track is one of the few sports where kids from not well off families can compete because you can train for distance or middle distance alone and with just a pair of cheap shoes
A cheap pair of xc spikes for all three seasons, with a new pair for my birthday every year. Running shoes paid for with my paper route money. In 1996, my Airmax 2 lights were $135, which, inflation-adjusted, is $275 today (comparable to super shoes). Two to three pairs a year. Umbro shorts, road race t-shirts, $1 cotton socks, and fueled by giant bags of unsalted pretzels (3000 kcal per dollar). This was good enough for me to win three state titles (xc, mile, 3200m). Even with the higher end shoes, running can be a very cheap sport, and is affordable if you are careful about where you put your money. Aside from the spikes, I covered everything myself.
Even with the higher end shoes, running can be a very cheap sport
This.
Basic spikes are not expensive at all, and even with the arrival of superspikes that can give you maybe 0.5 seconds per lap, we are now several years into that wave and you can find "last year's model" for the major brands online pretty easily.
A single versatile pair of trainers is also not all that expensive if you're smart about it (which most people on a budget will be), and 1-2 new pairs per year is plenty for most HS runners.
That's $300-$500 per year, as a generous estimate. Not trivial if you're truly poor, but in the totality of expenses for a household with kids, $30-$40 a month for running shoes is a small piece with a lot of upside.
Thankfully in the early 80's you could buy training shoes ( Nike Pegasus)for $29.99 and spikes for maybe a little more. Still remember my Nike Zooms for 34.99. The kids here show up with Asics racing flats that are $320.....yea its expensive.
In 1973 six of us (all young high school and college runners) got together and bought eight pairs of Nike running shoes mail order from Blue Ribbon Sports. We convinced a parent to buy another pair of Nike shoes on sale for ~$3. That pushed our total bill to just over $100. which qualified our order for free shipping.
In retrospect that collective $100 shoe order was money well spent, as it resulted in a lifetime of enjoyable and successful running for all of us.
Running is one of the most accessible sports. Just need shoes. Can train on your own and from home. No need for expensive personal trainers. And it is clear who is better than who--parents cannot say that little rich kid Johnny who runs a 4:50 deserves a spot over poorer kid Johnny who runs a 4:20. . . . Basketball, soccer, and almost every other sport are far more expensive. AAU, equipment, personal coaching. . . . Yeah, super spikes are expensive but there is not any other sport that has cheaper equipment.
Coach A above makes some good points. Most kids who live around or below the poverty line live in either urban or rural environments that don’t encourage distance training and racing. The schools may not have tracks, or may be located far from home. Urban schools may lack safe spaces to train, and there may be nothing but pavement to run on (If you’re a black or brown kid, running through urban streets alone invites all kinds of trouble), and pollution can be a real issue. Your school may or may not have a distance program, with usually inexperienced/poor coaching. A lack of supershoes ranks far below such basic environmental and programmatic necessities.
I think I remember shoes in the eighties being over $40.00. I remember working 7 days a week and always had new shoes before 500 Miles. Sometimes this was every month. I had a coach for 1 year in high school that gave me flats and in college we got a few shoes including flats.
In coaching including shoes as part of the uniform, buying discounted shoes, funding from meets, donations and many other creative ways to have the kids in running shoes. On a rare occasion buying them.
No distance runners, but shoes mean a lot for throwers and sprinters.
I think I remember shoes in the eighties being over $40.00. I remember working 7 days a week and always had new shoes before 500 Miles. Sometimes this was every month. I had a coach for 1 year in high school that gave me flats and in college we got a few shoes including flats.
In coaching including shoes as part of the uniform, buying discounted shoes, funding from meets, donations and many other creative ways to have the kids in running shoes. On a rare occasion buying them.
No distance runners, but shoes mean a lot for throwers and sprinters.
18 months ago I bought a pair of Adios 7s for $45. Not my favorite shoes but unbeatable at that price.
A cheap pair of xc spikes for all three seasons, with a new pair for my birthday every year. Running shoes paid for with my paper route money. In 1996, my Airmax 2 lights were $135, which, inflation-adjusted, is $275 today (comparable to super shoes). Two to three pairs a year. Umbro shorts, road race t-shirts, $1 cotton socks, and fueled by giant bags of unsalted pretzels (3000 kcal per dollar). This was good enough for me to win three state titles (xc, mile, 3200m). Even with the higher end shoes, running can be a very cheap sport, and is affordable if you are careful about where you put your money. Aside from the spikes, I covered everything myself.
In all honesty, I am not sure why I am getting downvotes on this. I was a poor kid and this is literally what I did—it’s directly responsive to the initial question. When you’re poor you have to make tough choices. I put the money I had into the best trainers I could afford, since running is really all about training. And I skimped on everything else. High end spikes get you maybe 2 seconds a mile; that’s really not that much. I should add that I did have a singlet and shorts kit provided by the school, to be worn for races only.
Outside of running, to make good hs teams, you have to have played on expensive club teams for years in the U.S. You might pay $1500 per year just for low level competitive soccer for six to eight years prior to high school. If your child is very good, then the travel teams can be upwards of $10k/year all told. Fees in sports like tennis and golf are far more. In Europe, it's all subsidized, so families can afford the club teams, which cost just over $200 per year in Germany.
Club teams offer scholarships for those in need. Often it is 100%. MLS academies subsidize play and travel for players. They even paid for parent travel to nationals for us.
Have you been paying tension to the USA soccer dialogue lately?!
referencing the MLS right now is hilarious with how much US men’s soccer is struggling.
plus, the conversation right now is how the pay-to-play US soccer model is garbage and only favors wealthier kids.
Sports are expensive in Australia and as there isn't high school sport like in the states athletes can join training groups at no cost or minimal cost.
In saying this most of the athletes that come to me are coming from private schools where they can get to training venue and have the means to travel to races interstate.
Thankfully in the early 80's you could buy training shoes ( Nike Pegasus)for $29.99 and spikes for maybe a little more. Still remember my Nike Zooms for 34.99. The kids here show up with Asics racing flats that are $320.....yea its expensive.
Athletics (particularly distance running) doesn't include those who struggle.
Australia has athletic clubs. Theyre pretty inclusive. Public high schools have athletics carnivals,and inter high events,where poorer or more disadvantaged athletes get discovered.
track is one of the few sports where kids from not well off families can compete because you can train for distance or middle distance alone and with just a pair of cheap shoes
This.
I grew up in a "lower middle class" environment. Fancy shoes (the kind that I admired at the mall sports shop) were not an option. Fancyass registration with some sports club was out of the question. So what do I do?
I can run at the MF park in my cheapass shoes and cut off jeans shorts - no club, no reliance on team mates or coaches, no need for "facilities" or "equipment".
I chose running for a bunch of reasons, but a major one was precisely because of money and equipment etc.
I could effing do this when/where/how I wanted with hardly any concerns about all of that commercial bs.
Ok, I didn't exactly win the Olympics, but this early period set me off on a 45 year journey that I am eternally grateful for.
Sports are expensive in Australia and as there isn't high school sport like in the states athletes can join training groups at no cost or minimal cost.
In saying this most of the athletes that come to me are coming from private schools where they can get to training venue and have the means to travel to races interstate.
Thankfully in the early 80's you could buy training shoes ( Nike Pegasus)for $29.99 and spikes for maybe a little more. Still remember my Nike Zooms for 34.99. The kids here show up with Asics racing flats that are $320.....yea its expensive.
Athletics (particularly distance running) doesn't include those who struggle.
Australia has athletic clubs. Theyre pretty inclusive. Public high schools have athletics carnivals,and inter high events,where poorer or more disadvantaged athletes get discovered.
Well where I am clubs don't offer training for distance runners. Athletes join training groups. Not sure what happens in Sydney, Melbouŕne or other big city areas but my athletes join clubs and pay for singlets but get very little in return and train with me. Club fees I think are around $165 + uniform + pay for races throughout the Summer. A number of my athletes went to Perth and one family was there racing for 6 days. Coming from the east coast I'm sure that wasn't cheap.
Running is the cheapest possible sport. You just need your body. Even if you argue that you need shoes (Africa disagrees), every other sport also needs shoes and additional equipment. The only thing money would help with is allowing you build your life around training instead of a job.