Priceless!!

This post is a take-off on a commercial you may have seen,I believe it's for a credit card company. It goes something like this: a father is pictured with his son at a baseball game,the announcer says, "price for parking, $15, price for tickets, $60,price for hot dogs and drinks, $15; spending the afternoon with your son at a baseball game? Priceless!"
What follows is a runner's take on this commercial:
Price for a pair of New Balance 587 running shoes--$110
Price for Nike Stretch running pants--$49.99
Price for an Under Armour athletic top--$30
Price for one pair of Thorlos running socks--$14.99
Price for one Super Duty runner's hat--$22
Price for a Timex Ironman Sleek 50-Lap watch--$65
Price for an adidas miCoach Heart Rate monitor--$139
Price for Saucony Runner's Arm Sleeves--$23
Price for a MP 3 player for use while running--$120
Price for an out of town,weekend half-marathon race package--$499.
The value of taking an hour trail run in an old race t-shirt,shorts and Asics 2160's? Priceless!
A recent visit to a large road race inspired me to write the above.Between the Runner's Expo and the runner's I saw,I was surprised by the variety of "stuff" that was offered for sale and being worn by participants. Coming from a Stotan's point of view as I am, and as I'm sure many of you also, I couldn't help but think how unnecessary the gadgets and overpriced items were to the whole running experience. The beauty of running is its simplicity,the absence of a need for much "equipment" or people to be with to participate in this,the purest of all sports,distance running.