Cost of Running: Clothes

I put this as the cheapest one on my list of the costs of running, but honestly you can spend quite a bit on running clothes, especially initially. Running socks, shorts, pants, shirts, jackets, and shirts can all set you back, but they don’t need to break the bank. Plus, if you take care of them, running clothes last a long time, so while the initial cost may be high, the average yearly cost of clothes can be pretty reasonable.

Here are some tips for saving money on running clothes.

1. Don't buy everything brand name.

Buying brand name clothing from a running store is fine, but if you're new to running or your wardrobe needs replenishing, it's OK to get some store brand gear. I had a few pairs of Target tech shorts over the years, and they worked fine. I still have a sleeveless running shirt from Target that's lasted years. Honestly, I've had Target shorts last longer than some of the brand name clothes I've had.

2. Watch for sales.

Look for running jackets and pants toward the end of winter when they go on sale. Watch for sales on gear near big events. Running stores sometimes host packet pickup for races and offer promotions like 10% off clothing and shoe purchases.

3. Check the clearance rack.

The best running jacket I own came from a clearance rack in the back of a running store. I can't remember the exact discount, but it was 50% off or more.

The nice thing about running clothes is that they last a while -- especially compared to shoes. I think my newest pair of running shorts in my rotation is about four years old, and since I have so many race shirts, I probably haven't bought a running shirt in about a decade (although one could argue that paying for a race registration includes paying for a shirt).

This post concludes my list of the costs of running, but guess what? There'll be a bonus post on one more piece of running gear that you may want to spend money on as a runner.

Stay tuned.

Cost of Running: Food

Of the things one has to spend money on for running, food is often neglected. The fact is, running costs extra calories, and those extra calories aren’t free.

I put food as the second least expensive cost of running before clothing, but depending on how you do it, you can replace your calories from running at a not-so-expensive rate.

Say you run 30 miles a week. Running takes about 100 cal per mile, so that equals 3000 extra calories for the week. If you want to go an extremely cheap route, a banana will cost you about 12.5 cents per 100 cal. That’s only going to cost you $3.75 per week. Multiply that by 52 weeks, and you are only spending $195 per year.

It is not, however, quite so simple. Your fat stores also become depleted when you run, and you need protein to repair your muscles, so bananas alone aren’t going to cut it. Replenishing your fat stores on the cheap isn’t too hard. Cooking oil costs between two cents and seven cents per 100 cal — even cheaper than bananas.

Protein is going to cost a little more, but some sources are calorically dense, so you can double up on your fat and protein. Peanut butter costs around five cents per 100 cal, and many types of nuts will be a similar price. However, there is not a ton of protein in nut products, so you are going to have to find other sources of protein.

Eggs cost around $.19 per 100 cal, but each egg provides only around 6 g of protein, so again, eggs won’t be adequate to fulfill all your protein needs.

Better sources of proteins like beans and fish will cost around five cents per 100 cal for beans, and between $.56 and $1.25 per 100 cal for fish.

Obviously the above is not an exhaustive list. Dairy products, whole grains, and meats can also be included in an economical diet that meets all macro nutrient needs.

For arguments sake, let’s say you spend about $.25 per 100 cal. If you’re running 30 miles a week, that comes out to only $7.50 per week, or $390 per year.

Obviously, there is a wide variety you can spend on food. I am for foods that are nutrient dense, but are also cost-effective.

Stay tuned for the next post in my cost of running series.

The Cost of Running: Races

I have run a ton of races. I’ve run 20 marathons/ultramarathons, dozens of half marathons, along with a good number of 5Ks and 10Ks. Though I was a pacer at some of these races, in which case they were free, I paid for most of those races.

Races range a fair amount in price, but let’s say the average to be around $60 a race. If you do just 10 races a year, that comes to $600.

Saving on races is probably the easiest thing to save money on as a runner. Here are a few simple tips:

1. Race less.

I know this is a bummer, but if you want to save money on races, the easiest way is to race less. I race way less than when I first restarted my running career. Rather than running a race every month or so, I’ve only been doing a couple a year. You can save money by picking the races you think you will most enjoy and running those, then forgetting about the ones that might not be as fun.

2. Register early.

The earlier you register for race, the cheaper the registration fee. Plan out your training well in advance, so you can register as early as possible for each race.

3. Think in terms of value. 

That 5K you want to run is only $40, and there’s another one on the horizon that is only $50. Run several 5Ks per year,  however, and you could be spending a lot of money by the end of the year. Those two 5K’s come with an average cost of about $15 per mile. A $100 marathon registration would cost about $3.81 per mile. If you’re really want to race, consider running a half marathon or two and maybe a marathon or two to get more bang for your buck. If you really enjoy 5Ks and 10Ks, aim for a couple per year rather than every other weekend.

4. Join a running club.

I can’t say enough about MDRA (Minnesota Distance Running Association). Not only does being an MDRA member come with discounts to races (and running stores), it also has several free races throughout the year for members. 

5. Find cheap or free races

Sometimes there are community races that are cheap. And, there are even free races. If you’re in the Twin Cities, come to Eagan and run the Eagan parkrun 5K, a free race that takes place every Saturday. Depending on where you live, there may be a parkrun close to you.

Of course there’s always the options to forgo races altogether. Those who can just go out and run a few miles every day are awesome. I can’t. I need a race or two on the horizon to train for, otherwise I get lazy and run less and less.

Stay tuned for the next post on the cost of running.

The Cost of Running: Doctor’s Visits

Of all the costs associated with running, doctor and physical therapy visits are the biggest bummer for me. Unfortunately, over the past few years visits to the doctor and physical therapist have become a somewhat regular occurrence.

Medical provider visits aren’t cheap. Even if you have good insurance, you probably still have to pay a copay, and those add up quickly. Over the past couple years, the costs of my medical visits have surpassed the cost of pretty much anything else running-related — partly because injuries have kept me from running as much which has kept me from running as many races and buying as many shoes.

If you’re looking to avoid medical bills related to running, here are some tips:

1. Run less.

It’s my least favorite thing to do myself, but the fact is that more running leads to more injuries. Don’t get me wrong: running is good for you. Runners actually suffer less from arthritis of the knees, so don’t let anyone tell you running will ruin your knees. Still, more mileage means a higher chance of overuse injuries, so if you are injury-prone, consider cutting back your mileage.

2. Cross train.

Cycle, ski, pedal an elliptical — not only will these activities improve your aerobic fitness, they can also help you avoid injuries if you’re using those activities to replace some running.

3. Prehab.

Do running-specific strength training to strengthen muscle and connective tissue to help make your body more resistant. If you can find a personal trainer who specializes in running-related exercises to help you set up a routine, all the better.

4. If you do end up injured and visiting the doctor and/or physical therapist, do your exercises.

Do the exercises you’re given and avoid future office visits.

Being derailed by running injuries is no fun. Neither is having to pay for trips to the doctor. I hope these tips will help you avoid injury and save some money.

The Cost of Running: Running Shoes

In my post about the costs of running, I mentioned shoes as one of the main culprits of the cost of running.

It’s interesting how many brands of running shoes there are and how many models there are within those brands. In the ten years since I restarted my running career, I’ve ran in K-Swiss, Hoka, New Balance, Asics, Nike, Newton, Brooks, Mizuno, Altra, and Saucony, and in a most of those brands I’ve run in at least two different models.

I’ve run in so many different brands and so many different models because I’ve run a lot of miles. A few years back, I was running around fifty-miles-a-week. Your average running shoe is pretty durable if it gets to 500 miles before it needs replacing (three to five hundred is what you can expect depending on your weight and running conditions). So, if my shoes were making it the full 500 miles, I’d need a new pair every ten weeks. 

For quite a while, I worked at The Running Room and got a discount on shoes, but for the average runner a shoe will cost $100 - $160 brand new. At $100 a pair every ten weeks, you’re looking at about $500 for a year’s worth of running shoes.

There are, however, a few ways to cut down the costs:

1. Join a running club

Many running stores give a discount to running club members. I’m part of the MDRA, and I get a discount at several running stores in the Twin Cities. I highly recommend the MDRA because not only do you get a discount, but you also get several free or discounted races and a magazine that occasionally features articles by yours truly.

2. Ask for last year’s model

Often times a shoe store has the previous year’s model of a shoe for significantly less than the new one.

3. Shop online: with some caveats.

You can save at a couple websites like,  Road Runner Sports and Zappos along with some retailers like REI. However, keep a couple things in mind. First, it’s not cool to go into your local running store and get the expertise of an employee to help you pick a shoe, then leave the store and buy the shoe online. Pay the extra $10. Running stores usually do things like free group runs or speakers, and they support the local economy. Thing number two: Limit your online purchases to shoes you’ve worn in the past. Don’t buy something you’ve never run in before.

4. Get a part-time job at a running store..

I did this for several years. If you can get a part-time gig at a running store,  not only will you have a little extra money, you also will get a discount on shoes. 

5. My least favorite: run less

For some this might be a godsend: you don’t have to run a ton to stay in shape. Twenty - forty minutes a day four to five days a week is enough to stay healthy. Fewer miles on your shoes means buying fewer shoes. 

Stay tuned to my next post on saving money on running.

The Cost of Running

Running can get expensive. I have definitely spent quite a bit on running since I restarted my running career a decade ago. My beautiful wife is also a runner, so between the two of us our running expenses can get quite high. If you’re interested in some estimates of how much running may cost in a lifetime, I highly recommend the Runner’s World article, “How Much Does Running Cost Over a Lifetime?”

Before I go more into all the various costs associated with running, let me say a few quick things. I don’t regret a penny I spent, other than maybe some entries for races I didn’t enjoy. Running has helped keep me healthy, sane, and I’ve met lots of people and made several friends through the sport.

Now, let’s get into the costs. This will be different for each different runner, but here are how the costs break down for me:

1. Running shoes

2. Physical therapy/doctor’s visits

3. Race entries

4. Food

5. Running Clothes

You could also add one other cost associated with running: time. I can’t find the article, but a few years back I read an article that talked about how running takes time and that time spent could be spent making money. While there are some scenarios where this may be the case on a regular basis, the only one I see playing out for more than a few is taking unpaid time off to do a race.

In my next few posts I’ll look at each of these costs and how to bring these costs down.

Stay tuned.

Cramming

As the year winds down, I've revisited my 2019 goals, and there are a couple that I'm going to cram for. I had two goals this year involving writing. One was to write fifty-two blog posts, and I’m a little behind on that. I’m going to have to average three-a-week to finish by the end of the year. I think I can do it. I toyed with the idea of posting some book reviews and wrote several that are sitting in my drafts.

I wasn’t sure if book reviews on fiction were a good idea for this blog, but since Twin Cities Runner has expanded from being almost all about running to running and mental health, why not add some book recommendations? Besides, a lot of the books I’ve “read” I’ve actually listened to while running, so they relate to running at least tangentially.

Another writing goal was submitting two articles to Runner’s World. I was pretty stuck with that one for a while, but now I’ve got two that I’m almost ready to submit. I’m 95% sure that neither of them will get published online, and 99% sure they won’t make it into the print magazine, but hey, I’ll keep practicing.

Although this is a lame excuse, one reason for my lack in writing progress is our computer. It. Is. So. Slow. It takes forever to boot up, and often times freezes for several seconds to several minutes, and sometimes it freezes altogether and I have to restart it. 

So, I’ve been writing the vast majority of my blog posts on our iPad, which is OK with the keyboard (I’ve actually got pretty fast typing on it), but the app I use isn’t great for formatting, and I can’t add pictures as easily.

By publishing some book review posts along with trying to turn some ideas into actual blog posts, I think I’ve got a shot at those fifty-two posts.

Thanks for reading.