Who We Are

My former boss, Dave Zimmer, and I share a Capraesque love of running and how we view it. To be honest, I wish more people in the running industry shared that view, and worked from that standpoint. The running store is more than a place for shoes, shorts, socks and Body Glide. It is where you go to get inspiration, advice, have running geek out talks, and share info. We in the industry are more than sales people. We are a runner's friend - it's who we are.

Over the years people have been very kind to thank me for helping them, giving advice, inspiring them, being in their corner, etc.. Here's the deal, I thought all of that was expected of me. I took it as "just doing my job."

Now I know a good many folks who work in the industry just see it as a paycheck, and a job. I feel bad for those folks, because they are missing out on some incredible experiences. Runners come to us, because we have value to them. It's who we are.

You can have the best marketing plan. You can have terrific online presence. You can have great sales people. None of that matters if you don't have heart in your business, and you share that heart with your customers. Having a heart and sharing it is also who we are. Those who don't recognize that are not very successful, IMHO.

You can have all the money in the world, but if you didn't love what you did, or how you shared that love, then all you have is money and no joy. My friends, it is true, money does not buy happiness.

To my fellow running specialty folks, remember who you are. You are part of a special group who loves running, has a heart, and can share that love and joy with customers daily. It is who we are.

Charlie