3 ms·

> But take a look at the money that has gone into the shoes, clothes, specialist accessories and bags, travelling to races, paying entry fees, Taking one marat

> But take a look at the money that has gone into the shoes, clothes, specialist accessories and bags, travelling to races, paying entry fees, Taking one marathon I've done, shoes (which get used a lot) were £110 (because I have wide feet and have to buy Hoka/Altra); travel was £40 (train to the coast) + £4 (Brompton hire); accommodation was £90 (B&B); entry was £40; kit was about £40; £324 total. If I had a car, I could have swapped £134 of that for about £30 in petrol. The shoes and kit will last for at least a year and should be amortised. You could probably do a marathon for £130 all told. Which is not nothing but it's a pretty low barrier to entry when you consider the cost of other sports. > so on that a dedicated runner spends their money on Anecdata: I know a lot of dedicated runners (50+ marathons/ultras a year, etc.) and almost none of them spend money on specialist accessories, bags, shoes, kit, etc.

n4r9 8y ago
I decided to have a look at the link from OP's article to see why the claimed cost ($1600) was so different to yours. Some of it was fairly reasonable... - Race fee $86.40 - Extra food/coffee: $79.90 - Extra laundry: $25 - Transportation & lodging: $95 ... some of it was very individual or easily avoidable on a budget... - Gym membership: $130.50 - Pet car: $50 - Sports massages: $210 - Post-race celebrations: $163.46 ... and the rest just seemed a bit excessive/unnecessary... - Gear: $578.80 - "Running fuel": $19.90
- zimpenfish 8y ago
  > - Extra food/coffee: $79.90 A Mcdonalds breakfast will only cost you £5. Surprisingly common pre-race fuel for a lot of people I know who run marathons... > - Gear: $578.80 Yeah, if you're buying an entire new set of gear for every marathon, I suppose it'll cost a lot. Although I'm struggling to see how you get to $578 (~£440) even splurging on expensive shoes and kit.
  - jmull 8y ago
    There’s got to be a running watch in there.
    - zimpenfish 8y ago
      An excellent point. Although you can get a GPS running watch for about £70 in the UK[1] complete with wrist-based HRM (which is fine for most casual runners, I think.) And that'll last you a good few years, at least. [1] https://www.decathlon.co.uk/onmove-500-gps-hr-watch-id_8529029.html https://www.decathlon.co.uk/onmove-500-gps-hr-watch-id_85290...
      - randlet 8y ago
        Plus, you absolutely don't need a running watch to run a marathon. That cost estimate is absurd.
  - n4r9 8y ago
    > A Mcdonalds breakfast will only cost you £5. I think the $80 figure came from the total increase in the cost of groceries over the 18 week training period. > I'm struggling to see how you get to $578 Me too. Apparently this was the cost of: > two pairs of shoes, another pair of long winter tights, plus two new pairs of capri tights and two new pairs of shorts, a handful of new shirts, a new tank and visor to wear on race day ... a pair of ski mittens to wear over my regular running gloves during bitter cold training. It didn't include a GPS watch, which she already possessed.

n4r9 8y ago

I decided to have a look at the link from OP's article to see why the claimed cost ($1600) was so different to yours. Some of it was fairly reasonable... - Race fee $86.40 - Extra food/coffee: $79.90 - Extra laundry: $25 - Transportation & lodging: $95 ... some of it was very individual or easily avoidable on a budget... - Gym membership: $130.50 - Pet car: $50 - Sports massages: $210 - Post-race celebrations: $163.46 ... and the rest just seemed a bit excessive/unnecessary... - Gear: $578.80 - "Running fuel": $19.90

zimpenfish 8y ago
> - Extra food/coffee: $79.90 A Mcdonalds breakfast will only cost you £5. Surprisingly common pre-race fuel for a lot of people I know who run marathons... > - Gear: $578.80 Yeah, if you're buying an entire new set of gear for every marathon, I suppose it'll cost a lot. Although I'm struggling to see how you get to $578 (~£440) even splurging on expensive shoes and kit.
- jmull 8y ago
  There’s got to be a running watch in there.
  - zimpenfish 8y ago
    An excellent point. Although you can get a GPS running watch for about £70 in the UK[1] complete with wrist-based HRM (which is fine for most casual runners, I think.) And that'll last you a good few years, at least. [1] https://www.decathlon.co.uk/onmove-500-gps-hr-watch-id_8529029.html https://www.decathlon.co.uk/onmove-500-gps-hr-watch-id_85290...
    - randlet 8y ago
      Plus, you absolutely don't need a running watch to run a marathon. That cost estimate is absurd.
- n4r9 8y ago
  > A Mcdonalds breakfast will only cost you £5. I think the $80 figure came from the total increase in the cost of groceries over the 18 week training period. > I'm struggling to see how you get to $578 Me too. Apparently this was the cost of: > two pairs of shoes, another pair of long winter tights, plus two new pairs of capri tights and two new pairs of shorts, a handful of new shirts, a new tank and visor to wear on race day ... a pair of ski mittens to wear over my regular running gloves during bitter cold training. It didn't include a GPS watch, which she already possessed.