"I'd rather be seen on my bicycle than on a park run" - Quote from the dark side

Friday 5 September 2014

Good Running Shoes Are Expensive


Running shoes have certainly become quite expensive here in SA and the exchange rate is not helping. I'm sure the trend is the same all around the world though.

I had to buy new shoes for the road this week. I've been a Nike Pegasus runner for many years and almost always ran in them. There was one year, I think 1995, when they had a terrible model and I had to "level up" to the Nike Air Max. A great shoe but a lot more expensive.

The same happened now. The new Pegasus does not have enough toe space for me. For some reason the toe is not as wide as it used to be. Why change this now I'm asking Nike...?

I had to "level up" to the more expensive Nike Air Zoom Vomero 9.

At least I will be safe and visible in those colours!


A perfect fit but not cheap. I paid R1600.00 for this shoe and I see the Nike online store have them at $130.00. The Air Max is a lot more expensive than these even so I'm glad they work for me.

It is a lot of money, but I also know better than to take a shortcut or is that a cheapcut with this.The cheaper shoes are only good enough up to a point and they never give you the same mileage as the more expensive shoes do. High weekly or monthly mileage definitely makes it worth paying more for shoes.

I'm wearing them to work today and will wear them over the weekend before taking them for a run on Monday morning.


I'm very happy but running is not that cheap anymore... 

Have a super weekend!

9 comments:

KovasP said...

Those are great looking shoes, hope they give you many good miles!

Robin said...

Nice shoes...they are getting expensive. I'm finding it harder to find "deals" on the shoes I can wear.

Giorgio said...

In my opinion, nowadays there are more people who run than in the 2000s. For instance, there are two race a week which are hold in Rome. As a consequence, the demand for running shoes has been increasing since 2000s. That's why running shoes have become more expensive, as you noticed.

misszippy said...

It's the truth--we all like to think running is cheap, but add up the shoes, the race fees, etc. and it's really not!

Char said...

I hate to disagree with you but that's cheap compared to Australia. I only every buy my shoes on-line because they're incredibly expensive here in the shops. I'm talking about up to $260.00

ajh said...

Hokas that I wear are expensive but you can get them on sale and they last for many more miles so it works out.

Karien P. said...

I agree, Johann - (good quality) running shoes are getting ridiculously expensive here in SA! You must watch sites like runwaysale.co.za and onedayonly.co.za - they sometimes have really nice brand sales for very limited times. Right now they (runwaysale) have a New Balance sale on with gear and shoes at less than half price.

Jill said...

I work at a run specialty store part time just so I can get cheaper shoes. And comped race entries. Otherwise, I wouldn't be racing much and wearing a lot of worn-out shoes.

I like the Vomero, too, but it does give me a blister on the outside of my foot from time to time. Bleh.

One Crazy Penguin said...

I agree! I love how people call running a cheap sport. As if!