Bill Rodgers Running Center to close

Oh no!

That is very sad. I remember taking a special trip to the store with my old man to buy my first pair of spikes. That was fifteen years ago. We made the trip from New Hampshire because it was the only place to go for a serious distance runner .... maybe not, but that's what he said! (He was a hurdler.)

I live near the store now, and whenever I go to Quincy Market I try to stop in and take in some of the history. Unfortunately, I only need so much gear, and you can always find deals for shoes online.

I was just in the store the other day with my girlfriend, and when we left we were talking about how hard it must be to stay in business in that location. I'm sure it was.

I still need to go in and talk about my first marathon and my plans for Boston!

All the best to Charlie, Bill, and the employees.

- First Time 'Thon

It's actually Bill Rodger's

Please learn grammer

stick with eharmony wrote:

It's actually Bill Rodger's Please learn grammer

Give it up, Troll Boy.

Is it really?

stick with eharmony wrote:

It's actually Bill Rodger's

Please learn grammer

Runningwarehouse and roadrunnersports are to little running stores what Amazon is to your typical department store.

Times are changing.

The money is in race directing, coaching, new gear, but not in running stores.

grammar

stick with eharmony wrote:

It's actually Bill Rodger's

Please learn grammer

Sad. The passing of another era. The young runners don't even know who Bill was. Hard to find any local heroes these days.

Nutella1 wrote:

Runningwarehouse and roadrunnersports are to little running stores what Amazon is to your typical department store.

Times are changing.

The money is in race directing, coaching, new gear, but not in running stores.

This is true. The current running boom has presented new ways to make money, but operating a traditional bricks and mortar running store is no longer one of them.

stick with eharmony wrote:It's actually Bill Rodger's

Surely you meant to write Bill Rodgers'

idiot

Nutella1 wrote:

Runningwarehouse and roadrunnersports are to little running stores what Amazon is to your typical department store.

Times are changing.

The money is in race directing, coaching, new gear, but not in running stores.

Bull. At my local running store chain, you have to put your name on a list to get called when the next sales associate is availabe because the place is packed on the weekends.

Price discipline with the shoe manufacturers is ridiculous. If you want to buy the current shoe, it is very difficult to find a meaningful discount online.

Plus, the average runner still wants to try on their shoes and jaw with the sales associate about shoes when they buy.

It's funny to read your post because the first thought I had was my father taking me there in 1990 to get my first pair of spikes (and refusing to park so doing laps of Congress St., while I got them).

The place was soaked in history and the gloves were great all pinned to the wall. In the present market with major chains and such it was probably longed doom as the "Bill Rodgers" name fades from younger runners but it was a great place nonetheless.

Best of luck Charlie!

One of the two online stores still offers meaningful discounts...you just need to join their "club".

Price discipline with the shoe manufacturers is ridiculous. If you want to buy the current shoe, it is very difficult to find a meaningful discount online.

Is his name Bill Rogers? The guy who ran 2:09 at Boston after giving up smoking.

Some random dude wrote:

[quote]stick with eharmony wrote:It's actually Bill Rodger's[quote]

Surely you meant to write Bill Rodgers'

idiot

The rules have evolved. While you're still right, the preferred form nowadays for singular possessive cases is Rodgers's.

Singular nouns ending in -s can also form a possessive regularly by adding -'s, as in Charles's /ˈtʃɑː(r)lzɨz/. The Chicago Manual of Style recommends this more modern style, while stating that adding just an apostrophe (e.g. Jesus') is also correct.[1] The Elements of Style and the Canadian Press Stylebook prefer the form in -s's...

It is Bill Rodgers.Many years ago I was at that store, and years before that I make a pilgrimage to his Cleveland Circle store, which if I recall was his first. Pictures and memorabilia galore! As a young impressionable teen, I felt I was on holy ground.Best of luck to the clan.

Sprint.geezer wrote:

Is his name Bill Rogers? The guy who ran 2:09 at Boston after giving up smoking.

Precious Roy wrote:

Bull. At my local running store chain, you have to put your name on a list to get called when the next sales associate is availabe because the place is packed on the weekends.

Price discipline with the shoe manufacturers is ridiculous. If you want to buy the current shoe, it is very difficult to find a meaningful discount online.

Plus, the average runner still wants to try on their shoes and jaw with the sales associate about shoes when they buy.

Care to name the city you're living in? Maybe NYC? Then it's the Europeans that are buying their shoes because they are so much cheaper than abroad.

Anyway, unless you're living downtown in any city, would you rather drive to the city in order to buy a shoe or order at runningwarehouse and send them back if you don't like them? I think for many, the answer to this question has changed.

Brent Spineless wrote:

Some random dude wrote:

[quote]stick with eharmony wrote:It's actually Bill Rodger's[quote]

Surely you meant to write Bill Rodgers'

idiot

The rules have evolved. While you're still right, the preferred form nowadays for singular possessive cases is Rodgers's.

Singular nouns ending in -s can also form a possessive regularly by adding -'s, as in Charles's /ˈtʃɑː(r)lzɨz/. The Chicago Manual of Style recommends this more modern style, while stating that adding just an apostrophe (e.g. Jesus') is also correct.[1] The Elements of Style and the Canadian Press Stylebook prefer the form in -s's...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_possessive#Status_of_the_possessive_as_a_grammatical_case

No no and no. When did the rules evolve? The preferred form is not as you say.

That's a bummer. When I'm in Boston, I always make a point to go in and buy something there just because it's a cool place and Bill Rodgers is a cool guy. It's too bad they couldn't find someone to take on the day-to-day running of the store for them.

I remember some story a while back about how Faneuil Hall was trying to bring in big national chains that could pay higher rent and pushing out the local businesses. I wonder if that is part of the story also.

I agree about all the great memorabilia. I hope it ends up somewhere good and not just sold off on ebay.

Brent Spineless wrote:

The rules have evolved. While you're still right, the preferred form nowadays for singular possessive cases is Rodgers's.

Singular nouns ending in -s can also form a possessive regularly by adding -'s, as in Charles's /ˈtʃɑː(r)lzɨz/. The Chicago Manual of Style recommends this more modern style, while stating that adding just an apostrophe (e.g. Jesus') is also correct.[1] The Elements of Style and the Canadian Press Stylebook prefer the form in -s's...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_possessive#Status_of_the_possessive_as_a_grammatical_case

While all that may or may not be true, it's irrelevant, because the OP is correct. The name of the place is Bill Rodgers Running Center.

http://www.billrodgersrunningcenter.com/