My Biggest Running Expense Is One I Never Expected
By: Benya Clark
Tags: Running, Health, Exercise, Finance, Fitness

If you had asked me before I started running what the most expensive part of the hobby would be, I never would have guessed correctly. I might have thought that the cost of shoes would add up, or maybe that I would splurge on a fancy watch. I wouldn’t have even considered the thing that I’ve actually spent the most money on.

It turns out that the most expensive part of running is the food.

It’s not that I’m buying tons of running gels or shelling out for energy tablets. I’m just literally eating more than ever to make up for the calorie deficit that running creates.

How Many Calories Does Running Burn?

There’s a common saying that weight loss happens in the kitchen, not in the gym. Although there’s certainly some truth to this, from my experience it’s too black and white. Running actually burns a tremendous amount of calories.

The exact number of calories that you burn per mile depends on a variety of factors, including your weight and how fast you’re going. In my case, my heart rate monitor/GPS watch estimates that I burn about 110 calories per mile.

When I was a new runner, and only going 5 or 6 miles a week, this was a fairly negligible amount of calories. As I got more experienced though, my miles began to build and so did the calorie count.

For the past couple of years, my baseline has been 25 to 30 miles a week, with some weeks reaching as high as 40 miles. This means I’m burning anywhere from 2750 to 4400 calories a week just from running!

When I first started running, I was trying to lose weight, so I celebrated this calorie deficit. I was happy to have an excuse to eat a little bit more while staying within my diet.

These days though, I’m happy with my weight, and my only goal is to maintain. Unfortunately, that means I have to eat a ton to compensate for my running.

Eating, Then Eating Some More

When I go on a long run, I sometimes feel like I spend the entire rest of the day eating. My hunger can be nearly insatiable.

With an average of 3000 extra calories burned each week from running, I have to eat about 25% more than I otherwise would just to avoid losing weight. This means that my grocery bill ends up being quite a bit higher.

Think about how much you’ve spent on groceries over the past year, and then add 25%. The cost is much greater than I’d even spend on shoes in a year.

It helps that I like to cook most of my meals. I also benefit from my years of experience being a broke warehouse worker and student — I know how to keep food costs down.

Cheap staples like rice, lentils, and beans provide plenty of calories and nutrition while costing barely anything. I also load up on a 5-pound bag of potatoes every week.

Even with these cost-cutting measures, food is a very important expense to take into account when I consider how much I’m spending on running. It easily adds up to hundreds each year, but it’s easy to miss because it’s hidden in my grocery bill.

I don’t want to discourage anyone from running, because it’s absolutely worth it, but I do hope that new runners will know to expect this cost. As you ramp up your mileage, be prepared to ramp up your grocery shopping too!