Forums >General Running>Cost of a "Road Membership"
Interval Junkie --Nobby
As I retired my 26th pair of running shoes and checked in my 30th pair into RA's tracker, I got to looking at the cost of running -- something I normally consider "free". There's always The Road. No membership fee required. But if you take a closer look, it costs me about $0.23 per mile. (I exchange my shoes at around 500miles, depending on how they've held up).
Let's call it a quarter per mile for easy math.
So, my casual weekly mileage of 35mi/week is about $8.75/wk. Or $35/mo. $420/year.
When I was training, I regularly ran 65mi/wk or about $65/mo. $780/year.
Kinda surprised me that something I mentally think of as "free" is quite expensive. Compare this to a $19/mo non-running gym membership. I stipulate non-running because obviously miles are miles and you still need something on your feet. But if you just consider weight-lifting or whatever, you could get by with a single pair of cross-trainers for a year or more. Still $100/year. So, a total of $328/year.
I'm not even going into weather related running clothes, garmin, race fees, gu, protein bars . . .not to mention injuries.
2021 Goals: 50mpw 'cause there's nothing else to do
an amazing likeness
Not to mention the opportunity cost of hours spent staring at my RA log while wondering 'wtf is happening here...'.
Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.
Cheaper than all those cartons of cigarettes and the associated medical expenses.
and the cost of a shrink or meds needed for sanity, I go for run when I am mad/stressed/have cabin fever/haven't talked to a human in hours, all perks of working from home.
You must buy some expensive shoes!
Since I've ended up running with Skechers the last 4 years or so I would guess my average cost is less that 10 cents per mile for shoes.
I've actually worn out quite a few socks and a few pairs of shorts over the last 12,500+ miles that I guess you would need to add into the equation if you were really calculating out the cost.
The numbers that might surprise you are the costs of entering races over the years, especially if you factor in the travel cost if you have any races that you've traveled to. I know you could run without racing, but I don't think I could. I need races on my schedule to keep me motivated.
Age: 50 Weight: 224 Height: 6'3" (Goal weight 195)
Current PR's: Mara 3:14:36* (2017); HM 1:36:13 (2017); 10K 43:59 (2014); 5K 21:12 (2016)
Swimming is virtually free
Life Goals:
#1: Do what I can do
#2: Enjoy life
and the cost of a shrink or meds needed for sanity
This is very true.
Mother of Cats
Err....pool membership, swimsuits, goggles, caps, "toys" (paddles, buoy, etc)
Everyone's gotta running blog; I'm the only one with a POOL-RUNNING blog.
And...if you want a running Instagram where all the pictures are of cats, I've got you covered.
*virtually
Goggles last 24+ months ($4 - $40)
Swim Buoy, not necessary, but lasts 5+ years
Kick Board not necessary, but lasts 5+ years
Cap not necessary
Pool membership - expensive (approx. $30 / month)
Master's swim class - expensive
Lake access - dependent on location, but can be free, but seasonally accessible.
Dollar for Dollar, I'm fairly confident that swimming is cheaper than running if you're willing and able to swim open water
It's possibly the same if you're swimming at the gym and have to add a gym membership to swim.
And yes, I was somewhat stirring the pot and making a play of it.Yes, these games we play are luxurious, and cost money.... but well worth the money we spend
And yes, I was somewhat stirring the pot and making a play of it.
Sir, you're already swimming on thin-ice here, what with the "miniMarathon" reference in your sig-line. Don't push it.
not bad for mile 25
swimming on thin-ice
Mixed metaphor or uncomfortable swimming. I don't like running on thin ice, either, but it might reduce wear on shoes.
Sorry, I'm a tiny bit snippy today, and looking for trouble rather than going for a swim.
My "A" race is in 23 days, and a big storm took out their city and literally blew the roof off of the host site.
Unfortunately, I don't think I get to race my A race this year.
But, I think I may get to volunteer that weekend provided my hotel is still accessible.
another part of my signature line impacted today.... "Ironman Florida - 11/2" (Panama City Beach, FL)
With that said.... I have no idea why they call things MiniMarathons.... Recently moved north from Texas, and we never called the half marathons "minis".
Kinda surprised me that something I mentally think of as "free" is quite expensive.
I consider something that has as much value as running and costs a lot less than 1% of my annual income to be very cheap.
Maybe not free, but approximately free.
Runners run
I consider something that has as much value as running and costs a lot less than 1% of my annual income to be very cheap. Maybe not free, but approximately free.
^ this. As far as hobbies go, still a pretty cheap one. I justify the time & cost I spend running by the fact that it really is my only hobby. And I still try to keep it on the cheaper end of that. I wear Brooks shoes which are usually $120-130 a pop, but have not paid full price in a long time; I generally buy discounted older models. Not too big on any other gear - new socks once in a while, a new pair of shorts every couple years. And every shirt I run in I got free from a race. Of course as mentioned, those are not free at all, probably a greater expense than shoes. Not to mention the amount I am going to spend going to Boston next year, which is a whole different category.
Dave
undue monkey
The Cincinnati Heart Mini Marathon is my favorite local road race and my favorite distance, 15K. I would submit that it get a pass for the name.
It's been run every year since 1978 when ~2,000 people registered and about another 1000 bandited (!). Bob MacVeigh, former co-RD of the Boston Marathon, was co-RD of that 1978 race and invited the man who would be it's inaugural winner, Bill Rodgers. From then on it became a popular Boston tune up and Cincinnati springtime ritual. It has progressively turned into the standard weekend fundraiser with a bunch of different events. It brings in north of $3M for the AHA, and now the half marathon draws a similar number of entries to the 15K "mini".
On topic: I'm heavy and have lousy form so I'm unable to get more than ~350 miles from most shoes. Fortunately Running Warehouse always seems to have decent clearance options for $50-60.