Best running gear: top gadgets to keep you motivated

Running is a great way to keep fit this summer and needs little more than some trainers and a pavement or a park. But even the most enthusiastic of us need some way to keep motivated for regular exercise when the couch, TV or sun lounger looks inviting.

These gadgets can help: from music on the go to the social power of Strava, they make pounding the streets a little more interesting.

Music or podcasts can help you eat up the miles with a bit of entertainment, but holding your phone while you run is not a comfortable way to do things.

Armband phone pockets are one solution. Strapped to your bicep with Velcro and a clear pouch, they let you work your phone and listen to music. They cost about £6-10 and come in various sizes. Or you can use an old MP3 player such as an iPod Shuffle if you still have one around.

Better yet, switch to a wearable music player with a running or smartwatch. Most good smartwatches, including the Apple Watch, Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and others, can store music offline for playback straight to a set of Bluetooth headphones.

Shokz OpenRun Pro

Bone conduction headphones send sound waves through your skull instead of your ear drum, making the music sound like it is coming from inside your head while maintaining your awareness of the outside world. Shokz make some of the best, with lightweight, comfortable designs, long battery life and easy-to-reach onboard controls for playback and volume. They are the only headphones approved by England Athletics for races, too.

Bose Frames Tempo

Sony LinkBuds

Beats PowerBeats Pro

Beats also made a version of the Powerbeats with a cable connecting them around the back of the head, which some people might prefer and are available refurbished or in clearance for as little as £50.

Tracking your progress can help keep you motivated, particularly if you have a goal in mind such as improved fitness, a faster 5km time or just longer distances.

Using your phone

If you want to record your heart rate you can also use a chest-strap heart monitor with a phone app, with models made by Garmin, Polar or Wahoo costing from about £40.

Smartwatches and fitness trackers

As with offline music playback, if you have a smartwatch it will most likely be able to track your running with plenty of detail. Most include fairly advanced measurements, including heart rate, distance, pace, GPS tracks and other bits.

Some more advanced fitness trackers also do similar, though those without GPS can only estimate distance from your movement, which is not very accurate and therefore difficult to use for training.

Running watches

Running watches come in various sizes, prices and capabilities, with the cheapest and simplest often offering more than enough to get going, including GPS, heart rate, pace and training plans. They cost about £100-150 new or as little as £50 refurbished. Most have long battery life and easy-to-read screens, while better models include more advanced metrics such as cadence (steps a minute), VO2 max and fitness estimation.

The more you pay, the more features they have, with mid-range models supporting offline music playback and high-end versions costing about £450 and up, such as the Garmin Forerunner 955 or Fenix 7, featuring advanced offline maps and routing to stop you getting lost.

One of the best ways to keep motivated is to add a bit of friendly rivalry, encouragement and support through a fitness community. Most devices have their own system, including Garmin, Fitbit, Samsung or Apple Health, which if your friends use models from the same company may be enough.

If not, there are cross-platform services available that sync your running data from your device of choice to a fitness-focused social network.

Strava