Score

I bought my 20th pair of running shoes yesterday. I’m pretty sure it’s the 20th. I stopped keeping track 2 or 3 pairs ago. Plus, there was that one pair I only put 10 miles on before returning. Maybe I shouldn’t count those.

I’ve donated most of them, but I still have a few pairs next to my bed. There’s the pair with the red Xs drawn on the side, to remind me never to run in them again. There’s the pair I ran the Relay for Hope in, which still have Newfoundland road grime all over them. There’s the pair that I inexplicably got over 400 miles out of. There’s the pair that haven’t quite reached the end of their life, that I can still do the occasional hash run in. There are my trail shoes that I’ve used once. And there’s the pair that I’m currently using.

Formal Wear

I’m not celebrating my 20th pair as a milestone or anything, though. The truth is, I go through shoes way too quickly. I’m lucky if I can get 300 miles of running out of a pair of shoes. If I average around 35 miles a week, that’s a new pair of shoes every 8-9 weeks. That means my shoe budget is $50 to $60 per month. That’s just for shoes. That doesn’t include shirts, shorts, and socks, all of which I have to replace about once a year. And it doesn’t include race fees.

Running is kind of an expensive hobby. Of course, I could run barefoot and never run a race (no really, I could), and just stick to buying shorts and shirts (those are lines I will not cross). But races are what make running tolerable. I don’t know if I would have stuck with running as long as I have if it weren’t for the races. And let’s be honest, barefoot running is a thing that people do, but nobody runs at their fastest while barefoot. And I run races so that I can run at my fastest.

Anyway, the way you notice a pair of shoes is getting old is when running in them really starts to suck. More than usual, I mean. More than summer, even. Unfortunately, I’ve noticed that happening to my current pair, and I think it’s generous to say they’ve got about 220 miles on them. So now it becomes a test of wits – do I continue to suck hard at running, just so I can get my money’s worth? Or do I start using my new pair of shoes that I bought yesterday, so I can get back into training?

Well, it’s not that hard to answer that question. This Saturday, I have my first of three 20 milers in this training cycle. I’m not going to run 20 miles in an old (and after today’s run in the rain, soaking wet) pair of shoes. So, time for some new shoes, and I’ll add my old ones to the pile. I might need to take a few pairs in for donation.

Except that pair with 400 miles on them. I need to cut them open and see what magic they were made of.