BlackToe Running has made a running store into a community

BlackToe Running isn’t a traditional running store. Yes, they have two locations in Toronto that sell a wide variety of running shoes, clothing and gear. But more than being a great run shop, they’ve created a true community. Show up to one of their group runs—held on different days of the week, depending on if you belong to one of their programs or if you’re just dropping in for the Sunday long run—and you’ll quickly find yourself enmeshed in conversations about running and racing. But you’ll also hear about work trips, upcoming weddings, favorite restaurants in the city or more philosophical musings about the run. It’s more than a store– it’s a lifestyle.

I joined BlackToe Running’s Tuesday night workout with some trepidation. As an introvert (despite being a journalist who does things like this for a living, and a serious runner), the idea of a group workout has never appealed to me. I was nervous all day, watching the clock tick down to 6:30 p.m., when the group would amass and depart from the Queen Street BlackToe Running store. I got there early, assuming it would be quiet and easy to chat with owner Mike Anderson. But when I walked into the store, I was met with a wall of people. Anderson instantly identified me (likely because I was the only one standing shell-shocked and looking stressed while everyone else chatted away happily) and said hello before delivering a shoebox to a customer and ducking behind the counter, but not before managing to shake my hand and move me out of the doorway and over to one of the coaches, who he directed to “tell me everything.”

And she did. A non-runner until recently, she was talked into joining one of the shorter, easier runs that the store offered. She did, and proudly says that she hated every minute of it–so much so that she came back the next week, and the next, and the next—until she was running marathons and had signed on not just as a runner, but as a coach. Such is the magic of the BlackToe community.

With my own black toenails to brag about, I swapped stories with the other coaches and runners as I counted the minutes until we’d start running—an easy 15 minutes or so to get us to an empty stretch of industrial buildings, where we’d get the real workout underway. Conversation flowed naturally around me as all types of runners—of all ages and sizes!—chatted about the workout. It transpired that there was another new guy there, and the coaches quizzed him on his running background and offered some advice for getting through the workout.

There were about 50 participants (typical for a Tuesday evening, though there are more for long runs on weekends), but as we started the run, the pack thinned as paces varied, and we didn’t seem to be taking up too much of the street or sidewalk. I credit the coaches, who smoothly streamlined the runners without making it feel like we were being herded. 

When we hit the workout start point, another coach led everyone through warmup drills, and then everyone divided into groups for the meat and potatoes part of the workout: intervals. Rather than going it alone, the goal is to have small groups so you’re always pushing each other, one coach told me.

We were an hour in, and no one seemed intent on selling me anything: no shoes, training plans, gels, sports bras or special socks were mentioned. It was almost an anti-sales pitch, and that’s the way Anderson wants to keep it.

“It’s been a lot of years of trying to figure out what works and what doesn’t,” he says. “But I think what’s been consistent is that we put the experience of the runner over and above everything else.”

BlackToe Running opened a decade ago, and the journey to owning a run store wasn’t the usual path for Anderson. In fact, he worked in finance—specifically, in risk management. (And yes, he’s aware of the irony of a person in risk management opening a running store in the city.)

The coaching arm and run clubs that focus on getting a group of runners race-ready came shortly after opening. “We always knew we wanted people to get the best possible advice, whether it was shoes, training or any of that stuff,” he says. “So it made sense to add this component.”

During the intervals, I chatted with the group around me. I talked to one young woman about her upcoming wedding, and another about her upcoming trip to the London Marathon. We huffed and puffed our way through the hard efforts, and resumed gossip on the easy sections. Covered in sweat, we all high-fived and cheered on the last runners who were finishing up or adding a bonus interval. And then, the group started to drift apart—some heading back to the shop, others heading home.

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I ran alongside Anderson and a few others back to the shop, and when we returned, despite it being after hours, he unlocked the door and we trooped in. One person needed gels for an upcoming race weekend, so he booted up the cash register. I hit the washroom before starting my drive home. Others simply lingered, finishing conversations.

Before I left, I asked Anderson if he’d accomplished the mission he set out to do 10 years ago when he decided to open the store.

“It was always part of the goal, to have the store be a community hub,” he replied. And he’s done just that.