I was inspired by Meghann’s recap of how much it cost her to train for an Ironman, so I composed this little recap of my spending over the past year on my tiny running habit. While I’m not an Ironman by any means, I did drop a pretty penny for a college student!

Race entries (Oklahoma City Half Marathon, Route 66 Half Marathon, and about 6 5ks- some of which were free): $260

Hotel costs for out-of-driving-distance races: $225

Food while traveling to races: $30

New shoes (I replace mine yearly): $120

Running gear that was purchased this year: $75

Miscellaneous racing stuff (fuel beans, Nuun, fuel belt): $50

Extras (race shirts): $50

TOTAL: $810

Close to $1000 spent on running last year! Oof. Luckily, some of these costs were covered by my family (shoes by my parents, a hotel room by my aunt). I still included them, however, to present a more accurate picture of the cost.

What do you think? Too much spent on a little hobby? I honestly thought it might be more, but I’m okay with spending this amount on something that brings me so much happiness. $1000 sounds like a lot, but it obviously wasn’t all at once and I save up for a while before I blow cash on large items like half-marathon entries or a new jacket. Do you have a hobby that costs you some serious cash?