Well i heard there not very accurate and i could just measure my course on google pedometer or google earth.

Ime having trouble setting the stride length on my one.

Do you use a pedometer? or should I get a heart rate monitor instead? which is more important and why?

hrm much more useful than a boggo standard pedometer.

gps or footpod systems are pretty nifty but for starting out i'd have said a hrm is much more useful for minitoring how hard you're working... and allowing you to target specific goals in each session.

take a look round the web for heart rate training info

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HRM would be MUCH more beneficial to you. As you say you can just measure your routes on the net and it'll probably be more accurate than a pedometer. Pedometer's will work fine if every stride is the a similar length.

I found my ped was wildly out no matter how much I tried to tweak it. Stopped using it in the end, I don't think they're very accurate. Was a nice present tho

Alan, neither are essential or important. People were running (and running very well) long before there were pedometers or heart-rate monitors. If you measure your routes with Google Earth, you'll be fine just with a stopwatch to keep track of how your runs are going.
I even know of someone who used to time his runs with the alarm clock on his parents' mantelpiece .... long ago before digital watches were even thought of! He'd check the time as he left the house; then check it again when he got back. Very hi-tech, eh?!

Don't worry about all the gadgets and gizmos; at the end of the day it's the actual running that's important.

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GONE RUNNING

I completely agree, Pedestrian. However, I have to admit that buying new stuff can be motivating for beginners like us. It is not essential, but it can be a nice incentive to keep up the effort. In my case, I get the motivation to keep running (while my body is shouting "stop, stop now, walk home and have a beer!!!") from the music. A good mp3 selection keeps me flying! (well, keeps me "feeling I'm flying", my 10 km per hour are not enough to counteract gravity).

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The more difficult, the more beautiful
The more impossible, the better