Recommend a sports watch for running, please

[emily_in_nc]

I'm looking for an inexpensive sports watch to wear while running. The only thing that's really important to me is that it be relatively small (nothing big and honking, it's hot enough here without adding a large watch) and have a stopwatch, accurate to the second. Don't need HRM, split time, lap counter, or anything fancy.

I was looking at a bunch of inexpensive women's Timexes (it also has to be women's sizing as I have teeny, tiny bird wrists) on amazon, and one review really surprised me: the reviewer said that she'd bought it for running, but once the "stopwatch" reached 30 minutes, it only timed in full minutes, not seconds! That's definitely not acceptable, but now I'm thinking that that's possibly a limitation of all inexpensive Timexes; it's very hard to tell from the descriptions, and the Timex site is no help either.

Anyone got a recommendation? Thanks!

[tulip]

I use a small digital kitchen timer that I hold. The buttons on my Timex Triathlon watch are too small to use accurately for me.

[Blueberry]

Maybe look at a freestyle shark? I'll check the timer on mine later tonight. Like This. My experience has been that they last longer than my timexes did.

ETA: Still have seconds (and hundredths) over 30 minutes. And still seconds over an hour.

[OakLeaf]

After 30 minutes is weird.

Generally I'd just look at how many digits they're capable of displaying. My Garmins display 100ths for the first minute, then seconds for the first hour, then only full minutes after it turns over an hour.

It was kind of annoying yesterday when I was trying to do bridge repeats and it turned over an hour in the middle of one of them - but generally if I'm doing intervals, I program them in ahead of time. At any rate I should've hit my lap timer every one, but I didn't do that either.

If you get a watch that you can program your interval workouts - and I think you can do that with most of the inexpensive ones too - do you still need to display seconds?

[HillSlugger]

Look at the Timex Ironman Sleek, 50 lap watch. Pretty small and you can find them for less than $40. I got mine first for running and later used it as my swim watch. Lasted more than 2 years before I had to change the battery, and is still going after 6 years.

[roo4]

I second the Timex Sleek suggestion.

I am also skeptical of the claim that a Timex only gives time to a minute after half an hour. That might have been operator error in reading the display.

[emily_in_nc]

Thanks ladies -- I'll look into each of these. My DH carries an inexpensive stopwatch when he runs, but I already carry a bandanna in one hand to mop up sweat so don't want anything else I have to carry. Don't do intervals or laps, just distance/endurance and am only up to 40-45 minute runs but might possibly break the one-hour barrier at some point, so I don't want to limit myself to anything that won't show seconds after one hour, but I don't need tenths of seconds as I'm not racing. Just want to see if I am improving over time.

Thanks!

[emily_in_nc]

I ended up ordering a Timex Ironman Sleek. Thanks for the recommendations! This looks like a great watch, and although it does more than I really need at this point, I like the band, the good reviews, and the price ($34.61) was definitely right.