It would be helpful if you indicated what your budget is. There are generally helpful reviews on the treadmilldoctor web site, including a section on best buys.

Based on those reviews and other reviews on the web, I ended up with a Sole F83 for about $2,000 (after freight and installation, even though I'd ordered the F80 -- same thing, but the F83 has a longer deck). I've been very happy with it. You're unlikely to get anything that will withstand heavy running use for less than $1,000, but that's a general rule rather than a truism.

Don

As a new runner myself (returning to running after quite a long time away), and one who just did the Couch to 5K program on a home treadmill, I would suggest that depending on HOW new to running you are, you may want to think it over carefully before purchase.

Don't get me wrong, I love having a TM at home to run on, and in the humidity and heat in the DC metro area recently, I would almost say, there's no way I'm going to run regularly outdoors.

BUT.  I want to run some events too.  I knew that to do that, I would need to run outdoors.  So since a local club had some evening runs in July-August, I pushed myself to get out and do a couple of the last of the C25K program runs, with the group.  I found that I like the difference between indoor TM running and running on a trail and with others.  I am planning on getting out with the group just as much as I possibly can, particularly for training purposes for a 5K.

You may want to see whether you need a TM to train on, once you've done some running outdoors, especially if you're currently using  a treadmill for all of your running.  I did fitness walking for YEARS on my (now very old) ProForm model, which was not expensive (I think around $700?) when I bought it.  I still run on it, now, but I don't run long runs on it.  And the incline has quit working AND I don't know how to get any repair or diagnosis done on it because it is a home machine.  But it serves, just fine, for me, for now.  A more experienced, faster runner would reject it.

So I am not trying to discourage you from getting a TM right away, but I thought you might want to bear this experience in mind.  You may not wind up using the TM as much as you are thinking, and that may affect how you make your selection.

Linda

The convenience just can't be beat, definitely!  It's virtually impossible to hold your head up if you skip a run when the "trail" is right down the hall!  And for bad weather it is the best.  I'm glad to be able to offer some input!!

There's a good article on this at How to Buy a Treadmill

You could also see http://www.treadmill-world.com