One of the great things about making running your sport of choice is that the financial barrier to entry is very low. Sure, you need shoes, which can sometimes cost more than $100.  But if you’re smart about where you look you can easily find them for much less than that (just be sure you’re knowledgeable about running shoes or find a store employing someone who is).  I’m personally a big fan of the Sports Basement in San Francisco – the running knowledge sometimes leaves something to be desired but you can’t beat the prices.  I also recommend the nice folks at Fleet Feet in the Marina – they are very knowledgeable but beware that their expertise comes in the form of higher prices.

What about stores in the other places I’ve lived?  I recommend Princeton Running Company in Princeton, New Jersey.  I haven’t been to that particular store in a few years but had great experiences in the seven years I lived nearby.  In the Detroit area, you can’t beat Hanson’s Running Shop.  When I first went to Hanson’s (with my dad and his wallet) in 1994, the Hanson brothers, Kevin and Keith, had two stores and both were high school cross country coaches.  Now they have four stores in the area and have operated a highly successful Olympic development program, the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project, for several years running.

Once you have the right shoes, my guess is that you already have the lightweight and weather-appropriate clothes you need to get out the door (or into the gym) and run.

There are certainly many other running-related gadgets and clothing on which you can spend your money.  But sometimes you don’t have money to spend. One of my favorite blogs is Get Rich Slowly, a personal finance site started by JD Roth in 2006.  JD has a great post quoting Chris Zdeb of the Edmonton Journal who created a list with his readers of Forty Frugal Fitness Solutions.  I’m of course partial to #5.  But I know that my brother, an expert at frugal fitness (and one of the most fit people I know), has used several of the tips on this list:

Forty Frugal Fitness Tips

1) Walk.
2) Buy a pedometer to help keep track of your steps.
3) Take the stairs every chance you get, even if it’s only one flight.
4) Park farther away from work or from the front door of the shopping mall or grocery store.
5) Jog or run.
6) Don’t use your children as an excuse not to exercise.
7) Buy a dog from the SPCA or borrow the neighbor’s pooch.
8 ) Turn on your radio, CD player or MP3 and dance up a storm for 20 to 30 minutes in the privacy of your own home.
9) $12 buys you a library card and borrowing privileges for all sorts of exercise videos or DVDs.
10) Use the lowest stair or stairs in your home or outside and create your own step workout.
11) Turn your canned goods into weights.
12) Grab a chair or the kitchen counter and do some push-ups and leg lifts.
13) Pair a favorite TV show with some sit-ups.
14) Take the treadmill/rowing machine/exercise bike hidden away in the basement or under a pile of laundry and move it into a prominent place like the TV room.
15) Thinking of buying a piece of equipment to workout on at home? Check out the classifieds for a good deal.
16) Pick up a ball or play tag with your kids.
17) Pass on hired help and do your own housecleaning and yardwork.
18) Call up some friends for a game of shinny street hockey or pickup b-ball at a neighborhood playground.
19) Pick up cheap, used sports equipment at second hand sport stores and discount department stores.
20) Check with your community league or local rec center for any exercise classes or team sports you can join for a pretty affordable price.
21) Got rope? Jump it for a total body workout.
22) Exercise with a friend.
23) Dust off the bicycle you forgot about in the garage or pick one up cheap at a garage sale.
24) Swim.
25) Laugh. Great big belly laughs. Every day. It’s good for the soul as well as your abs.
26) Carry around a computer bag or backpack weighted with five or 10 pounds of stuff for exercises like one-armed rows or squats you can do throughout the day.
27) Buy a stability ball.
28) Stand up and go for a walk or just stand by your desk and stretch for five to 10 minutes every hour.
29) Check out the company gym if you have one.
30) Ask your employer for some free space, send out an e-mail to see if others are interested, and bring in someone to teach a yoga or Pilates class on site once or twice a week and split the cost.
31) Organize a hockey, basketball or baseball game with the people you work with.
32) Check with your boss or human resources department to see if there’s a program that will help pay for all or part of a gym membership.
33) Find out if your local gym offers discounts to recent college grads.
34) Go to fitness club open houses.
35) Sign up for a gym during peak sale periods.
36) Paying $40 or $50 for a monthly gym membership may seem like a lot, but if you thrive in such a high energy setting and actually do work out regularly, it works out to about $2 to $4 a visit if you go three to six days a week.
37) Check if your health insurance company offers lower premiums to people who workout regularly or have a club membership.
38) Call up a trainer, tell him or her you’re on a budget and see what they can provide you for $50 or whatever you have to spend.
39) Call up a trainer and arrange a session for you and a couple of friends to split the cost.
40) There are lots of sport drinks on the market, but water is cheaper and will quench your thirst better while you exercise.

Photo by Don Hankins