if you want to save money id either buy the board RIGHT now, or at the end of the season, you can get some ridiculous deals then. when you first start out snowboarding you wont be able to carve anyways so i wouldnt worry too much about running or being in shape, but more about practicing your technique...it was very frustrating at first for me, until i could carve down the mountain. the key thing is just to keep at it- keep going and going (get a season pass or something and go once a week, 2x a week) and soon enough youll be having fun!
