Many people believe in protecting your financial information. I am a fan of knowing numbers, facts, and understanding how things work. Based off this, I believe there is value in sharing an athletes finances. Whether you are a current athlete comparing to others and learning from them, an athlete hoping to move past high school or university athletics, or someone thinking about donating to an athlete you want to see at the Olympics, there are benefits to seeing the truth. On that note, lets begin.
Part of my kit from my sponsor, the Running Room
Yearly costs
This is always the biggest area of concern. The more we can drive down costs, the more we can train, properly recover, and avoid jobs that move us away from our goals. *All numbers in Canadian Dollars
Shoes – Used to be Nike Dual Fusion ($100), but the new version is quite a bit too soft for sprinting. Spent a lot of time testing new shoes out, and the ones that stood way above the rest were the Asics Nimbus ($189.99). Fortunately, these will last a bit longer than the Nike’s (<6 weeks), but I will still be wearing through 6-8 pairs of them. $1330
Spikes – Adidas hj 110 (New pair per year) $110
Supplements – The supplement company I began using last year is one formulated for elite athletes, specifically with the focus of having incredibly high quality ingredients combined with the guarantee that there is no illegal substances. I regularly use protein, creatine, beta-alanine, a multi vitamin, a caffeine-based stimulant, and fruit/veggie, nutrient filled shake. The approximate price for a year is $1950~
Therapy – Especially important thanks to my hip surgery, I tend to get treatment (Physio, massage, chio, etc) at least once a week. $2300
Vehicle – Paid for Civic, purchased to have minimal driving and repair costs. With registration, gas, repairs, etc., the car cost me $2300 last year
Travel – Hotels, flights, rental cars if needed. $1500~
Expenses from outside of track – a topic for another post, but athletes need to socialize, date, etc to stay sane. Mental health can suffer when you feel deprived of partying and socializing, especially when your friends like to drink and throw off training and sleep schedules – This includes clothes, an occasional drink, food, movies, etc.
Training gear – Clothes, bags, recovery tools. $800~
Coaching – $6000 USD, $6750 Canadian with the conversion
Living expenses – Rent, utilities, etc.
Total Track Related Expenses: $14,740
Total Yearly Expenses (Straight from my financial tracking software): $25,450
A visual of how many shoes I will go through leading up to Rio!
Work and Time Commitments
This is an interesting section. For one, I practice from 10 to 2, sometimes till 3 on jump days. We do this 6 days a week, bringing the weekly hours at the track and weight room to about 25. However, it is the time away from the track that really adds up. Due to the intense load on our bodies, I sleep 65 hours a week (9-10 hrs a night). There is another 10.5 hours dedicated to proper recovery for track. It takes another hour per day to prepare the most nutritionally dense foods, get supplements ready, stretch out and rest before the body and mind are ready to work again. An average week consists of just over 40 hours going towards the ultimate goal of qualifying for the olympics!
The opportunity cost is great. At best, I can hold a part time job, which is restricted completely when training 6 months in the US. I am very fortunate to have completed a 2 year, massage therapy course. This provides me with a very flexible opportunity to earn around $40 an hour (after accounting for rent or discounting prices to bring more clients in).
Income and donations
8 pairs of Nimbus Shoes from my sponsor, the Running Room (8×190 = 1520)
Clothes from Running Room ($900+)
Sask Athletics Gold funding ($2000~)
Future Best Sask Sport funding ($4000)
Therapy coverage through Future Best ($2000)
Free hip surgery!! (yippee)
Working – Only for the 6 months a year in Canada ($10,000~)
Total Income: 20,420
Profit/Loss for the Year: -7330
All said and done, with a Business Administration degree and my part time massage work, I estimate I could be making 30,000-50,000 with a similar time commitment, and save $10,000+ in expenses! Even writing this, it is hard to read these numbers. But I have no regrets!! An olympic appearance with the chance for a medal will easily make it all worth the sacrifice!
