PINCHING
PENNIES
PINCHING
PENNIESOne good thing about running is that it's such an easy-entry activity. Compare running, for example, with yachting, drag racing or Winnebago-style camping where a major cash outlay plus a second mortgage on the house is necessary just to get started, not to mention upkeep, interest, insurance, taxes and fuel. No, running is one of the least expensive recreational pursuits available.
Reasonable race entry fees provide refreshments, T-shirts and prizes in addition to the race itself. Running newspapers are free. Ample free running facilities are available almost anywhere. Even the organizations are inexpensive; try comparing Track Club dues with yacht club or country club dues, for example.
In considering the low cost nature of the activity, one might logically conclude that running would have great appeal to the economically less fortunate, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Quite to the contrary, various surveys always show the majority of runners to be educated and affluent, and a quick visual survey of race parking lots corroborates the latter. Evidently running must have great appeal to affluent tightwads.
Of all running expenditures (excluding race fees and injury-related costs), the greatest capital outlay goes into running shoes. Every serious runner has to purchase one or more pairs per year. Publications directed toward runners periodically review the myriad makes and models but one factor that's never discussed is cost. Evidently the cost of running shoes is a taboo subject unfit for discussion in polite circles, which makes it suitable to bring up here.
Let's say, for example, that a particular runner is graduating from "jogging shoes" to high quality training shoes. He or she has read all the reviews and has decided in favor of the popular Tiger X-Caliber GT ($74.95 list price). What should that pair of shoes cost?
If our runner goes to a nearby athletic footwear store, tries the shoes on and decides to purchase, chances are the cost will be "list price" or very close to it. But after purchasing the shoes, and being very satisfied with they, our example will invariably find a windshield flyer or newspaper ad offering the same shoes for $59.95, possibly even at the same store. In responding to those ads, the runner may be distressed to find that the stores don't have the right size. A little extra hassle often seems to be associated with buying shoes below list price, but perseverance will win out and our runner now has two pairs. Later there appears another ad offering the same shoes for $49.99 from a peculiar little store which goes out of business several months after a third purchase.
Finally, in thumbing through the back pages of a runner's magazine, our runner finds a business selling a pair for $43.77 (plus $2.00 shipping charge) and, out of curiosity, calls the toll-free number. The salesperson confirms availability and requests credit card information and two days later the shoes are on the front doorstep, courtesy of UPS.
Let's see, our example now possesses four pairs of identical shoes, ideal for use on a rotational basis. If list price had been paid, the cost would be about $300, but our example paid $229. If all were bought at the lowest price, they would cost $184, a savings of $116 below list.
Now, $116 could provide about 12-14 race entries. Or $116 could purchase a first-rate portable tape deck and a pile of tapes. It could buy all the socks, running shorts, sweat suits and Track Club uniforms necessary for the life of the four pairs of shoes. The savings could pay for Track Club dues, all SDTC race entry fees and annual banquet tickets for two years. It could......
November 1986
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