money well spent

Some people may think I'm cheap, but I like to think of myself as frugal. I mean, I'm no extreme couponer, but I hate spending money unnecessarily. Aside from the fact that I don't exactly have unlimited resources, I also just hate the idea of wasting while so many in the world live in such poverty. All that being said, running cost money...plain and simple.

Some money you need to spend is easier to understand and rationalize than other money. For example, if you want to sign up for anything from a 5k to an ultra marathon (not that I know this one personally...yet), you can expect to pay an entry fee. But when you consider the cost of the operation to put the run together like the water and energy products, the police details, the t-shirts, the prize money, the awards, etc. it's easy to see the necessity of that money. Also making it easy for most 5k's is the fact that all proceeds typically go to a specific cause. I have never complained about paying an entry fee. Of course, if I wanted to be cheap/frugal here I could be. I could simply run on my own and never participate in events.

If you are a runner, however, then you know that the biggest running expense is not an entry fee to a race. No, the biggest expense for running is the equipment...sneakers. And, in my opinion, no matter how much they may cost, this is money well spent. Running shoes is an area that I will never attempt to go cheap on, and for good reason. Before I explain why, let me tell you how this topic came to mind.

I was at a cookout after church on Sunday. I was sitting at a table with a group roughly my age (they were in college and I am nearing 30, but I like to pretend that I still belong). I brought up running (as always) and one of the girls (she will remain nameless, but let's just say that her name could be defined by Webster as "a variable color averaging a dark orange yellow") told me that she was excited that she just bought a pair of running shoes, and GOT A GOOD DEAL. Uh oh. As an avid runner, I was immediately concerned. I asked her where she bought them. "Marshalls!" Oh no. I was afraid she would say something like that. The next question was an obvious one. How much did she pay? "$20!" Oh boy. I hated to be the bad guy here, but I said what needed to be said. I told her that it was a good thing that she hadn't paid so much because she was going to need to turn them into regular wearing out shoes and buy herself a real, good pair of running shoes. I then went on to explain to her what I will explain next.

Running is fun. Running is relaxing. Running is awesome. But running also has a risk of injury that comes with it. Our knees don't necessarily appreciate the constant pounding that running puts on them. Sometimes, neither do our shins, ankles, feet, etc. In order to reduce that risk as best we can and keep our lower body (and potentially our back) happy, we need to ensure that we have the proper equipment. And no piece of equipment is more important that our shoes. We need to ensure that our body is properly supported. (In fact, some people have recently jumped on the band wagon of minimalist shoes like 5-toed and such. I've yet to be convinced, but I am listening.) Running shoes is not the thing to get a GOOD DEAL on. I mean, if you can get a good pair cheaper, by all means, do. But don't just look for the cheapest running shoe that looks "cute."

There are plenty specialty running stores these days since the popularity of distance running has increased over the last couple decades. At these stores, staff are at the ready to analyze your gait (whether or not you pronate, etc.) and work hard to fit you into the right shoe for you. The truth is that the shoe that works for you may not work for me. In fact, I've been running in the newest model of the same series from Asics for quite some time now as they are simply the best shoe for me. The best thing about this evaluation is that it's free. You are committed to buying any shoes, but the price is the regular retail price (unless there's a sale) which means you're not overpaying comparable to what you would pay for that same shoe elsewhere.

If you are planning to start running or if you run and have never had an evaluation done (and especially if you feel any weird twinges in your body when you run) then I heavily recommend going to the experts. I promise that it's the best decision you can make as a runner and it will be money well spent. (It's also worth noting that now that I know what shoe I need, I shop around and buy it the cheapest I can...hey, I'm still frugal.)

Completely off topic for a moment, I will say that the best piece of running equipment I ever purchased though didn't need is my Garmin GPS watch. I heavily recommend them to serious runners. A close second is my CamelBak for really long runs (I ran my second marathon with it).

So, just remember, though it's okay to be frugal, don't ever let it blind you from recognize areas that is money well spent!