Run Store Loyalty

Recently it was announced that one of the owners of my favourite local running store (Frontrunners Westshore) was leaving to focus on his other businesses and it got me thinking about the loyalty one can feel toward their local running store.

A running store you are comfortable at is really a great thing. It’s amazing how it can always feel so welcoming and easy to just be there. You can browse without pressure and know that if you have a question, it will be answered with knowledge and honesty.

I tend to be a bit of a cheapskate, but I am more than willing to pay a little extra on a pair of shoes or on the latest running tights because I know the service is going to be great and the banter about your next race or long run is way better than the impersonal service at a big sports store. Not to mention, we all want to see our local running store succeed right?

Obviously, Nick and Mark have succeeded. They have built a great business in Frontrunners (hell, they’ve built 3 great businesses) and while it will be odd not to see Mark sitting behind the front desk, you just know he’s going to do great with what comes next.

Anyone reading this that lives and runs in the Westshore area, probably knows Mark and Nick and I would hazard to guess that they probably feel the same sense of loyalty to the store and the entire Frontrunners crew that I do.

So, with all that said, let’s finish this off with a "funny" story (I use quotations as it is probably only funny to me)…

Last night I popped into the store to do a bit of Christmas shopping. I suppose I didn’t expect to see Mark there, so when I saw him I exclaimed (perhaps a bit too loudly) “YOU’RE LEAVING!”

I immediately felt like a bit of a goober, as the way I said it kind of sounded like I was telling him something he didn’t know (and I’m sure he’s getting tired of fielding the “Why are you leaving?” questions). Both Nick and Mark kinda teased me with a little “Oh, you’re leaving?” “Oh really, I guess I’d better go…” shtick and all was good.

After I left the store though, I got to thinking about one of the first times I went into Frontrunners on my own (before I had even started running/triathlon I think). I was looking for a gift for my Mom for her birthday as she had just taken up running.

When I walked in, Nick asked me if he could help and I think I replied “Oh, I’m just looking for my Mom” (really meaning to say, I’m looking for a present for my Mom) to which he and Mark (rather innocently I think) looked around and replied, “hmm, haven’t seen her”like I was a little kid who lost their Mommy in a department store.

I can be a bit awkward at times - especially when I speak before really thinking (see shouting “you’re leaving” at someone, as above) and I’m sure I blushed and felt like a wiener when I explained that I had not in fact lost my Mom, but was actually looking for a present for her.

No big deal really, but it always stuck with me as a funny initial interaction and last night as I left the store it made me laugh once again. In the 7 or 8 years that I’ve known Mark and Nick, it’s comforting to know that I continue to be a doofus and they continue to be really nice about it.