Affording More Races

There comes a time when we have to choose what races we want to do and what we can afford to do. I often get asked how I am able to do as many races as I do. My first answer is that I have an amazing husband. Second is this, I have found some helpful ways to help budget in more races. (Also helpful to just save money in general)

When you register early it is cheaper. Also look for promo codes. Google the race and often time you can get a code to save a little more.

Save money in other areas of life. My husband use to get $40 hair cuts to basically just shave his head. I bought $30 clippers and do it myself. That is $40 more dollars every month that can be put elsewhere.
$40 x 12 months = $480 (Roughly 4 race registration fees!)

Look at monthly expenses and things that you don’t use.
We use to have the huge cable package with all the premium channels, but never really watched them. I changed cable plans and save $43 a month.
$43 x 12 months = $516 (Roughly airfare and hotel for an out of town race)

We use to eat out A LOT. I love to cook, so eating home is very nice, but also saves us a ton of money (and is also way healthier). Just cutting out 3 meals a week can save a ton.
$30 X 52 weeks a year = $1,560 That is a lot of money from just cutting out $30 a week of eating out!

Turn your vacation into a racecation. Find a fun race in a fun area and plan your vacation around it. Than you use vacation days from work and vacation fund money and double your pleasure. I love doing the runDisney races for this reason. My husband and my almost 3 year old have a great time too.

Find sponsors! Talk to your employer about possible sponsorships. They pay for your race entry and you can put their logo on your running clothes. Same goes for local businesses that you frequent. Many businesses like the advertising they can get from someone wearing their logo in a race. Don’t be afraid to ask businesses for a sponsorship though. What’s the worse they can say? No?

Maximize your frequent flier miles. Use those miles before they expire. My husband travels so much for business that we get most of our airfare comped and most miles can also be used for rental cars and hotels. Check all deals, like AAA. Having a Disney Premier Annual Pass has more than paid for itself just in the discounts we get from having in, plus we get into Walt Disney World and Disneyland.

For your birthday and Christmas ask for a race instead of presents. Even if just 10 friends and family gave you just $10 a piece that’s $100 race fee right there!

Join a running group, or several, and make running friends. Often times you can than carpool on a road trip to a race and save on gas, and than share a hotel room and save on that too.

Local smaller races are often cheaper than a large race, but sometimes offer even more memories. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a big ticket race to have an amazing time.

Hopefully these ideas can give you some ideas of how to translate them into your life and make it work. Happy running!

Here is some great info from the Kiss Me Dirty mud run race series. (Look below at pictures) My BFF and I ran one of their race together and had a BLAST! www.kissmedirty.com