Take up running they said, it's a cheap form of exercise they said!!
TavistockToad
Posts: 35,719 Member
Yeah right...
Just spent £207 on 2 pairs of new running shoes because I couldnt decide which I preferred!
Did get 10% off though! :laugh:
Just spent £207 on 2 pairs of new running shoes because I couldnt decide which I preferred!
Did get 10% off though! :laugh:
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Replies
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Lol!
Running *can* be an expensive sport...but it doesn't have to be!
2-3 pairs of running shoes a year (at $150 ish a pair) is under $450 for the year...which is $37.50 a month. Not bad (though I can get a gym membership for 1/4 that!).
But if your anything like me...you end up buying new clothes regularly (even though you don't *NEED* them
)...race entries...the inevitable items for (hopefully only minor) injuries like KT tape or neoprene sleeves...and pretty soon its a REALLY expensive sport.
Still less expensive to start running that it is to say, start biking (initial cost of the bike) or monthly memberships to more expensive gyms (like crossfit...those seem to be $75-$100 a month in my area!).
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I track my budget/spending, and for 2015 for all race gear, race fees, and travel related to races, I somehow blew damn near $5k
At least I made a runcation out of the travel, so it wasn't TOTALLY just for the race.2 -
Still cheaper than therapy and prescription drugs
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Running is WAAAAY cheaper than cycling.1
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Boston is expensive, but I don't even want to think about how much it's costing one of my buddies to do Kona.2
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Sometimes you can make some of the money back. I won £200 and a fruitcake last year.4
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I love fruitcake! You had to choose between a yummy homemade cake or a bottle of wine, and the cake seemed like the better option (crap supermarket wine). I was first female, and also won a medal made of gingerbread. Though it was actually very slightly disappointing as the year before I also won the race and the prize was a giant Victoria sponge cake with buttercream icing and a jelly baby on top running under a banner that said 'winner' on it. Which was better, but hard to get home on my bike.3 -
I love internet discount sites for cheap gear. Last years models and non brand name work for me.0
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I love fruitcake! You had to choose between a yummy homemade cake or a bottle of wine, and the cake seemed like the better option (crap supermarket wine). I was first female, and also won a medal made of gingerbread. Though it was actually very slightly disappointing as the year before I also won the race and the prize was a giant Victoria sponge cake with buttercream icing and a jelly baby on top running under a banner that said 'winner' on it. Which was better, but hard to get home on my bike.
Clearly I am running the wrong races. None of my events have come with baked goods, and I'd much rather have an edible medal than another chunk of metal to store!0 -
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I love fruitcake! You had to choose between a yummy homemade cake or a bottle of wine, and the cake seemed like the better option (crap supermarket wine). I was first female, and also won a medal made of gingerbread. Though it was actually very slightly disappointing as the year before I also won the race and the prize was a giant Victoria sponge cake with buttercream icing and a jelly baby on top running under a banner that said 'winner' on it. Which was better, but hard to get home on my bike.
Clearly I am running the wrong races. None of my events have come with baked goods, and I'd much rather have an edible medal than another chunk of metal to store!
I got a jar of peanut butter for winning the age group at my last half marathon. Last 15K, it was a box of envelopes of sunflower seed butter. The half also had a couple chunks of metal (finisher's medal, 2nd piece of a 4-part series medal), and the 15K had a curved glass plaque for the age group win. I can always put lesser medals in a drawer; curved glass plaques are a nuisance to store and I have too many of them. I'm working myself up to discarding some of them, but so far I can't bring myself to do that.
Last 5 mile race I ran, I got a bottle of wine in addition to the age group winner's medal. Gave the wine to my daughter, because I don't do alcohol and she had a use for it.
I haven't seen a local race with baked goods, but that would be better than alcohol as far as I'm concerned.1 -
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I love fruitcake! You had to choose between a yummy homemade cake or a bottle of wine, and the cake seemed like the better option (crap supermarket wine). I was first female, and also won a medal made of gingerbread. Though it was actually very slightly disappointing as the year before I also won the race and the prize was a giant Victoria sponge cake with buttercream icing and a jelly baby on top running under a banner that said 'winner' on it. Which was better, but hard to get home on my bike.
Clearly I am running the wrong races. None of my events have come with baked goods, and I'd much rather have an edible medal than another chunk of metal to store!
A couple years ago I won a 5 pack of socks for an AG podium finish! It was awesome!!!!! They were decent NB socks, not some of the fancy socks some people run in, but they work good for me 0 -
I love this thread - LOL! I have no hope of ever winning, so the best I get is a pie at the end of a Thanksgiving 10K
To the point of the post, I try to stock up of previous year model running shoes. It saves a few dollars and keeps my feet happy since companies change the design and upgrades are not always a good thing.0 -
TavistockToad wrote: »Yeah right...
Just spent £207 on 2 pairs of new running shoes because I couldnt decide which I preferred!
Did get 10% off though! :laugh:
I now buy my shoes from brick and mortar shops that price match against their own web sites.
Sweatshop give 20% discount to sweatshop running community(2×weekly run groups from their shops) and also on production of a park run barcode.
Starttraining.co.uk are a local firm with a price match guarantee against other web sites too.
Brooks gylcerin where £90 in sale(model 12 versus new release 13) plus a 10% running ckub discount.
Sweatshop web then had gylcerin 12 at £46.50.
Brooks launch in shop reduced to £44, with 20% off as above.
Shopping in real shops can pay dividends,and they have 30 day replacement guarantee too if you dont get on with that model.
Happy shopping.0 -
Let's see...if I add up my race fees...oh and the 11 pairs of shoes...and the shirts, shorts, pants, socks, underwear, hats, gloves...and a few or so dozen books...and maybe even the Gatorade and GU...and other training related costs...
It's only cost me about $5 million dollars over the last two years. That's not so bad. I think I saved a couple hundred thousand by signing up early, getting discounts, etc. So really I'm way ahead all things considered. Especially since I don't even make 6 figures.
The bananas are always free though. I can't remember the last time I paid for a banana after a race.
ETA>> DAMN! I forgot to account for the tech costs, like HRM's, apps, new phones that are waterproof, that Garmin FR 630.....
Geez, I guess I spent $10 million. I guess this is a problem!!! 1 -
Wait, do laundry costs count?1
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Hotels, Car Fuel, Car Tires, Pre race Carbo Loading Beer - course safety meeting.
Post race Electrolyte Recovery Beer, Laundry, shoes, mo shoes.
2016 to date.
3 HM's Travel + 6 Hotel nights + entry 3 x 500 = $1,500.00
3 5/10k Travel + 2 Hotel nights + entry 3 x 230 = $ 630.00
Beer Olympics $ 300.00 YTD Total $ = 2,430.002 -
Our local running club is pretty big and puts on a lot of races. Entry is usually really cheap (think $15-25 for a half marathon!), and the beer is way better than at the big races. Members also get 10% off at one of the local running stores. Check out your local running club if you haven't already!
I am due for a new pair or 2 of shoes though...1 -
Some of the bigger races have expos the day before. I can usually find great deals on shoes and gear at them. Also, my very first pair of running shoes were ASIC Gel Keyano 20's for only $45 at Burlington Coat Factory. Got another pair of NB 860 V3 for about the same price at Burlington Coat Factory like a year later. I every once in a while just walk in and look around the shoe section just in case. I don't always see a deal like that, but every so often I luck out.0
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Haha! I put 120$ a month in a running account. So, that's 1440$ a year plus the stuff I buy from the shared account, call it an even 2k (maybe 3k with bonus's
). Not an expensive hobby in my book.
@WhatMeRunning You ain't kidding on the laundry. 3 weeks off and I've not done a fourth of the the laundry in said time. Run days = laundry load.1 -
I need to get some laundry done today so I can run tomorrow! So several gallons of water, plus soap, oxy-clean, dryer sheet, bunch of electricity....
Sometimes when running I think about the recommended mileage on my shoes and start figuring out the cost per mile. Then if it's a long run I start figuring out how many bucks worth of shoe that one run is costing me. Then if it is long enough I add in some GU costs which is at least a buck/pouch. Then I think about the recovery drink (I use Gatorade and Whey Protein) and cost of the extra food I will eat that day. Then I think about how many times per week I run and start to get this idea for running costs I never realized I was spending just for going out and running.
But, first, I have to get this laundry done and paid for.
I wonder how many uses I am getting out of this washer and dryer??? I did not factor that in before...3 -
@WhatMeRunning You must have better blood supply to your brain.
I can not do math and run. I swear my head will explode. The voices start arguing, pushing and shoving for the floor. I fear it'll escalate to someone getting shanked or capped. It's absolutely maddening.
So we'll just look at the pretty flowers.1 -
Yeah, I probably spend more on gear than I like to think about. Shoes, of course, but I'm also a sucker for trying out fancy supportive moisture-wicking socks or shorts that won't ride up and have the perfect hidden pocket and will still make my butt look cute, and I have a pretty decent collection of water bottle carrying systems (all of which suck and collect dust in the cabinet). And even though my garmin is pretty new, I'm usually eyeing the Next Big Thing in running watches. Plus I keep a gym membership so I can run at lunchtime near the office, and with that in mind, I've been through a few gym bags, in search of the perfect balance of fashion (since I'm carrying it with my nice work clothes!) and function.
All that said, my husband and the other love of his life (his bike) are still about a million times more expensive than my running habit. And that's not even considering the initial cost of the BIKE. I am forever blown away by the number of unidentifiable gadgets he brings home.
I refuse to engage in this laundry discussion. And since we have 7 people living in our house right now, we do so much laundry that I declare the cost of activewear laundry to be statistically insignificant.1 -
Actually, I find I struggle with math a lot more when running. I'm just accustomed to always crunching numbers in my head and find I still do that while running. It's kind of funny because I'll be stuck working on one relatively simple problem in my head for a good mile in some cases due to the strain of running preventing my brain from operating efficiently for math. But I still do it. Odds are I'm way off and think running is way more expensive than it is. I could check right now but I'm afraid to verify if those numbers might actually be correct!@WhatMeRunning You must have better blood supply to your brain.
I can not do math and run. I swear my head will explode. The voices start arguing, pushing and shoving for the floor. I fear it'll escalate to someone getting shanked or capped. It's absolutely maddening.
So we'll just look at the pretty flowers. Recently I was trying to figure out something, I think it was on my last half marathon, perhaps trying to estimate my finish time. I had to give up!! I was pushing hard at that point though, pushing for a PR. 2 -
WhatMeRunning wrote: »
Actually, I find I struggle with math a lot more when running. I'm just accustomed to always crunching numbers in my head and find I still do that while running. It's kind of funny because I'll be stuck working on one relatively simple problem in my head for a good mile in some cases due to the strain of running preventing my brain from operating efficiently for math. But I still do it. Odds are I'm way off and think running is way more expensive than it is. I could check right now but I'm afraid to verify if those numbers might actually be correct!@WhatMeRunning You must have better blood supply to your brain.
I can not do math and run. I swear my head will explode. The voices start arguing, pushing and shoving for the floor. I fear it'll escalate to someone getting shanked or capped. It's absolutely maddening.
So we'll just look at the pretty flowers. Recently I was trying to figure out something, I think it was on my last half marathon, perhaps trying to estimate my finish time. I had to give up!! I was pushing hard at that point though, pushing for a PR.
Oh I'm so glad it not (necessarily) a reflection of my abilities. I do have a minor in math, through calc 3. Currently, I have no idea how calculus works. Maybe I'll keep at it, run through the multiplication tables or some such nonsense on runs. I put my distance in km, so that should allow a mental work out. We'll call it training.0 -
@JeepHair77 Seven! Holy *kitten*. It's amazing you'd have time to do any laundry.0
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