Running is a great hobby because all you really need is running shoes. Yes, women will probably want to look into sports bras long term. Yes, guys probably want something to hold things in place. AND YES, some people run barefoot (I don’t recommend this, glass = bad). For most people, a pair of $100 running shoes, on sale for $75, can get you rolling.
If it’s your first time buying running shoes I would recommend going into your local running store and have someone watch you run and measure your feet. Local running stores are usually staffed by friendlier and more knowledgeable associates than box stores. Listen to what they have to say, tell them you are looking for shoes that are on sale and ask about models from “last season.” Shoe tech does not obey Moore’s Law and I doubt you will notice the difference between shoes released 8 months apart. Once you have an army of shoes in your price range, jog and jump around to make sure the shoes don’t hurt. Pick your favorite pair and purchase them from the nice sales associate who helped you.
When you get home, write down everything you were told about your feet. Are you pronate or supinate? What size should you wear? I run in shoes 1 full size larger than my normal shoes to counter the foot swelling that occurs when running longer distances. Be proactive and buy the bigger shoes now, it might save you from the curse of the blacktoe!
Once you find a pair of shoes that fit I really recommend purchasing through an online shopping portal. Right now, I am trying to accumulate American Airlines frequent flyer miles so I am using their shopping portal.
Here’s the math on my most recent running shoe purchase from ShoeMall through the AA Shopping Portal and using my Barclay Aviator Red Mastercard during the 50% bonus promotion (ends in June 2015):
- Saucony Ride 7 (regularly $110) using an onsite coupon code (offsite coupon codes void shopping portal points) = Paid $83.97 = Saved $26
- ShoeMall offers 7 AA miles per $ through the American Airlines shopping portal = $83.97 x 7 = 588 AA miles
- Using my Barclay Aviator Red Mastercard during the 50% miles promotion = $83.97 x 1.5 = 126 AA miles
- My most recent AA redemption has me valuing AA miles at 1.54 cents per mile = (588 + 126) x 0.0154 = $11 dollars towards my next flight
You should never (NEVER) buy things just to get credit card points/miles. I view running shoes as a necessity and I would buy them even if I had never heard about travel credit cards. In this scenario, I consider myself having purchased $110 running shoes (most recent model!) for $73 dollars.