Good afternoon and happy Wednesday. I hope you are having an awesome week and that the weather isn’t too miserable where you are. It’s just gone dark and started raining here, again. Fingers crossed it’s dry at the weekend. Anyway, enough complaining about the weather. I know it’s only November 23rd, but in an attempt to stop myself from making any ‘Black Friday’ running related purchases, I decided to publish this post today.

My ‘True cost of running’ in 2018, 2019, 2020, and in 2021 posts turned out to be reasonably popular, so I decided to work out how much I managed to spend on what I call running-related purchases in a 12-month period that featured a lot of complaining about my knees and not a lot of running. I decided to use the same categories; running clothes and trainers, running accessories, race entries, etc I used in previous years so that I could compare this year’s spending with what I spent last year.

In last year’s ‘True cost of running’ post, although I didn’t set myself a running budget for the year ahead, I was determined that 2022 was going to be a less expensive year than 2021. I wanted my running hobby to fund itself. I reminded myself that because I couldn’t run, I didn’t need to add to my mountain of running gear and pile of trainers. I concluded my review with a reminder that if I started to experience race #FOMO I could head to Sutton Park parkrun and run 5k for free.

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As in previous years, I found going through my running expenditure spreadsheet – yes, I’m still a statistics geek, so I have spreadsheets for everything – a rather uncomfortable process. Definitely a bit of a reality check! I quickly realised that I’d once again completely failed to achieve my aim of not adding to my mountain of running gear and unlike in 2021, I’d also added to my collection of trainers. I also discovered that I’d managed to spend far more during the last 12 months than I thought I had.

So, now that it’s clear that I failed to stay away from the temptations of Sweaty Betty, SportPursuit, and Pete Bland Sports, let’s have a look at what I purchased this year. In an attempt to make myself feel less guilty, I’ve included what I spent in each category last year.

Running clothes and trainers

• Sealskinz socks – £4.99
• Viking Sport socks – £6.99
• Aktiv Tropical High socks – £9.99
• Blueball Spring socks – £12.99
• Berghaus blue gilet – £19.99
• Sweaty Betty power shorts – £30.00
• Leave Nothing but Footprints hoodie – £30.00
• Miles for Mind hoodie – £32.16
• Kari Traa Women’s Beatrice jacket – £34.98
• Midnight runr hoodie – £41.95
• Brooks Adrenaline GTS 22 trainers – £90.00
• Brooks Adrenaline GTS 22 trainers – £99.45

 TOTAL: £413.49 (£48.50 last year)

 Running accessories

• Sealskinz gloves – £11.99
• parkrun Australia cap – £35.16

TOTAL: £47.15 (£407.99 last year)

Running related books 

• First Ladies of Running (second hand) – £4.51
• Running with the Buffaloes (second hand) – £6.91
• Running for our lives – £10.61

TOTAL: £22.03 (£122.08 last year)

Race entries

• Royal Sutton Fun Run – £25.00 (DNS)
• Royal Parks Half Marathon – £63.95 (transferred number to another runner)

TOTAL: £88.95 (£0.00 last year)

Virtual races

• Runuary – £13.95
• Miles for Mind February – £13.95
• Spring in Your Step March – £13.95
• Leave Nothing but Footprints April – £13.95
• Miles for Mind May – £13.95
• Summer Running Challenge July – £13.95
• Leave Nothing but Footprints September – £13.95
• Miles for Mind October – £13.95
• Run up to Christmas – £14.50

TOTAL: £126.10 (£162.95 last year)

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 Travel and accommodation

• Return train travel to Lichfield – £4.50
• Return train travel to Lichfield – £4.50

TOTAL: £9.00 (£0.00 last year)

Running holidays

TOTAL: £0.00 (£0.00 last year)

Running club

• Royal Sutton Coldfield AC 100 Club fees – £32.40
• Royal Sutton Coldfield AC annual membership – £76.00

TOTAL: £108.40 (£87.00 last year)

Miscellaneous

• Replacement Fitbit strap – £5.75
• Exercise ball for physio – £9.98
• FE Virtual Challenge coaster – £10.00
• Bodyglide x 2 – £23.98

TOTAL: £49.71 (£16.85 last year)

GRAND TOTAL: £864.83 (£845.37 last year)

As in previous years, I felt embarrassed when I worked out how much I’d managed to spend on what is meant to be a cheap hobby. Last year, I described my most expensive purchases as one-off investments. The Garmin I bought is still going strong and I’m hoping it won’t need replacing any time soon. This year, my most expensive purchase was two pairs of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 22 trainers in the Pete Bland Sports sale. Not exactly what I’d describe as a one-off investment but more like stockpiling of my favourite trainers. I can’t believe how expensive trainers have got. I’m not looking forward to the day I break my ‘rule’ of not spending more than £100 on a pair of trainers.

And what about my spending in each of the categories? After a spendy 2020, last year I managed to keep my running clothes shopping to a minimum and I didn’t buy any trainers, so I felt it was time for me to invest in a couple of pairs of Brooks Adrenalines. I probably didn’t need to treat myself to three different hoodies, but I’ve been wearing these hoodies a lot and they are turning out to be a great investment. In fact, for the first time I can remember, I’ve worn everything I bought this year.

A year ago, I was confident I wouldn’t need to buy any running accessories in 2022. I ended up treating myself to a pair of waterproof gloves and a running cap from parkrun Australia. The cap was unfortunately far too large for my tiny head, so I ended up selling it on eBay and getting most of my money back. This year, I remembered to ask for a selection of running-related books for my birthday, and this meant that I spent less on books.

Although I started the year with the aim of not entering any races, I entered and subsequently ‘DNS’ both the Royal Sutton Fun Run and the Royal Parks Half Marathon. I managed to transfer my Royal Parks Half Marathon entry to another runner, so the entry fee wasn’t wasted. I entered several virtual races, when I wasn’t able to run, these virtual races provided me with an incentive to get out of the house. My running club fees decreased slightly, so I joined the 100 Club. As for the miscellaneous category, when did Bodyglide get so expensive?

While I clearly spent far more than I’d originally planned to at the start of the year, I did manage to sell some of my unwanted running clothes on eBay and Facebook. I’ve worked out that I made approximately £460 by selling my unwanted, will never fit me again running clothes and a few other unwanted bits and pieces on eBay and Facebook. While this clearly wasn’t £460 worth of profit, I had a good declutter of some of my unwanted stuff ready for when I hopefully move next year.

I’ve decided to repost some of the information I’ve included in previous ‘True cost of running’ posts. If you are looking to sell your unwanted running clothes or trainers online, dedicated Facebook selling groups such as the Running Gear Buy and Sell group and the Run Mummy Run – Pre-Loved and Secret Sales group are great places to start. I’ve not used Depop, Vinted, etc, so I can’t personally recommend them, but I’ve seen lots of positive feedback. And don’t forget eBay, look out for listing promotions and list your items then.

I’m going to end this post – phew! – by saying that 2023 is going to be a less expensive year. I’m determined to ‘run for free in 2023’. Yes, my budget for 2023 is £0. No exceptions. If I want to make any running-related purchases, I’m going to have to raise money by selling some of my unwanted running clothes. I not only want my running hobby to fund itself, but I also need my running hobby to fund itself. I can’t keep buying new running clothes when I have boxes of running clothes I’ve hardly ever worn in storage in my loft. There’s no point in entering organised events as I usually end up ‘DNS’ them. I’m aware that I’m repeating what I said last year, again, but if I find myself starting to experience race #FOMO, I’ll head to my local parkrun.

Have you ever worked out how much money you spend on running in a year?  What about the average annual cost of being a triathlete? Apologies for the repeat question, but you all know that I’m nosey. I’d love to see how my spending compares to other people’s spending.

Do you set yourself a running budget at the start of the year? My budget for 2023 is £0. If I want to treat myself to anything, I’ll have to raise money by selling some of my unwanted running gear first.

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