Today I had to retire my beloved New Balance 902’s.

While on my 20 mile run last week, which was the death of the New Balance 902, I thought about the cost of the shoe and the depreciation of my asset. The New Balance 902 cost $100 and I ran 314 miles in them. Thus, I paid approximately .32 cents for every mile run in that shoe. Running is expensive when you think about it like that. Imagine if you had to pay one dollar for every three to four miles that you ran. That means that 20 mile run that I just ran cost me $6.40.

Ok, if you’ve ever ran 20 miles by yourself, you know that you have a lot of time to think. If my running shoes were a business expense, what would be the best depreciation method to employ? The three most popular methods are straight line, sum of the years and double declining balance. Remember your assets must always equal your liabilities! So which one would you use?

I would use the Accelerated Depreciation Method. Let’s face it, those early days with a new running shoe are glorious! It’s soft, supportive and has tons of cushioning. So miles 1-100 are dandy, 101-200 are solid, 201-300 you start noticing some wear, and 301-400 is when you debate replacing the shoe.

Oh, if you’re going to go with the accelerated depreciation method, make sure you also encorporate activity depreciation. Your better off calculating the depreciation based off of mileage than on a linear time line!