running is free
adding up what a hobby that supposedly needs nothing has cost me.
The pitch for running is that it costs nothing. Put on clothes, put on shoes, go outside. To be honest that held up for years, but then it became a regular hobby.
the receipts
Since last November:
- Garmin Forerunner 965, upgraded from a vivoactive 5. $450, gifted.
- Lululemon running vest, a birthday gift. $160.
- Three pairs of shoes: Adidas EVO SL EXO, EVO SL Woven, Asics Superblast 3. ~$450.
- Shokz OpenRun Pro 2s, $145 on sale, after giving up on AirPods for music.
- Adidas shorts and hats from Costco, ~$80.
- Merino wool socks, ~$80, for moisture and odor.
- A running belt, $50.
- Honey Stinger fuel, ~$90.
About $895 of that is mine. The gifts add another $610 on top.
Shirts aren’t on the list because I’ve stopped tracking them. Part of my rotation dates back to 2015: old race shirts and free tech tees that have survived a decade of washes. They hang in the same drawer as shirts I bought specifically for running, $60 to $80 each.
the race tax
Even outside the gear, race registrations are their own line item that I keep forgetting to count. $50 for the Davis Moonlight 10K, $110 for Urban Cow, almost $250 for CIM. That’s $410 to run distances I can technically run for free, and I’m lucky that I don’t have to pay for travel or lodging for any of them.
what earns its keep
My vest just started seeing use now that my weekend long runs are 12+ miles and I have to carry water and fuel. The belt is situational: it comes out when I’m wearing shorts that can’t securely hold my phone, but it bounces enough that I get annoyed having to adjust it throughout my run. The merino socks are the least exciting thing on the list and are maybe the best purchase of the bunch: the odor resistance alone makes them worth it.
The shoes cost the most and get the most use. They’re also the piece actually keeping me from getting hurt. The watch is just fun, and I like the data as much as the running.
One miss was the EVO SL EXOs. Didn’t realize until my first run in them that they’re missing the extra lace holes to do a heel lock. Now they’re sitting in the garage and will probably be given away (likely to my dad who is thankfully the same size).
whose fault this is
Mine mostly, with help from an algorithm. Once I started following runners and brands, my feed figured out what I wanted to see. Watching someone break three hours, or push a specific shoe, gets to you even though you know the shoes aren’t why. I’m not fast and I’m nowhere near competitive, yet I’ve convinced myself I need the right shoes, vest, and socks.
But I can’t help that I like it. Every new thing gives me something else to test, or another internet rabbit hole to go down. I like the data, the science, and the stories other runners share.
so what’s yours
Over $1,300 spent in less than a year, on a hobby people describe as free.
I’d guess a lot of hobbies actually look like this once you add them up, and that plenty of them are “worse.” Photography, cycling, mechanical keyboards? Whatever it is, we like them enough to spend our hard-earned money on them, and that’s okay.