There’s nothing quite like the autumn months in run specialty shops. From the energetic start of another cross country campaign to the fall marathon season, running stores are full of enthusiasm, educational moments and entrepreneurial grit to inspire and celebrate their communities.
A run specialty retailer on ‘Good Morning America’
First on July 24 and again on August 25, CT Run Co. owner Megan Searfoss (in photo above) appeared on ABC’s “Good Morning America” alongside “GMA” lifestyle contributor Lori Bergamotto, who will participate in the TCS New York City Marathon on November 2. Though Bergamotto has completed previous marathons, this NYC jaunt will be her first since having her third child, and Searfoss is helping the 47-year-old former gymnast prepare for her 26.2-mile effort.
Both “GMA” segments were a check-in on Bergamotto’s progress, which includes balancing training with motherhood and professional responsibilities as well as enduring an increasing training load. In the August segment, Searfoss discussed topics such as how aspiring marathoners might schedule runs into a busy schedule and integrate strength training to boost their performance.
Try your luck at Runaround
File this one away in the why-didn’t-I-think-of-this-first category. Drawing on age-old advice to leave customers with a lasting, memorable impression, Erik Bartlett added a claw machine to the floor of Runaround Running & Lifestyle in Joplin, MO. With every shoe sale, Runaround staff hand customers a $1 bill for a free play on the Runaround-branded arcade game. Bartlett filled the machine with hats, sunglasses, belt bags, socks and other goodies supplied by brand partners as well as Runaround gift cards and a few marquee items like entry-level GPS watches and headphones. Bartlett calls the custom claw machine an undeniable hit.
“The smiles on customers’ faces as they play says it all,” Bartlett notes.
While Bartlett thought the claw machine would resonate with customers and envisioned taking it off-site to health fairs and expos to generate positive energy, he didn’t necessarily expect to see Runaround visitors paying to play the game, a reality sparking an unanticipated revenue opportunity for the 16-year-old business.
“Just the other day, we had a guy spend $20 on it,” Bartlett says.
Creativity, collaboration and custom singlets
Tired of the same ol’ race expo, Indianapolis-based Athletic Annex’s alternative expo concept celebrates both the artistry of running and the identity of its hometown. On November 6-7, Athletic Annex will bring the Art Gallery of Speed back to the CNO Monumental Marathon expo.
It began in the summer when Athletic Annex paired seven local artists with running brands. Together, the artists and brands collaborated on the design of a custom singlet celebrating and capturing the spirit of speed and Indy’s personality.
At the expo, Athletic Annex will display the one-of-a-kind singlets in frames illuminated like museum artwork. Fast, race day-oriented shoes from top brands complete the innovative mobile store concept designed to mimic a black-tie art show.
“We wanted something impossible to ignore – an instant landmark that would stand out in a sea of sameness,” Athletic Annex co-owner Justin Porter says.
This run shop serves up a cold, tasty treat
After a chance encounter with the owner of Common Pops, a Greenville, SC-based popsicle company, ever-enterprising running retailer Dane Simmons posed a question: Can you do custom flavors?
That simple inquiry spurred the creation of the Launch Pop at Run In, Simmons’ three-store chain in upstate South Carolina. The $4 popsicle, a spin on the traditional Firecracker treat that’s a staple on ice cream trucks, also features a custom stick reading, “It’s a great day in Greenville.”
“I’m interested in anything hyper-local,” says Simmons, who also debuted a Run In-branded electrolyte drink earlier this year in collaboration with The Nutrition Store, another local partner.
Celebrating the store’s teen employees/athletes
At two of its shops in northern Michigan (Marquette and Houghton), Queen City Running Co. displays historical photos highlighting local running culture. In Queen City’s newest shop in Iron Mountain, MI, however, general manager Chad Hause took these visual displays in a more contemporary and personal direction.
Hause reached out to Coleton Mihelich, a local sports photographer and ultrarunning pal, to collect images of local high school athletes Hause could then display in the shop. But the photos aren’t just any prep athletes; they’re Queen City employees. The photos now scattered around the Iron Mountain store celebrate Queen City’s local roots as well as the young people at the heart of its run specialty business.
“It was important to me that my staff knew I was proud of their dedication, both inside and outside of work,” says Hause, who plans to rotate photos on an ongoing basis as the staff and community evolve.
Two different Movin’ Shoes, two big losses
Two Movin’ Shoes icons recently relocated to the great big running store in the sky.
On August 24, Carl Brandt, the co-founder of Movin’ Shoes Running Centers in San Diego, passed away at the age of 74. In 1977, Brandt teamed with Herb Kimpel, the co-founder of Movin’ Shoes in Madison, WI, to open San Diego’s Movin’ Shoes, the southern California city’s first run specialty shop. An ardent champion of running in the San Diego community, Brandt remained at Movin’ Shoes until 2015, two years after selling the business to a group led by former U.S. Olympian Bob Kennedy.
One week after Brandt’s passing and 2000 miles away in Madison, Tim Gold passed away at age 77. Affectionately known as Buddy (in photo above), Gold was a fixture on the sales floor at Movin’ Shoes in Madison for 32 years, celebrated for his expertise in running shoes, great taste in music and hilarious – though sometimes inappropriate – storytelling.
Openings, openings and more openings
Running retailers continue to debut new stores, a reality underscoring the overall health of the channel despite some definite headwinds.
• At the close of August, Matt Abitbol opened Runner’s Republic in the Chicago suburb of Glenview, IL (photo above). Runner’s Republic is a companion store to Abitbol’s original run specialty creation, the five-year-old Commonwealth Running Company in nearby Evanston, IL.
• A multi-day celebration beginning on September 30 energized the launch of A Snail’s Pace Running Shop in Chino Hills, CA. That’s now five SoCal stores for A Snail’s Pace and owner Joe Lourenco.
• And over in Lexington, KY, John’s Run/Walk Shop recently debuted its third store. Congrats to owner Melody Marshall and her team at the 47-year-old business.
• Fleet Feet, meanwhile, is closing in on 300 total doors thanks to a flurry of new openings: Fleet Feet Somerville (NJ), Fleet Feet Denton (TX) and Fleet Feet North Miami Beach.
Have a compelling event, project or initiative to propose for a future Running Spirit column? Contact Running Insight senior writer Danny Smith at [email protected] with details. You can also follow Danny on Instagram @runspecialtyinsider.
