> According to the New York Times, the total cost of running a marathon—arguably the least gear-intensive and costly of all endurance sports—can easily be north of $1,600.
I know people who run upwards of 50 marathons a year (some who are 100+) and they ain't paying out $1600+ for each one. Most of them wouldn't even count as "affluent", never mind "rich". A lot of them don't spend hours a week training, either (but then none of them are going to win many races since they're 4-6h types.)
Yeah, the New York Times article at [1] lists the things that go into that number, including: $578 on extra clothes and shoes, $235 on entering other races as practice, a $130 gym membership, and $210 of sports massages.
This wasn't someone trying to keep their costs to an absolute minimum.
I know people who run upwards of 50 marathons a year (some who are 100+) and they ain't paying out $1600+ for each one. Most of them wouldn't even count as "affluent", never mind "rich". A lot of them don't spend hours a week training, either (but then none of them are going to win many races since they're 4-6h types.)