson for ambitious teens. The bright, beautiful AMOLED display makes it easy to see complex data screens at a glance during a hard workout.
This is a significant investment, and it should be treated as such. It’s the right choice for a teen who has demonstrated a long-term, serious commitment to the sport. It gives them access to the same tools and insights that collegiate and professional runners use, empowering them to take ownership of their training and performance.
Key Features: GPS, Heart Rate, and Durability
At its core, a running watch must have GPS (Global Positioning System). This is what allows the device to connect to satellites to accurately track location, which is how it calculates distance, speed, and pace. For any runner, seeing they’ve run 2 miles when they were aiming for 1.5 is a powerful motivator, and this is the feature that makes that possible.
Heart rate monitoring, typically measured from the wrist, is the next key feature. For younger runners, it’s mostly a fun metric to see how hard they’re working. As they mature, a teen athlete and their coach can use heart rate data to ensure they are training in the correct "zones"—making easy runs truly easy and hard runs effective.
Finally, never underestimate durability and water resistance. A kid’s watch will be banged against walls, dropped, and worn in the rain. A sturdy screen and a solid water-resistance rating (enough to survive a swim or a torrential downpour) are practical necessities that protect your investment and prevent a season-ending mishap.
Ultimately, the goal is to support your child’s effort and joy in movement, not to bog them down with data. The best watch is simply a tool that reflects their current commitment and gives them a little room to grow. Choose the one that fits today, and celebrate every step they take with it.