So I'm in the market for a smart watch and I'm having an incredibly difficult time deciding between these two..
A bit of backstory, I recently started running about a year ago and found that I actually enjoy long distance quite a bit (played sports all my life but never did any type of long distance stuff). I regularly run 5ks and will do longer runs (10k+) on weekends. I've been using my iphone on a strap on my arm all this time and am looking to do away with that because its uncomfortable/obnoxious.
I've never owned a smartwatch but I want to get into the game. I can only track simple things right now as I use the Runkeeper app so I can get see my trail, my average pace, and splits. But I think I would like more data so that I can really improve my running/fitness overall. I like that the Forerunner has Virtual Partner and Racer but I really enjoy the look of the Venu more and some of the lifestyle tracking features it has. Both use Garmin Coach which I definitely would plan on using to improve my running but I really want to know if the Forerunner is going to be a lot better with those Virtual assist options.
Just want to know what peoples opinions are who have experience with either. Is the Venu good for someone who wants to improve their running but isn't trying to compete with olympians or are those features pretty essential for someone trying to up their run game, or are the "smartwatch" features of the Forerunner good enough to supplant the Venu?
