I keep a copy of the Dec. 2006 issue of Runner’s World at my desk. It’s the annual “heroes of running” issue and one page is carefully marked so I can refer to it often. The story is on Molly Barker, who was honored as a hero for her role as founder and vision keeper of Girls on the Run, a program that instills self-confidence and educates young girls through a curriculum-based running program. This week, I had the pleasure of meeting Molly at a local conference for women involved with this organization. Molly confided that she’d been wanting to check out a Garmin fitness watch and I think I know which watch would fit this go-getter gal to a “T”.

My pick for Molly: our newest fitness watch, FR60 LTD, shown here gracing the wrist of U.S. record-holder Deena Kastor at this year's Chicago Marathon. FR60 just might be the hottest fitness watch on the streets, trails or even in the gym this winter, thanks to its ability to track and store your indoor or outdoor workouts. The pink and white colors and slim styling of the newest FR60 fit right in with Molly’s girl-powered personality. Or, she might like the lilac model or the sleek black FR60 with silver bezel, like my SoleMate and speed session friend Cheryl just bought. Styling aside, the next feature any girl on the run would love about FR60 is that you can literally take it out of the box and take off with it. Very easy to use, doesn’t need to be charged and it’s non-GPS, so you don’t have to wait for it to acquire satellites. Distance and pace data comes from a tiny, highly accurate foot pod that snaps on your shoe laces. The LTD version also comes with our premium soft strap heart rate monitor. For those who haven’t tried this one, soft strap = very comfy, even for long, sweltery runs.

Last and possibly best feature: automatic, wireless uploads to Garmin Connect. Since Molly spends many of her days criss-crossing the country attending speaking engagements, Girls on the Run 5k races and other events, she doesn’t have time to log her runs on paper or fiddle with software that resides on her computer. With the magic of FR60’s wireless technology, the data dumps to Garmin Connect when in range of the computer. Garmin Connect is our online site where fitness folks go to store, analyze and share data, explore new routes and even set and record goals.