photo credit: Sharon McCutcheon via Unsplash
I am linking up with Kookyrunner and Zenaida for Tuesday Topics and today is National Savings Day and we’re talking about how to save money on running gear/races. When I started our running, I thought that running is a fairly inexpensive sport. All you need is some workout clothes and some proper running shoes. Yeah, well, turns out that you will start spending more money on gear and races then you might have thought. So, I am sure we’ve all come up with some strategies to save on these expenses. Here are some of mine.
Buy things on sale and/or from off-name brands
I hardly ever buy any workout clothing at regular price. I usually scour the sales’ racks at Target, Old Navy or Nordstrom’s. Two of my other favorite off-name brands are CRZYOGA (a Lululemon knock-off) and Queenikie (these are available on Amazon, but also have their own websites).
Buying higher quality brands items with coupons and sales
I occasionally do invest into higher-quality brand items, but I usually only do that when they have a special sale or if I have a coupon/gift card.
Buy last year’s shoe model
I never buy the latest shoe model. I always go for last year’s version. It’s usually sold at a significant discount, but the shoe is “new” enough to not be completely “out of date”. Strangely though, the two-year old models tend to go up in price again (might be because if it’s a popular shoe, they go out of stock and therefore the price goes up.)
Buy two pairs of the same shoe.
If you really love a shoe, consider investing in buying a second pair and keeping it for later. An updated version of a certain model is not necessarily better and often people complain about changes in a new version that they don’t like. So, if you have a shoe that you really love, it’s a smart idea to invest in a backup pair, esp. if you’re already saving money by buying last year’s model.
Sign up for races early
If at all possible, and if you can reasonably commit that far in advance, sign up for races early. In most cases, you can defer your registration, if you can’t make the race, but sign-up fees are usually the cheapest if you register right after the previous race.
Do you have any other tips to save some dollars on gear/races?
