useless boys at running stores

There are perhaps a few small running specialty stores where the owner is there full-time that are excellent...the rest are just as you described with young guys who just want to sell you something and get rid of you. I almost always find that I know more about the shoes than they do.

I find the best way to go is to do your own research on-line...in shoe forums and reading shoe reviews, then USE a local running store to try on the models you feel are best for you. Once you find shoes you like, order them on-line or at the cheapest source.

I don't agree that we should frequent running speciality stores just because we are runners and we need to support them. Bottom line, they charge a lot more than other places I can buy shoes and if they aren't adding value...ie. I know more than they do...then I don't feel like flicking any dollars their way.

Totally agree. Truly awful place to buy shoes and their "Runnng Room" brand stuff is seemingly crap. My wife got a bag from doing one of their races and it fell apart within a couple months. She took back and they gave her another one, which also fell apart in a couple months. It was the freebie for a $25 race, but they were selling that bag for over $50 in the store!! And I also agree that we are very fortunate to have stores like Gear, Runner's Edge, Run n Fun, Marathon, Gear West, and Start Line around as a much better alternative.

Did they have a stitching room in the back where they were making the bags? It is hardly their fault that the bags fell apart. They did give you another one. What more do you want?

It's to bad that's the situation. At all of my stores, virtually anyone who works is well versed enough to check you in every shoe you wear and not assume anything. And we're not afraid to put you in minimal shoes.

What if you wear a bikini bottom into the store--will that garner attention ?

I'm not going to reccommend a shoe for you or critique the boy's choice, but I will tell you that they are just young boys and the owner can't instill all of his knowledge into them even if he trains them 1-2 hrs a week. He can't because they have to WANT to learn and remember the info, they have to understand the biomechanics, they have to understand the structure of the foot and the physics of motion. Let's face it, how are you going to get 3-4 people there every one of the 55 hrs you are open of the week?

That would be 8 different 20 h/wk workers if you worked there all 55 hours. So, instead of grousing about call first and get a feel for the service, knowledge and enthusiasm. I also reccommend that you get a Road Runner Sports or EastBay catalog and research what models of shoes work well for your kind of foot. Then go in with a list of what you would like to try on and walk or jog around said store with the shoes. It is somewhat your responsibility to pick the right shoe for you. You wouldn't go into the Chevy dealership and tell them your age, number of miles driven a week, and the number in your family and have them pick the kind of car you need would you?

If they picked an Impala would you tell them that that is too fancy for you and ask them to show you a cheaper one? The running store can recommend and advise (which is what they DID) but you have to put your foot down if you don't want to spend money. Also, don't expect running store employees to be stellar conversationalists or motivated salespeople. They are just young people working for much less money than waitresses and you will run across SOME owners and employees that are great at talking with you, but they are NOT all required to be that way.

Remember, if you went in there every 3 months AND BOUGHT those $100 shoes and three pairs of DeFeet socks and a Gore Tex suit, THEY WOULD BE MUCH BETTER because the owners could afford to pay them for their performance.

There are some GREAT stores out there though, just keep looking.

that is an excellent point -- you've got to want to learn all this crap if you're really going to know it. You've got to be a running nerd.

Okay, so she should learn all about running shoes--fit, what's appropriate for her stride, "biomechanics"--then research all the different models out there (using what impartial source? this website is not much help with its various partisans of bare feet, slicing shoes up, etc) and select several, then research the various running stores in her area, call them up, assess the staff's knowledgeability and attitude over the phone, then go in and try on shoes and pick a pair. After all this work developing expertise, what's the point of the staff of the running store at all? Why not just use the stock at the store to try out the models she's picked, then go home and buy them on the internet, probably for a lot less? I thought that runners patronized running stores and paid the high markup to get access to the staff expertise. If she's supposed to figure it all out herself, she might as well get the shoes and gear cheaper and avoid the hassle.

NO. She should figure out what kind of foot she has (high, medium, or low arch), figure out if she is a heel-striker, and be honest about her weight and miles typically run per week and then open Road Runner Sports. Each shoe has little icons next to them that tell what kind of foot/runner it is appropriate for. Figure out the ones that fit the bill and eliminate the ones that are more than you want to spend.

Yes, the running store should be able to also give this advice (and they probably can), but my point was that you need to be an advocate for yourself a little.

I have a high-arched foot that supinates. Over the years as shoes got more specialized I sometimes bought the wrong one and it felt ALL WRONG right out of the box. If I bought a motion-control shoe it made my feet roll outwards excessively and the shoes were useless, I could barely mow the lawn with them.

My point was that she objected to the idea that the boy pulled a single shoe off the shelf and she objected to the shoes all being $100. Solve this problem by having a list of the ones that PROBABLY work for you and are less than what you want to spend.

I guess I don't have too much sympathy for you guys that claim the shoes are overpriced and that someone should spend 1.5 hours with you (and just you) using all of his knowledge. First of all the $80 shoes are just $35 in profit for the store and LESS if they had to be special ordered (shipping is a lot on a few pairs of shoes).

I have bought several pairs of tennis shoes for over $100 without any outside assistance. I have also bought 10-12 pairs of cycling shoes without any assistance (these were $125-$260).

I don't think this is the way it has to be either, like I said, there are many excellent shops out there. In my town, scotth (AKA Scott Hubbard) used to run Running Fit and he was excellent with the "figuring out" through questioning of the buyer what "subset" of shoes they should look at. We also have a huge shoestore that I would have to say caters to weekend warriors, high schoolers, and posers ... but they do have serious shoes and a lot of athletic people on their staff who are willing to be "chatty about your training" and they are willing to waste your money and time to "analyze your gait" ...

Search one of these kind of stores out.

1. most running shoes sold by retail are not "marked up" in some sinister way, but sell at sugested retail. That is basically what online places sell for.

2. the 35 dollars is not profit. it might be a few dollars a best in profit. If you facter in rent, shipping, employee pay, chance it will not sell or the odd widths and large small sizes, and the basic opportuntity cost. You are lucky to make a few dollars on a 80 dollar shoe.

3. If you use the services a running store has to offer, such as sizes to try on, at least and the knowledge that the employees have at best, you should buy the shoes from the STORE. If you buy online fine, but stay online, and don't take advantage of sombody for 5 bucks you cheap bitches

4. Compared to golf, hockey, cycling, yoga and most other sports running is cheap. You bitch about a 100 dollars but burn that on a cable bill or 1 night at a bar

5. Most owners love the sport and do not expect to be rich they just love being around fellow runners.

You're first mistake was visiting the Running Room. What a name for a store that caters to the 4 to 5 hour marathoner. Galloway wouldn't have spread his nonsense up in Canada if it wasn't for John Stanton and his Running Room stores. They've even opened up a Walking Room store here in Toronto. It is just sickening to read their magazine...so many stories about tens and ones.

But what I hate most is the dual water bottle holders that these 10 minute / mile marathoners wear. No wonder they run so slow since they're lugging 2 large water bottles, cell phone, keys, loose change, gel and Powerbars.

The Best running stores in the D.C. area.

Fleet Feet Sports

www.washingtonpost.com/yp/fleetfeet/

1841 Columbia Rd. NW

Washington, DC 20009

202-387-3888

Georgetown Running Company

www.georgetownrunco.com/

3401 M Street, NW

Washington, DC 20007

202-337-8626

Georgetown Running Co. sucks. When they don't have something in stock and they offer to "order" it for you, it takes weeks and weeks! I went to another local area running store, special ordered the shoe I wanted and got it within 3-5 days.

is it me? this is my third experience in three cities (columbus OH, washington dc, toronto) with the same phenomenon trying to buy running shoes. i'm in toronto for work today, have a break in the day, and decide to visit running room for new shoes. i'm a 35-40 mpw 30 year old woman, and i need HELP finding new shoes - i don't really know that much about different models, or even care, i just want some advice on what to buy. so i go in, and there are two or three maybe 22 year old men working at the store, very serious. i say hi, here's my mileage, mild pronation, wide foot, recommendations? i say i'm in an asics kayano right now but it's so expensive and probably too much shoe for someone like me, so i want something a bit cheaper. i smile pretty and act nice. in all these stores the outcome is the same - the salesman takes me to the wall, pulls off a shoe, and wordlessly hands it to me. i say, oh, okay, great, but why this shoe? are there any other options? usually their first pick is the most expensive shoe (that's how i got in the kayanos.) the salesman will wordlessly pluck another shoe off the wall. i try more smiling and questions - oh, thanks, very good, is this different from the other shoe? no eye contact, muttered replies, a kind of scornful vibe but maybe i'm paranoid. finally i give up, try on the two shoes, pick one, and leave. today i got saucony grid omnis which seem nice. what is this? why does it feel like being a girl visiting the cool record store where the geeky boy clerks act like you're busting into their clubhouse when you come in? should i try to act cooler? do i need to read all the shoe reviews on line and try to act smarter and more informed? if this saucony works out i'll just buy the f***ing things online and avoid the store altogether, but if not i'll have to go back. . . . please help

Geez Louis, what do you expect from salemen who are paid retail minimum wage? I say get off your high horse and do the f***ing research online yourself.

i am new to the dc are and need running shoes. where did you go and get this poor service and where should i go to get some good service?