Running an Expensive or Inexpensive Sport?

I've watched my expenses pretty closely for running the last year (ironically) and this is what I have.
Note: I did not buy any shorts/gear other than shoes in this time period, but can typically find a pair of Nike splits online or on clearance for $20. I also split my shoes purchases between online outlets and our local running store.


Date Range: 10/19/13-9/2/14 (10.5 months)

Total Costs - $1,027.86
Shoes (7 training shoes, 1 pair of spikes, 1 pair of flats) - $901.31
Entry Fees (4 races) - $106.38
Other expenses (protein powder) - $20.17

2,995.52 miles

2.92 miles per USD

Massages can be bloody expensive. In my city the going rate is 90 an hour. You can find massage schools that charge a fraction a week but even if you going once a week to get things tweaked, that adds up. I lift weights and I could go literally every week but the cost is too prohibitive for a hobby...

There is no way you could sound more like a total douche bag who's just begging to be hit. Is that what you were going for?

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Real Runners wrote:

Hey losers, they are talking about pros here, i.e., the sport - not silly hobby joggers like you paying $100 to finish 9754th in some lame excuse for a race. Yes the sport is expensive, especially since the biological passport the re-emergence of dominant white distance runners has dried up the cheap African well.

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CWG wrote:

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EZ10Miler wrote:

I'm just thinking that many working poor and working class people are in jobs that make going for the daily run very difficult. If you are doing hard, manual labor, or you have a weird split ship schedule, few weekends off, you work and sleep at odd hours... the chance you getting in the consistency needed is just going to be rare.

I'm not saying it's impossible, but it's going to less common than the professionals or 9-5 types.

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I did hard manual labor and was very poor and ran my best during that period.
Saying you can't do it is a cop out.

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It's one of those things that you can make as expensive as you want it to be. Kind of like traveling in a third world country. I buy xc flats that are $50 a pop and that's the only thing I run in. I get my shorts on sale and wear them until they fall apart. Winter "tech" gear can be expensive but you don't have to wear it you could just wear sweatpants and a sweatshirt. You can also find some of this stuff at the thrift store. So it can be expensive or cheap. When I played basketball I thought that was very cheap. You can get in a league for free (the sponsor of the team foots the bill and you're on the team) or you can just play pickup. I never bought the hottest shoes so I never spent more than $100 on them. You really don't even need a ball. If you show up to the court someone is bound to have one.

I always think of golfing as an expensive sport but for a hobby golfer it's not dissimilar.

Beginners set of golf clubs - $399 >= Garmin
Golf bags - $120 = 2nd pr shoes
Dozen golf balls - $12 = local race entry fee

Running can be cheap if you just want to run for fitness, or can be expensive if you want to be competitive. For a person who just wants to lose some weight and get into shape, running doesn't cost more than the clothes and shoes, which can be found relatively cheap if you buy on sale stuff.

Races are what get expensive. Most 5/10ks in my area are now at least $30, and many are closing in on $50. That's too much in my opinion. Half marathons and marathons are getting really bad too. The races themselves are $100+ and many closing in on $200. That is before hotels and transportation.

I'm a sort of competitive marathoner (PR in the 2:20s) and races like New York have essentially priced me out of competing. For the time being I cannot afford them (even though I would love to do New York), and when I can afford it I don't think I will choose to run. Personally I don't want to support a race that doesn't want to support the running community by having reasonable prices.

I run 30-40mpw and follow a training plan. I think this groups me into the 'average runner' category. I live in Florida so warm weather gear is not required. Here is my annual cost break down-

Shoes. $400
-Trainers only. Each pair lasts 400 miles so I purchase 4 per year @ $100/pair.
Shorts. $45
-I have 6 pairs. Each pair lasts 4 years so I purchase 1.5 pairs per year @ $30/pair.
Tee Shirt. $30
-Prefer 'tech' shirts and most races give them away. I have countless now. Still, I usually purchase one per year because... I have no idea why.
Long Sleeve Shirt. $20
-I have 4 or so. I usually buy a new one every other year @ $40/shirt.
Jacket. $10
-Purchased for $100 and I've had it for 5 years. Since I only wear it MAYBE 10 times per year (and usually to and from the track) I figure it will last another 5 years.
Socks. $32
- I like good socks and usually lose a few pairs a year to the dryer monster. Figure 2 x $16/2pack.
Watch. $25
- Good 100 lap memory watch. Paid $50 and it should last 2 years.
Running Club. $540
- Here's where it gets expensive but its fun and keeps me focused. Costs $45/month.
Races. $810
- Figure 5 x 5K-10K @ $30/race ($150), 2 x 1/2 Marathon @ 80/race ($160), and 1 x Ragnar at $500. More of a social weekend then a race and the $500 includes race fee, van, hotel, ect.

So, the grand total- $562 for apparel and $1912 including club and races.

The only other 'no fee' sport I participated in was surfing before I sadly moved inland. Off the top of my head- 2 x surf trip / year ($3000), 2 x surf boards / year ($1200), and 1 x wet suit / year ($300) = $4,500/year. So yeah, you could say running is cheaper...

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EZ10Miler wrote:

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CWG wrote:

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EZ10Miler wrote:

I'm just thinking that many working poor and working class people are in jobs that make going for the daily run very difficult. If you are doing hard, manual labor, or you have a weird split ship schedule, few weekends off, you work and sleep at odd hours... the chance you getting in the consistency needed is just going to be rare.

I'm not saying it's impossible, but it's going to less common than the professionals or 9-5 types.

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I did hard manual labor and was very poor and ran my best during that period.
Saying you can't do it is a cop out.

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Did you read my post at all? Obviously you didn't understand it.

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Do you pay $40-$50 every time you go for a run? Because that's what I pay when I play a round of golf.

The stupid thing about this entire thread is that it's all opt-in crap people are buying. You don't need a fancy GPS watch. You don't need a special $30 running shirt. You need a pair of shorts, and a pair of shoes (although some Africans would disagree on the shoes).

The running industry has jacked up the price of shoes in the last 10 years. The same pair I bought in 2007 costs $20 more per pair now. Race entry fees have been jacked up ridiculously. But guess what, you can still run a track race for under $10. You don't have to pay to run a megamarathon. You don't even have to race.

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Not a Coach wrote:

I always think of golfing as an expensive sport but for a hobby golfer it's not dissimilar.

Beginners set of golf clubs - $399 >= Garmin
Golf bags - $120 = 2nd pr shoes
Dozen golf balls - $12 = local race entry fee

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Wearing a cotton t-shirt for runs over 8 miles is not my ideal running gear. I have a $125 running watch because it logs my miles online, its a GPS also. I love my watch and as much as I run I believe its a great investment. I'm aware I can make it cheaper but if you want to buy some name brand gear from a local running store, these are the costs. Also, running clothes make your run more comfortable instead of some heavy cotton shirt.

8 plus miles in $10 shorts from walmart at 6'40" isn't ideal either.

But hey, I like the name brand and pay for it. not complaining over the cost of gear, more races in general.

i will not b*tch about gear but i will about race entry fees. in my area you cannot find race X for less than price Y as follows:

5K $50
10K $60
HM $75

this is effing ridiculous.

thank god it is club xc season, 15 bucks a pop for fun + good competition....

You yanks are sure paying a lot for gear.

Over here in the UK, I remember paying £15 for running shorts in college 30 years ago ($25 then, say $40 now), but now I can choose between a bunch of brands which function really well and charge USD 10 or less for shorts, singlets, t-shirts or whatever, and bulk packs of really good socks for almost nothing
- Decathlon (the Frenchies with their out-of-town sports superstores all over Europe)
- Start Fitness (the Geordies with their web shop and stores in the North-East, good runners at heart too, deliver really fast and always good on the phone)
- SportsDirect, with stores in most towns. I can always get last season's Nike Pegasus in uncool colours for about $90, and a lot of specialist stuff comes up at random times.


I don't know a single serious runner who pays full prices in a specialist running shop any more. (I do know someone who wears Lulu Lemon, but he's a banker and not very fast).

> But hey, I like the name brand and pay for it

Let's not knock name brand here. Quality gear does last. I've got 3 Nike DriFit shirts I bought for retail in 1999 and still run in regularly. Aside from shoes and nut liners, folks seem to be forgetting you can use the other running items for YEARS. For example, my Gortex winter running shell (jacket/pants) was $130 when I bought it 13 winters ago. Seems like a good deal.

So, I've got to poo poo the posters calling the respondents on this thread parsimonious misers. Frankly many Americans are conspicuous consumers. Such folks will find an outlet in any disport.

5 Pairs of Trainers per year= $500
2 Pairs of Flats per year= $150
New clothes= $300
About 15-20 races per year at about 20-30 each and My girlfriend will do about half of them with me, which I pay for so = $600
3 Massages Per Year= $250

So that is $1800 per year not counting travel, extra food and stuff I buy every few years like foam rollers watches tickets to professional meets.

It depends on many things.

I have size 14 feet. I have to order shoes online or special order them in store and pay full retail.

I live in Canada, where shoes and running gear are a lot more expensive.

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LetsRun.com wrote:

We're posting our first "Running in the Real World" clip where Sports Radio 1310 the Ticket in DFW weighs in on how expensive running is.

After first talking about a Luke's Locker going into a new development "You put a running store somewhere – let me tell you something – you’re whitening it up," they turn to how expensive running is, "What should be the cheapest sport is running. A good pair of shoes, a decent pair of shorts (is all you need), but you know what a good pair of shoes now that you need to be a serious runner are probably 140 bucks."

It goes from there as they talk about having to constantly buy running shorts. If you want to listen click below.

http://www.letsrun.com/news/2014/09/running-real-world-damn-expensive-sport-put-running-store-somewhere-let-tell-something-youre-whitening/

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 don't have a ton of insight ourselves, as almost everything we do running related now is a write-off or free.

Chime in.

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It is only expensive if you want it to be expensive. I have been running in a pair of $8.00 running shorts since 2009.

http://www.eastbay.com/product/model:132768/sku:8079945/eastbay-two-color-half-split-shorts-womens/cardinal/white/&SID=7726&inceptor=1&cm_mmc=SEM-_-PLA-_-Google-_-8079945#sku=8079094&size=XS

The most expensive part is being hungry all the time.

Is the sport expensive or the hobby expensive?

Running as a hobby is extremely cheap; you barely need shoes.

Running as a serious hobby is expensive because of all the gear (but as far as hobbies go, it's par for the course), the travel is not necessary to make running a serious hobby. Race fees are par for the course as other sports also incur heavy fees.

Running as a sport is much less expensive than your traditional sports, but still expensive.
Travel, while you say is high, is much lower than a team that travels multiple times a week.
Equipment is minimal
Resources, massage therapy, PT, S+C is the same as other sports.
Stadiums can be very expensive


In short, it's not that fuking expensive. stop giving people something else to complain about.

It's inexpensive and mom really likes that!