With the beginning of the new year, everyone makes a resolution to start doing something different for themselves. Whether it is to lose weight, eat healthier or stop smoking, we all look to change ourselves for the new year.

As for myself, I decided that I am going to start saving money on some of the things I love doing: running and obstacle races. Every year, I spend around $300 or more dollars on entrance fees to do some of these events, but I realized that I can cut down on these expenses if I started using Groupon more.

That’s right, if you look at the Groupon site you will be able to find a Groupon for a race in your city. I am signing myself up for the Spartan Races this year and there is a Groupon for the races in my area. This year I am doing both the Sprint and Super which would total $280 and that is not including taxes and fees. Using the codes I got through Groupon I will only be paying $180. So I am saving myself $100.

On their site, they also have coupons for the Tough Mudder which are only $60 as opposed to $88. This is the Tough Mudder Half, but it is still a Tough Mudder race. The great thing about this is that I can easily email what I find to my friends and they can take advantage of the savings, too. That means I can get a team to run with me and we can all save some money.

Another way I’m going to save some money is heading to my local Home Depot and buy some materials I need to train at home. I can go there and buy a bucket, remember the ones people used during the ice challenge? I can use one of those filled with gravel to practice the Bucket Brigade from the Spartan Race. I can also buy myself a bag of sand, tape it up with duct tape and make my own sandbag to carry around. Depending on which stores you shop, these workout sandbags can cost $40 and up. Why spend that much when you can make your own?

I’m telling you this year I will probably do a few more runs than last year to prepare for the Chicago Marathon, but I know that I can use Groupon to save myself some money on them.

What type of Groupon Coupons will you find that will save you money this year? Share with us your finds and maybe we’ll see each other on an obstacle course run this year. Make sure you follow Groupon on Facebook and Twitter to see all of their deals.