Running an Expensive or Inexpensive Sport?

fisky wrote:

Overall, I'd say running is a very inexpensive sport compared to almost any other adult participation sport, i.e., cycling, crossfit, golf, etc.

Oh, and I forgot to add that running is more than a sport. For some of us, running is our primary hobby and that sheds a whole new light on the discussion.

As a hobby, running is relatively inexpensive compared to lots of other hobbies: season tickets to your favorite NFL team, week long hunting/fishing trips, skiing trips, mountain climbing, going to NASCAR races, etc.

rrr wrote:

There is this thing called winter which requires a bit more than shorts.

Gym treadmill with shorts. Very cheap.

There is this thing called "out in the country" where there are no gyms to speak of or not within 50 miles.

Now you also need a car or a dogsled to get through a snowstorm so you can run on your treadmill.

Membership dues likely also apply.

I figure I spend $300 per year on running shoes. I run 40 mpw or so on avg. That comes out to 15 cents per mile roughly.

Clothes. Well I threw out some running shorts that were probably 6 years old. Elastic was shot. 2 pair I bought were $30 each (buy at the end of the season to get them cheaper). Let's say they last 5 years each and I run in each 5 miles per week. $30/250 m/10 = 1.2 cents per mile.

I have a couple of nice jackets for winter running. Each probably ran about $100. Had each for 7 years as best I can tell. $15 per year. Let's say 800 miles per year. Under 2 cents per mile.

Running pants. 4 pairs, $100 each. Again lots of years. (Probably going to invest in a new pair this year). A few pairs of running underwear and $40 per pair (a good investment IMHO).

Lots of shirts from races. A few freebies from stores. Can get good tech stuff at Target these days way cheaper than running store (sorry).

Yes,if you start to count races then it gets a little more expensive and traveling to races can really blow things up. But racing is not essential to running.

CWG wrote:

There is this thing called "out in the country" where there are no gyms to speak of or not within 50 miles.

Now you also need a car or a dogsled to get through a snowstorm so you can run on your treadmill.

Membership dues likely also apply.

One year membership for a city owned gym under 100 euros here.

Don't need a car.

I've never bought a running shirt, old t-shirts work fine, and now the races give out tech shirts it's even better.

shorts are $10 or less on clearance, socks $5 or less.

last year was the first time in 40 years I've paid over $100 for a pair of shoes, Hoka One Ones, but even those are showing up on clearance now for less than three figures.

Did run Boston in the early 90s but stayed with friends and drove up from NC, qualified at local marathons, so minimal cost there too.

It's certainly cheaper than anything else.. add green fees for golf, court fees for racketball or tennis, pool fees for swimming, on top of gear fees.. hard to show up to the golf club in a ratty old T-shirt and shorts..

In the past three years I have bought one pair of shoes ($70), about 6 pairs of nice runing socks ($8/pair) and a headlamp ($50). Everything else I have gotten for free from prizes at races or from working at a running store on the weekends. This includes GPS watch and every peice of clothing, including jackets, pants, and shorts.

My main annual cost is the 5 races I do per year, none of which cost more than $15. I have actually won about $200 in this time as well.

So for me, running is very inexpensive.

LetsRun.com wrote:

It got us thinking, is running one of the more accessible, inexpensive sports or one of the most expensive?

It's the most accessible sport in that anyone can do it by themselves, but in terms of costs shoes have to be replaced, races entered, etc. Clothes can last a much longer time.

We have no time for dreams we can't afford.

i will never complain about running gear but race entry fees are ridiculous. on the low end its hard to find:

5K

Doesn't a lot of this depend on how each individual runner practices the sport? Depending on a number of variables within the sport of distance running (from 800m to marathons, ultras, mountain running, etc. and stranger offshoots) and how they play out for an individual person's circumstances and preferences/needs/goals, I can imagine a huge variation in costs.

Running at an optimal level is expensive.

Factor in:

Soft Tissue/PT, rolling out will only get you so far.

AT. If you want to be good, movement prep, plyometrics, strength and resistance training are all a must.

Diet/nutrition. The right fuel is paramount and it ain't cheap.

The gear is the cheapest equation.

Spend 6-8 weeks at API, EXOS, or any other professional athlete training facility and it will run you $1800-$2000 a week.

The result are phenomenal however. If you put the work in these places will make you an athletic BEAST.

Level Running wrote:

Diet/nutrition. The right fuel is paramount and it ain't cheap.

The right fuel is normal healthy food of the kind you'd eat anyway if you have any sense.

Of course you need more calories if you're putting in a lot of miles... but little bit of extra pasta (or whatever) on your plate makes little difference to the total cost of your food.

You can buy a new pair of runners for 40 to 50 bucks if you wait for the winter and stock up then. Also even at that price you can get out of date Nikes or other name brands. I know I get these shoes then and I don't even jog anymore.

0/10

Level Running wrote:

Running at an optimal level is expensive.

Factor in:

Soft Tissue/PT, rolling out will only get you so far.

AT. If you want to be good, movement prep, plyometrics, strength and resistance training are all a must.

Diet/nutrition. The right fuel is paramount and it ain't cheap.

The gear is the cheapest equation.

Spend 6-8 weeks at API, EXOS, or any other professional athlete training facility and it will run you $1800-$2000 a week.

The result are phenomenal however. If you put the work in these places will make you an athletic BEAST.

Tonight's run cost wrote:

I'll be going for a 8 mile run in about a half hour. The total cost is...

Nike shorts - $35.00

New balance shirt - $30.00

Headband - $5.00

Brooks pure cadence shoes- $130.00

Swiftwik socks - $11.00

Nike GPS watch - $125.00

Total cost: $306.00 total.

I mean this in the nicest way possible, but you're a fool for paying so much for your running gear.

As another poster said, here is about what this outfit should run:

Nke shorts - $13

New Balance shirt - $12

Headband - Umm, people still wear these?

Running Shoes - $45

Socks - $5

GPS watch - $75 (check LeftLaneSports)

Total cost: $150

Here's a hint...Shops like TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Ross sell the same exact stuff for like 50% (usually in the 60-70% range) less. Buy last year's model of running shoes. It's as easy an checking out the stores I mentioned, ebay or amazon.

There are many hidden costs when you consider injuries, food, etc.

BackBayCoder wrote:

Or, to flip it, what sport would be cheaper than running on an amortized daily basis?

I'm entirely too lazy to do the math this morning, but if one's cycling training replaced driving to/from work, that could be a bargain. (Figuring few runners are doing 24-36 miles per day to make that a feasible commute option).

Most of my running stuff has been gifted to me, so I don't spend much money on running. I mainly buy my shoes and if needed some other stuff (ie socks and headlamp).

If I look at what I ran in this morning here is the total original cost of each piece:

Brooks Shorts: $45

Brooks Tech Tee: ~$25 I think

Balega Socks: $11 Though they were bought as buy 4 get 1 free.

Nike SportsWatch: ~$170 I think

Headlamp: $70 This one made a huge difference over my old one which was a lot cheaper.

Nike Shield Pegasus: $120

Total Cost of a runs attire: ~$441

I do go through a pair of shoes every other month or so (50-70 miles per week), but everything else I have had for over 2 years now.

werty wrote:

CWG wrote:

There is this thing called "out in the country" where there are no gyms to speak of or not within 50 miles.

Now you also need a car or a dogsled to get through a snowstorm so you can run on your treadmill.

Membership dues likely also apply.

One year membership for a city owned gym under 100 euros here.

Don't need a car.

Fine and dandy if you are close enough. This is about those who live far away from a gym and experience winter.

A guy that lives next to a beach in the tropics might not even need shorts but that's not the point.

I buy liquidation shorts on runningwarehouse, wait for my model of shoes to come out with a new one then buy 2 or 3 pairs when the old ones go on sale, buy my running shirts on clearance from marshall's, and have been using the same walmart timex for 4 years at this point. If you know how to shop the most expensive part is race fees.