How much do you spend on running? This writer spent $1600+ over the 18 week period to train for a marathon

Didn't read the article but that guy is the definition of hobby jogger. You can see why everything is tailored towards them because they actually spend (ie. waste) money on all the accessories and gear you don't need.

I'd say about half of the stuff he spent money on was completely unnecessary

I went over each line item to try and decide what was necessary and what wasn't:

Race fee - Necessary

Instruction - Didn't spend any $, props for using Hansons

Gear - This one is subjective because it depends on how much gear you start out with. She should have a fair amount of gear because she's already done a marathon. She could probably get away with only one new pair of shoes as she should already have race shoes. Tights/pants can be expensive, but you really only need a couple pairs. Add in some long sleeves as well, and I think a $300 budget is more than fair. Deduct the rest.

Intermediate races - Originally I was going to discount other race fees, but this is more a record of money spent specifically on running during a particular period in time, so I say this is fair game.

Food - To be honest 80 bucks sounds pretty low.

Running fuel - Fine.

Ibuprofen - Okay.

Laundry - Really, you spent an extra $25 in detergent? I find this hard to believe.

Gym membership - I'm not counting this because you'd probably have a membership even if you weren't running.

Pet care - Fair enough.

Sports massages - Not necessary, can deduct full amount.

Transportation/lodging - A little on the low side if anything.

Post race celebration - Hanging out with friends doesn't count towards the cost of the marathon. Full deduction.

So our deductions are:

Gear - $278.80

Laundry - $15.00

Gym - $130.50

Massages - $210.00

Drinking/eating - $163.46

TOTAL - $797.76

Which leaves us with a total cost of $1681.36 - $797.76 = $883.60. If she didn't have to buy any gear other than a single pair of trainers, for which I'll allow a budget of $85.00, then she could lower costs down to $689.80. Almost half of that, $321.80, is race fees. A pair of trainers, transportation/lodging, and extra food account for $259.90.

.............. wrote:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/07/15/the-1600-marathon/

Is winter running gear really that expensive? Seems like I'm saving a lot by being in a warmer place...

No. You've saved

1600 for a lipo? where can i sign up?

Agreed. The estimate is way over blown. I don't think including the other race fees is valid. She has a watch so she can time herself. But if the headline said she spent $500 to train and run a marathon it wouldn't be as good for click bait.

Even worse, she only ran a 4:18.

This is a great example as to why America is still the best country in the world and all you fools don't realize it. People in America can literally waste $1600 on RUNNING and their life is not affected. Heck, everyone else here who only spends $500/year is still special.

Flounder wrote:

Agreed. The estimate is way over blown. I don't think including the other race fees is valid. She has a watch so she can time herself. But if the headline said she spent $500 to train and run a marathon it wouldn't be as good for click bait.

Even worse, she only ran a 4:18.

What do you expect? She ran only 623miles in 18 weeks. (less than 35mpw.)

Winter running gear is expensive, but I think her gear expenditure is based more on her "lifestyle" approach than necessity. Anybody on their sixth marathon - and she acknowledges four other races during the build-up, so she's probably run 40 or more races - has been at it long enough that she already has all the base gear. She bought more because she wanted more, not because she needed more.

Also, maybe I'm cheap, but $235 for two 5k and two 10 mile races that she ostensibly was using as check-ins during training? Absurd. That sounds more like "event' races than "tune-up" races to me.

FrozenNorth wrote:

Winter running gear is expensive, but I think her gear expenditure is based more on her "lifestyle" approach than necessity. Anybody on their sixth marathon - and she acknowledges four other races during the build-up, so she's probably run 40 or more races - has been at it long enough that she already has all the base gear. She bought more because she wanted more, not because she needed more.

Also, maybe I'm cheap, but $235 for two 5k and two 10 mile races that she ostensibly was using as check-ins during training? Absurd. That sounds more like "event' races than "tune-up" races to me.

I think the entry fees for races are absurd, not the fact that runners want to race. Racing is the whole point of training.

Hobby joggers spend approximately double on running what good runners do.

It's disingenuous to attribute the entire cost of winter gear to a single race that you will only spend a few months training for. This is like claiming that it cost you $40K to drive to the next town over because you had to buy a truck before you could make the drive. Most of those clothes will last years, but you're claiming them as costs associated with 2 or 3 months of training.

Also, the gym membership seems really unnecessary. To me, it makes sense to add weights to your training once you're doing enough mileage that you're starting to hit diminishing returns from running alone. If you're doing 90 mpw, spending a half hour in the weight room might be more beneficial than running another 4-5 miles. If you're doing 30 miles per week and you have another 30 minutes to devote to training, go run for another 30 minutes. If you need to do some strength stuff for injury prevention, a few minutes of plyos and body weight stuff after a couple of runs per week should be more than sufficient. For someone who is running that little, the best use of training time is almost always going to be running more miles.

My friends who run NY, Chicago, and so on probably spend $800 or so on average just for airfare, registration, and shared hotel. Add another $100 or so for meals, that's $900 over the event weekend.

cost allocation wrote:

It's disingenuous to attribute the entire cost of winter gear to a single race that you will only spend a few months training for.

Totally agree with this. She was running anyway just as she would be EATING anyway. No need to include food. No need to include socializing post-race. I could understand something like a GPS watch being included in the expenses because one is getting more serious about training, but that she doesn't include. Most people's expenses, if they are that high, are related to airfare and hotel for a destination race. And she shouldn't add the additional smaller races as Hansons tells you NOT TO RACE beyond maybe one 5 or 10k at the beginning to see where you are. And the opportunity costs, even though she lists hers as $0, are really just a shot in the dark for anyone to guesstimate. I could have spent all that training time learning code and gotten a better job, or that's fanciful thinking.

The categories should be:

race fee

lodging/transportation

1 race outfit (fun factor)

1 (extra) pair of shoes

some kind of hydration bottle for long runs

watch if you don't have one

gels/some kind of on the run nutrition for post-16 miles

Training plan/book as a base of knowledge

socks--this is really the only special gear i would spend money on. nice blister-free socks. 5 pairs. I can't believe she didn't even mention them!

And she didn't even mention compression socks.

Some packs of long underwear, some baggy shorts, socks in bulk from the local Walmart, bunch of cheap oversized hoodies, few packs of cheap long sleeve undershirts and a few good ski-caps or headbands should be all you need. Oh and some Vaseline on the twig and berries as the long underwear can be a bit aggravating. That's gotta be less than $200, add on another $150 for running shoes and a watch. Biggest expense is doing all the gd laundry in the winter. If we're talking below 10 degrees Fahrenheit it's a different story, but you really don't need gloves otherwise. You just buy the hoodies large enough and let the sleeves roll over your hands. If you insist on running in the Brooks brand tights, wearing compression shorts/socks, getting some of those nifty windbreakers and such it gets way more expensive and is honestly not sustainable for someone on a budget running everyday. Get a set or two of fancy gear and save it for the truly cold/windy days.

FrozenNorth wrote:

Winter running gear is expensive, but I think her gear expenditure is based more on her "lifestyle" approach than necessity. Anybody on their sixth marathon - and she acknowledges four other races during the build-up, so she's probably run 40 or more races - has been at it long enough that she already has all the base gear. She bought more because she wanted more, not because she needed more.

Also, maybe I'm cheap, but $235 for two 5k and two 10 mile races that she ostensibly was using as check-ins during training? Absurd. That sounds more like "event' races than "tune-up" races to me.

You don't need tune up races to run a 4:18.

She was going to do them anyway, just looking to pad the dollar amount to make a better article.