Two things that have made running easier and more fun for me are the Joovy 360 Zoom stroller and the Garmin Forerunner 305.
I wish I had found the Joovy stroller years ago! It's incredibly lightweight, easy to collapse and set up, and the hood/sun visor is HUGE! Plus it came with a rain cover, a tire pump, and a handle bar organizer. My son is now 4 and a half and is tall, and he fits comfortably in the stroller with room to spare! The lower basket is large--I keep the rain cover in there and there is a special place where the tire pump is secured too. The front wheel can swivel as well as lock in place, and it's super easy to switch between the two settings. For running I prefer to keep the front wheel locked in place. All three wheels are quick release.
The handle bar organizer is made of neoprene but holds up very well. It has 2 deep cup holders and a zippered pouch for keys, phone, whatever! The stroller itself has 2 mesh side pockets on the insides of the seat area and a back mesh pocket, plus a mesh pocket where the hood and the handle bar meet. There is definitely a place for EVERYTHING.
The seat can be reclined completely flat and at any angle by adjusting the straps on the back. The 5 point harness is excellent and has a huge range of adjustments available.
I love this stroller, because unlike the BOBs and other joggers, you can easily take this into a shopping area/store. The swivel wheel steers like a dream and the stroller is not as long and cumbersome as most of the fixed wheel joggers.
My son LOVES the hood. It is the only hood I have ever seen or used that can actually keep out ALL of the sun. And believe me, we have been through about 5 other strollers.
The only stroller that I think I love as much as this one is the Burley Solo Bike Trailer with the jogging wheel attachment. Unfortunately we had to leave it (and the bikes!) in storage in Italy.
And now that the weather has improved, I have finally been able to use my Garmin Forerunner 305. Mine has the heart rate monitor, which is great so I don't have to wear my Polar FT80 and the Garmin. Another huge plus with Garmin is that they have software that is Mac compatible--unlike Polar which has yet to release any software for their Mac users.
The 305 is awesome. It's not nearly as heavy as it looks. It's a little overwhelming in size and technology at first but the menus are very intuitive and the manual is easy to read and understand. I love using it to track my distance, pace, and heart rate. Best of all, with the software you can compare workouts and see how you are progressing. And it's always fun to see your route in Google Earth. There are many training features and ways to upload or create routes to the watch but I have not yet had the time to try them.
The heart rate strap is surprisingly comfortable too and again unlike Polar, you don't need to wet the sensors in order for it to work. Just strap it on and go. As with every chest monitor I've used, I had to set the Garmin one on its shortest length AND tie a knot it the strap, but it is still comfortable and works fine.
My only concern with the Garmin 305 is that the heart rate display is really small. It's that read out in the right corner, with the little heart. Like TINY. But it does chart all 5 zones, which is more than I can say of the Polar FT80.
Syncing it with my Mac is easy. It finds the satellites quickly. The battery lasts a really long time. If you use a Mac, skip getting a Polar and go for the Garmin.
