Meredith Dietz Meredith Dietz Senior Staff Writer Experience Meredith is a marathon runner and stand-up comedian. As Lifehacker’s Senior Staff Writer, she covers personal fitness tech, home gym equipment, and more. Read Full Bio May 5, 2026 Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google We may earn a commission from links on this page. Credit: Meredith Dietz Table of Contents Last weekend I strapped two different Garmin running watches to my wrists and raced a 10K. On one arm, I wore the Forerunner 970 , Garmin's top-of-the-line, $750 running watch. On the other, I wore the Forerunner 165 Music , which is far more budget-friendly at $300. I wanted to see if having a fancy running watch really makes a difference during a race. The answer is complicated. Consider this: The weekend before my race, the winners of the London Marathon competed wearing the Forerunner 55 and the Forerunner 255 —two watches that are, by tech standards, practically ancient.…