Garmin Forerunner 55
Garmin
You might imagine a runner like Sabastian Sawe, who just won the London Marathon while setting a new sub-2-hour world record, could use any Garmin watch he likes. But the one he wore for the race was surprisingly humble.
Based on analysis of photos from the London Marathon 2026, Sawe appears to have worn Garmin’s most basic runner’s watch, the Forerunner 55.
This watch has almost none of the advancements Garmin has highlighted in its more recent high-end watches. It has no OLED screen, no dual-band GPS — and parts of the London Marathon course can be tricky for GPS coverage — and its statistical output is limited compared to, for example, a Forerunner 970’s.
The Forerunner 55 is also old. It was released in the Summer of 2021, which was the year the Apple Watch Series 7 was released — Apple is now on the Watch Series 11 generation.
Some have suggested Sawe wore the higher-end Forerunner 255, but his watch appears to have the larger screen surround and markings of the even more affordable Forerunner 55, based on photo pixel peeping.
Why would Sawe use such a basic Garmin watch? It’s likely a case of the Forerunner 55 being the right tool for the job. And it helps that it’s an unobtrusive thing, weighing just 37g including strap.
The MIP screen of the Forerunner 55 does not have to light up via a gesture to become visible in direct sunlight, as it feeds off ambient light. For all its humble roots, the watch is an ideal companion for races where you want to be able to ignore the watch much of the time.
According to mid-race photos, it looks like Sawe used a data screen with the time total for the marathon effort, his current pace and potentially a timer for the current kilometre.
It looks like Sawe did not use a heart rate indicator display, which would not only be of limited utility for someone running to an intensely tight deadline, it’s generally not recommended for ordinary marathon runners anyway. Race day can do funny things your heart rate, compared to a normal training session.
Should we all be using a Garmin Forerunner 55 instead of Garmin watches that cost many times the cost? Probably not.
The watch has a dated heart rate array by 2026 standards, which will impact the accuracy of mid-workout readings, and it doesn’t have advanced training metrics like training load. However, it does offer suggested workouts, which are a solid way for those new to running to get their head around what they should actually be doing. There’s life left in the Forerunner 55 yet.
My hope it Garmin will soon update the watch series I tend to recommend to most newbies. A Garmin Forerunner 170 is rumoured to arrive soon as a follow-up to the excellent Forerunner 165, and this will offer the OLED gloss the Forerunner 55 Garmin watch lacks, as well as superior GPS and HR accuracy.
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