Running as a competitive hobby must have the least productive training of any hobby

Running is way more productive than triathlon. Pool fees, wetsuit, swim training gear. Bikes that cost more than the average car. Races that start at $700 not including travel and 4-5 nights hotel. Training weeks that can be more than 25 hours a week, not counting travel time to pool etc..

All so you can walk a marathon at the end of a day of exercise to get a crappy hat and an oversized medal. If you are talented enough you are rewarded with a trip to Hawaii where the race entry is $900 and you spend another $7000+ on a vacation to race in completely miserable conditions. If you are lucky your hobby doesn't end in divorce.

tri wins as the worst wrote:

Running is way more productive than triathlon. Pool fees, wetsuit, swim training gear. Bikes that cost more than the average car. Races that start at $700 not including travel and 4-5 nights hotel. Training weeks that can be more than 25 hours a week, not counting travel time to pool etc..

All so you can walk a marathon at the end of a day of exercise to get a crappy hat and an oversized medal. If you are talented enough you are rewarded with a trip to Hawaii where the race entry is $900 and you spend another $7000+ on a vacation to race in completely miserable conditions. If you are lucky your hobby doesn't end in divorce.

I am going to offer a counterpoint as someone that recently took up swimming while being injured. I find it cheaper than running. The only gear you need are swimsuits, goggles, and maybe some flotation devices for specific exercises. You can get a gym membership to a gym with a 25 meter or yard pool for $50/month, which is probably less the combined costs of shoes/clothes/race fees over a month. You can get quality discounted practice suits for less $50.

Now if you want to get serious, that's where the costs go up. You probably will need to join a club so you can get proper coaching and adequate pool time. Competition suits run in the hundreds of dollars (of course, runners are paying $300 for the Vaporfly so they lower than hobby jogger marathon PR by 5 minutes).

At the end of the day, if you want to dedicate a couple hours per day to something and be reasonable competitive, running probably is the best choice. But don't sleep on swimming.

You pretty much need to belong to a masters swimming group if you want to be remotely competitive. Even then if you weren't very fast in high school or college for most people it is a lost cause. The main thing about swimming is time getting to and from the pool and the restricted set of hours you can usually do it. Race suits can get expensive and in triathlon you are looking at a wetsuit $500-$1200.

Don't get me wrong, I've done a lot of swimming. I've raced Kona several times. I've raced road bikes at a competitive level. Running is just hard to beat (if you are healthy) from an input output perspective. This thread really just points out the absurdity of it all, even though most of us still find endurance sports highly rewarding.

Sdfsdfsdfsdfsdfsdf wrote:

Taking into account some stretching time, rest intervals on hard days, etc, it should still be possible to do it in 12 hours a week or so, if you're efficient. The actual running should only be 8 hours if you are averaging just under 7 minute pace.

Yea, but the thing is that you have block 1.5-2 hrs on your calendar every day at a specific time (whatever time you have the most physical energy and feel the lightest). You can't do 15 minutes here, 5 minutes there, etc.

Think about how this affects your social life. If you're an evening runner, you're probably not going to go out for dinner with friends because you don't want to run on a full stomach. If you're a cyclist then you can easily eat a big meal and then get in a workout on the stationary bike.

Why do people here think that triathlons are a counter-point to my claim? They're running x3.

jamin wrote:

Why do people here think that triathlons are a counter-point to my claim? They're running x3.

Only a counter-point to the claim that running is the least productive training of any hobby. Running is still more productive than triathlon (x3 even).

this is why I just lay in bed all day and weigh 500 pounds

Becoming a private pilot and maintaining competency costs about $100 per hour. Owning a cheap plane is at least $4000 a year on a sunk cost of at least $25000.

One bad mistake means that you become a stain on the ground.

Running is easy, cheap and helps keep you healthy which lowers your medical bills in the long run.

fromtheheart wrote:

The ROI from running can be confirmed with a quick glance in the mirror. A washboard gut, tanned slender legs hard as iron, tight derriere, powerful lungs, clear skin, plus a clear head, low dollar cost, free natural drugs (adrenaline/endorphine).

I guess in your case it also subs for internet porn!

As i get older trying to run as fast as i can seem so stupid. My wife and kids are so proud of my 2:5x marathon that i can achieve running 40-50 miles a week and stil be there for them. Can’t imagine running 80-100 miles for a 2:3x and a nice age group award in Boston...

Did you mean to write you were a 12 handicap and not a +12? I agree with you, golf took up a lot more time and effort. That is why I slowly converted to competitive running. I still love going to range and hitting balls as a diversion. I also consider returning to playing more but when I recall the amount of time and money invested into being consistent, I quickly dismiss the idea.

Precious Roy wrote:

Just about every athletic hobby has a plateau point that is very hard to crack. I used to play a lot of golf. I was a pretty consistent +12 handicap. I committed to hitting at the range 3 times a week and playing at least 3 rounds a week one summer. I ended up developing some bad habits and had to take apart my swing and put it all back together. I saw no improvement. I have lots of friends who pour thousands into their golf game and are stuck at 7-10 handicaps.

There is a certain point where you reach your limits in skill and physical ability in every athletic hobby. Breaking through that barrier is always hard and often impossible without a massive time/money commitment.

Did you mean to write you were a 12 handicap and not a +12? I agree with you, golf took up a lot more time and effort. That is why I slowly converted to competitive running. I still love going to range and hitting balls as a diversion. I also consider returning to playing more but when I recall the amount of time and money invested into being consistent, I quickly dismiss the idea.

My wife thinks I am overly obsessed with running. She barely tolerates my marathon racing and training. I used to golf regularly including taking lessons from a teaching pro, regular driving range sessions, and 1-2 rounds of golf a week but I stopped because my wife thought I was spending too much time golfing, golfing doesn’t really make you healthier riding around in carts, and because I was bad at golfing(could never break 100 legitimately). Running offers health benefits and I am actually pretty decent at it with results from 1 mile to half marathon over 80% age graded. I am competitive in my age group at local races and even competitive for the overall at smaller races. I have also made some runner friends. That’s why I switched from golf to running.. might go back to golfing for fun after I retire in 20+ years or so.

Sounds like you have a wife problem not a golf or running problem.

M.A.G.A...

See what happens Jamin when women demand more of your time. Say goodbye to the sport you like to complain about so much. On the flip side a few bad relationships can fuel running on "Pure Hate" and you can achieve new PRs.

Is it worth it? A big question, mostly unanswerable until you get to the end of it all.

M.A.G.A...

But think of the health benefits. Priceless.

But there are millions of people running

And only a fraction of that play chess or whatever

It's the most competitive sport in the world

Yeah sure you could be a chess master or a tiddywinks champion but it wouldnt mean anything

I always told my HS runners that the best friend you can have is a motivated teammate of equal ability. That is true for us masters runners too.

I am 62, my training partner is 72.

He still has sprint wheels, at least in comparison to over-60 runners. I can only laugh when he dusts me in anything 800 or shorter.

But I can take him at 3 miles and beyond.

We have quit wasting money on entry fees.

Instead of races, we schedule Sunday morning time trials and let it rip.

Rarely are there any witnesses to our battles.

And after, we discuss what happened and critique each other's performances.

It is running in the purest sense of the word. Win or lose., it brings joy and satisfaction .

Yea, if you don't have expert coaching and your form down by the time you are like 12, you will never amount to anything in swimming. Taking a step back from the competitive aspect, if you live near a decent pool and only intend to swim for fitness and to challenge yourself, it can be a pretty low cost hobby. I am lucky that I have world class pool within walking distance from my work. On the other hand, running can be done almost anywhere and you don't need fancy facilities to do it on the regular.

Any hobby that you want to become decent at will require a couple hours per day spent in solitude and foregoing socialization. Becoming good at pretty much anything requires a lot of time spent alone.

Anyways, who wants to go out to eat all the time? It costs money, people are annoying, and people that are obsessed with going out all the time are especially annoying. This isn't a university social club.

Also, join a running club and running turns into a social activity. Yea, most people are slow as molasses, but you can drop into low gear once or twice a week on a recovery run.