I decided to have a look at the link from OP's article to see why the claimed cost ($1600) was so different to yours. Some of it was fairly reasonable...
- Race fee $86.40
- Extra food/coffee: $79.90
- Extra laundry: $25
- Transportation & lodging: $95
... some of it was very individual or easily avoidable on a budget...
- Gym membership: $130.50
- Pet car: $50
- Sports massages: $210
- Post-race celebrations: $163.46
... and the rest just seemed a bit excessive/unnecessary...
A Mcdonalds breakfast will only cost you £5. Surprisingly common pre-race fuel for a lot of people I know who run marathons...
> - Gear: $578.80
Yeah, if you're buying an entire new set of gear for every marathon, I suppose it'll cost a lot. Although I'm struggling to see how you get to $578 (~£440) even splurging on expensive shoes and kit.
I think the $80 figure came from the total increase in the cost of groceries over the 18 week training period.
> I'm struggling to see how you get to $578
Me too. Apparently this was the cost of:
> two pairs of shoes, another pair of long winter tights, plus two new pairs of capri tights and two new pairs of shorts, a handful of new shirts, a new tank and visor to wear on race day ... a pair of ski mittens to wear over my regular running gloves during bitter cold training.
It didn't include a GPS watch, which she already possessed.
An excellent point. Although you can get a GPS running watch for about £70 in the UK[1] complete with wrist-based HRM (which is fine for most casual runners, I think.) And that'll last you a good few years, at least.
- Race fee $86.40
- Extra food/coffee: $79.90
- Extra laundry: $25
- Transportation & lodging: $95
... some of it was very individual or easily avoidable on a budget...
- Gym membership: $130.50
- Pet car: $50
- Sports massages: $210
- Post-race celebrations: $163.46
... and the rest just seemed a bit excessive/unnecessary...
- Gear: $578.80
- "Running fuel": $19.90