Garmin's deal event began well before Cyber Monday, but there's very little chance these rare deals last past midnight. You can save $100 or more on most of the best Garmin watches, so you have your pick of the litter. But as someone who's reviewed every major Garmin watch of the last few years, I have one main Cyber Monday recommendation for serious runners: the $100-off Garmin Forerunner 265, currently at its all-time low.
Ideally, I'd recommend the Forerunner 965 for $100 off, my all-time running watch favorite, but the Forerunner 265 costs $150 less with this deal, and I think you get diminishing returns for the pricier models. The 265 gives you all of the essentials and more, at a price more people can afford. That's why the Forerunner 265 is our #1 pick for best running watch.
✅Recommended if: You need guidance on whether to run low-aerobic, high-aerobic, or anaerobic workouts on a given day — or take a rest day — based on your training load breakdown and training readiness. You care about long battery life and coaching more than apps and maps, and you want reliable GPS and HR data.
❌Skip this deal if: You want the Forerunner 965's extra 10 days of battery life, built-in topographical maps, and extra training data like Hill score. Or, you want a watch that looks more expensive and attractive.
If you compare the Forerunner 965 vs. 265, the pricier model jumps from 13 to 23 days of battery life, adds Hill and Endurance score metrics and real-time stamina, and generally looks better with a larger display and titanium bezel. These are all great perks, but not enough to justify spending $499 for most runners.
By contrast, the Forerunner 265 still delivers essentials like daily suggested workouts and training load ratio, guiding you on what kind of workouts you should do to improve your VO2 Max without overtraining yourself.
I switched out my Forerunner 265 for the 965, then wore that for over a year before switching to the Fenix 8. But in both cases, the software I depended on didn't change, only the hardware. Everything I need to improve as a runner is available on the 265; so if you're a runner considering Garmin for the first time, or who's worn an older Garmin like the Forerunner 55 for years, then the Forerunner 265 will be more than enough to make you happy!
As a side note, the Forerunner 255 is $249 ($100 off), and that watch is near-identical to the 265 aside from the MIP display instead of AMOLED. If you can accept its lower resolution, you're getting Garmin's best tracking and training tools for a much more affordable price.
