At Markham, Ont.’s Running Free, choice and service are everything

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Walking into Running Free in Markham, Ont., makes you feel a bit like a Disney princess: you’ll feel the urge to throw your arms out and spin around wildly. That’s because the store is massive by running store standards, and the sheer number of choices feels is almost overwhelming. There are multiple brand and style options for hydration packs. There is a literal wall of socks. Running underwear? Yep. Clothing—in a wide range of price points, colours, sizes and styles. And the shoes! A vast wall of blinding colours, plus plenty of neutrals and plain black options. Truly, it feels like you’ve died and gone to running heaven, where you never get shin splints and it’s always the perfect temperature outside.

Even without knowing why I’m there—to interview the owner for this story—co-owner John Posca comes over and greets me. He’s chatty without being overly schmoozy, and if I were a customer (and I plan to be after this!), I would be ecstatic about just the right amount of customer service. I introduce myself and ask after the other owner, Nick Capra. After a quick phone call, Posca is embarrassed: it turns out Capra forgot I was coming and was out delivering lightly-used running shoes to a local shelter.

Running Free has been a staple of the Canadian running community for years—in fact, Capra and Posca weren’t the original owners, they were just two high school students in need of part-time jobs when they started working at the original Running Free store, which was a more generic sports store. A few decades later, they’re business partners and best friends. “We’re more like brothers, at this point,” says Posca.

“We worked together at the sporting good store for years, then we opened up a more specialized running store,” he recalls. “Back then, whether you were running a marathon or a 10K, information about training and nutrition wasn’t readily available. So our customers were coming in for information as well as shoes. Now, people are more educated, but we still have kept that service-oriented approach of wanting to help educate our customers if they need it.”

They’ve also run quite a few marathons between the two of them, though Posca admits he’s now a slightly more casual runner. Still, each has done enough running to have great recommendations, no matter what your running goal is.

They’re so well known for their ability to find the right shoe for each runner that they often get customers coming in on recommendations from physiotherapists. Compared to many running stores in more densely populated areas, Running Free also has a huge selection of shoes on the shop floor and in the back—including a wider array of sizes and widths compared to what you’d normally find in a shop. They do more sales online than IRL these days too, but that only helps them stock a wider selection in-store.

“Someone will come in and just look around in shock at how much stock we have,” Posca says. “We have 10 brands of clothing, in a huge range of sizes. The same is true of shoes, socks, you name it–that’s our claim to fame. Our focus is helping people find the right product.”

Posca loves it when new runners come in the door. “We see a lot of new runners come in–people who feel like they don’t like running, but they have to run for fitness,” he says. “We put them in the right shoes, and we help them with staying consistent with running. I like seeing newbies that make running an adventure. We’ve seen so many people go from not being able to run for a minute to completing a marathon.”

As the buyer for the store, Posca is constantly assessing trends in the running space. Right now, he sees three:

1. First, every brand is going big. Maximal shoes are the rage, with thick (but lightweight) soles—if you were a teen in the early aughts, you may notice that the sneakers being sold now are reminiscent of the platform sneakers the Spice Girls made us all buy. “They’re all thickening up their midsoles, making it more plush, and lowering the drop. They’re very plush, very protective,” he adds. (“15 years ago, every company was leaning towards the barefoot trend,” he says. “It’s the opposite now.”)
2. Colour is in. A look at the shoe wall in Running Free highlights that shoes are trending toward bright colors, typically monochromatic or minimally patterned. For spring, it seems like deep pastels are the thing. (These colour trends are nerve-wracking for guys like Posca, who recall the mid-nineties, when neon suddenly went out of style. “We had a huge inventory of neon that we couldn’t give away,” he recalls mournfully.) So on the flip side…
3. Black is back. “We have a lot of people who buy two pairs of the same sneaker,” Posca says. “They get one that’s a pop of bright colour, but they also want the same shoe in black. So our philosophy is to have both options available.” (White shoes? Expect them to turn gray after a couple of months.)

But at the end of the day, Posca cares less about putting people in the “it” shoe of the moment and more about putting them in the right shoe for their individual needs.

“Our goal is customer service,” says Posca. “We want to understand people’s goals and help them achieve those goals, whether it’s walking regularly because you had a heart attack and now you’re walking five kilometers a day, or you’re at an elite level and training for an Ironman.”

Posca’s top tips for finding the right shoe

• Consider sizing up, and get used to a bit of extra space. “We find ourselves continually asking people to look for more room in their shoes,” he says. “It’s not a shoe problem. It’s a fit problem. You need more room in your toebox, especially if you’re planning to do longer runs.” (You should be able to wiggle your toes at least a bit!)
• You may need a different width. From brand to brand, shoe width can vary. Look for a pair that doesn’t feel like it’s pinching at the side.
• Jog a little, if possible. At minimum, do a brisk walk around the store in the shoes to see how they feel when you’re moving.
• You can get great shoes at a low price. There have been so many innovations in the sneaker space in the last 20 years, says Posca. And now, brands have a huge range of price points—so don’t think just because you’re on a budget, you can’t afford “real” running shoes. Just look for sales, and you can find decent pairs for great prices.