Running Room update

Paul,Good luck with the

Paul,

Good luck with the clinic. I get the cold shoulder here in Ottawa too. Running Room is the largest running chain in Canada. I sometimes go to their open Wednesday evening runs. I hook up with the Boston hopefuls. I figure if I can show them that a barefooter can keep up then maybe people will start asking questions. General participants in the clinics are polite and questioning. The managers have been directed to tow the line with the owner's philosophy. Besides, they make money by selling shoes and merchandise. Clinics are a great way to get their target customer into the store.

Have you tried http://www.runningfree.com/ They have a store in Ajax, just down the 401 from you. I'd be interested in seeing if they're open to barefooters?

- rod
 
The Running Room has built a

The Running Room has built a business by cashing in on the latest running boom, they're timing is good and they dabble in a variety of aspects of the sport. I'll start by stating that I'm not a fan of this chain, although they do provide one stop access for those interested in getting off the couch, unfortunately the benefits pretty much end there. Their philosophy is almost cult-like right down to the matching jackets.

Despite this, when a couple of my wife's girlfriends solicited my advice in getting started I figured that it wouldn't hurt to recommend that they sign up for one of the RR clinics, and if they got serious about it they could hit me up for some pointers. I couldn't have been more wrong. They went to the Pickering, Ontario location and said that they were humiliated during the gait analysis portion of day 1 of the clinic. The female employee took an immediate disliking to the two attractive girls that I had sent to spend good money in their store, as she asked one of the girls "do you seriously run like that", in front of a group of a dozen first timers. My wife's friend was so humiliated that she never went back.

I now feel guilty for having volunteered to lead the RR multisport clinics (back in the day) as I feel that I may have inadvertently afforded them credibility that they do not deserve. I realize that not all employees would be as rude and judgemental as the individual in the situation that I described, but you get the picture.

The last time I stepped into one of their stores (Whitby, Ontario) a clydesdale of an employee basically told me that I didn't know what I was doing when I asked for a pair of DS Racers for an upcoming triathlon, I was told that with my pronation I wouldn't last 10km. I didn't bother explaining that I've raced in lightweight shoes for 12 years, have qualified for Boston, finished multiple ironmans races, and was a member of our 2010 national duathlon team. They tried to push me into the Asics Kayano, which was coincidentally the most expensive support shoe on the rack. Sorry, bit of rant, but I can assure you that these experiences are not isolated incidents.

Very happy to find this group, I'm not a BF'er yet, but I'm getting there....
 
So glad to have you here. 

So glad to have you here. Welcome, Fitz! Sorry about the humiliating experience your friends experienced there. I hope you and/or your friends called up their store and headquarters to complain. If not, perhaps it's not too late.
 
Shaun Mac wrote:If I were

Shaun Mac said:
If I were you, I'd tell that Canadian running shoe store to "take off eh" :)

They pretty much could take off, with all those springy shoes that they sell. Bleech......
 
Just a final update.  I did

Just a final update. I did finish the clinic and I sucessfully ran the Scotia Bank 1/2 marathon this fall. There were no further discussion about being barefoot by the clinic instuctor, or management which was good. Some of the runs were fairly chalenging being barefoot. We hit the trail several times, which I actually found I enjoyed. The different textures of running through woodchips, mud, dirt and gravel was fantastic, and really help build my foot pads for the race. I wa
I was able to hand out about 12 copies of Jason Robillard's book at the end of the clinic. I even gave one to the instructor. I further even encouraged people to critique his book and send him an email if they disagree with what he's saying...Not to sure if anyone actually did that though. afitzsim you You mentioned the Pickering, and Whitby running room. The Whitby running room is the one, where I taught my clinics many years ago, when I was shod. I know the regional manager in this area and he is very anti-barefoot. I'm not entirely sure it's ignorance, or if he's just following corporate policy. Interestingly enough I was a pacer for his first clinic when he was first employed by the Running room. If your serious about finding a group in the area to run with or teach newbie runners you should check out Live with spirit in Brooklin http://www.livewithspirit.ca/. They are very barefoot friendly. I've gone to talk to them about barefoot running several times now, and in the spring they may let me teach a barefoot running clinic.