Looking for Running Store

I really like Roadrunner Sports in Westminster.  They do treadmill analysis as well has some other stuff too.  Boulder Running Company in Boulder (the original) is good too.

I like Runner's Roost in Lakewood (Belmar) and also the one at I-25 and Colorado.

Ask for Michael at Running Wild (SW corner of UNiversity/County Line).  He's the owner and very good.  If he's not there...  Boulder Running CO in Littleton is hit or miss, depending on your salesperson.  BRC in Boulder is very good.  I've done a gait analysis/fitting at Roadrunner Sports in San Diego and they were very thorough.

The great thing about shoes nowadays is that they are made specifically for gender type, weight, arch type, degree of pronation, training habits, terrrain, etc.  Most stores let you run in the shoes for 3-4 weeks and you can take them back and try something else if you don't like them.

I had a horrible experience at Runners Roost in Parker.

I've liked RoadRunner Sports in Westminster but I really, really like Solepepper Sports in Louisville.  Owned by Alan and Shayne Culpepper and employs people quite knowledgeable about running, at least 2 of whom are running coaches. 

FWIW- I also like Runners Roost a lot. Being a 6'5 clydesdale I need all the good advice I can get. They've never steered me wrong (I've been going for about 6 years now)...

Never really seen a difference between the one in Parker and the one @ I-25 and Colorado. My wife buys all her shoes there too and swears by them.

I've had great experiences at Boulder Running Company in Littleton, but totally agree that it's dependent on who you get as your salesperson. I wish I could remember the name of the guy who's done great things for me...probably late 40's, dark hair, mustache last time I was in. He swapped out a pair of shoes for me that had 30 miles on them, and the reason they weren't working was completely my fault (got my orthotics recovered, and the extra foam was causing me pain on the top of my foot). Things like that earn loyalty! That said, I also had a young kid help me once, and if I hadn't known what I was looking for, it may not have been a great experience...

I should probably explain about my issues with Runners Roost.  I went in as a very new runner (i.e. hadn't run anything significant in many, many years) a couple years ago.  The salesperson sort of watched me run on a treadmill for about 10 seconds then put me in a shoe that turned out to be about 1.5 sizes too big.  I bought them (not knowing that it was too big) and ran in them for awhile then returned to the store, complaining that the insole of the shoe was sliding back during every run to the point that it was nearly halfway out the shoe by the time I finished.  I was told that is normal and given a pair of aftermarket insoles.  Still frustrated and feeling uncertain (I'd had a bout of PF a few months before when I tried to start running in very wrong shoes) I was fit at Roadrunner Sports and they were shocked at the size I was in.  I was put in the same shoe but 1.5 sizes smaller and I've been happy in those shoes since and bought replacement pairs since.  So, as a new runner I felt brushed off and undervalued as a customer.  A good store will recognize that getting a new runner in the right shoe will help them become hooked on the sport and encourage them to return to the store for future shoe purchases.  Runner's Roost didn't do that and didn't care when I complained.  I sent an email after I was brushed off and never got a response either.  I'll never spend my money there again. 

Wow, that's a nice perk!

Uh, what's a nice perk? 

jdbadger's firm giving $150 for shoes... I missed that comment the other day. 


Edited by StMaas 2009-11-15 11:07 AM

Edited by jdbadger 2009-11-15 12:05 PM

I'm pretty loyal to my LRS in New York but my girlfriend was in desperate need of new shoes while visiting here so I took her over to Boulder Running Co. in Boulder and she got a gait analysis and they put her in shoes that she raves about and she has been running for at least 6 years now.Just my 2 cents.

I got the same sort of treatment at the runners roost on colorado and 1-25. I got the feeling that since I didn't look like a "serious" runner when I went it, they found it okay to ignore me.

I went to the one on lakewood on a friend's suggestion and they were very helpful. I ran in about 5-6 different shoes before we found one that I liked. I haven't tried the Runners Roost in Parker...

They just opened a new Boulder Running Co in Greenwood village, I think, which is closer to my house, so I might try that one next time I need to be fitted.