Business of the Week: Marin Running Company

Marin Running Company

649 San Anselmo Avenue, San Anselmo, CA

258-8190; Marinrunningcompany.com

What Marin Running Company offers?

Marin Running Company – the store that was formerly Fleet Feet – offers running and hiking shoes, clothes for the same, caps, sunglasses, and water bottles. They also offer yoga, cross fit, swimming and gym wear.   

Let's talk shoes first.

"You aren't just buying a shoe. Why will you be wearing the shoe?" owner Charles Yoakum asks. "Walking, running, hiking all have different gaits. It's a very complex set of biomechanics. The foot is not just sitting there as it is if you are at your desk."

The shoe is like the foundation of a building. Wearing the wrong one affects not just your foot, but also can throw off your hip alignment, and cause back and posture problems. Yoakum and his staff factor in the age and gender of the client when suggesting shoes. They are highly trained to analyze these things to find an optimal shoe.

 "We talk about the workload of what the person is doing," Yoakum said. "Let's say your doctor says you should walk three times a week to lose a little weight. That is a very different need than a person who is running six times a week. We want to know about problems or personal injuries you have had and we assess the shape of the foot. We put all that together when suggesting a shoe for you." 

Marin Running Company works with many podiatrists. Often clients come in after surgery for problems like hammer toe or bunions with prescriptions for custom orthotics for a certain type, shape, and size of shoe.

Yoakum explained that sometimes the fit that you are used to from previous shoes might not be the right fit for you in a running/walking/hiking shoe. "Especially with women who have been squeezed into cute little shoes," he said.

In Marin, there is only one other store like this one. Most people purchase their running shoes in larger stores or online.

Yoakum said that the good thing is that there are about ten times the number of shoe models than there used to be ten years ago. "Now the manufacturers are giving us a type of shoe for almost every micro niche."

Yoakum said his vendors come to him because he is a running specialty store. "They will tailor a series of models and presentations not available to other retailers." For instance, New Balance uses numbers for their styles (while other brands name their shoes like cars). "With New Balance, the higher the number the better quality of shoe. Series 300-600 are available to, say, a Big 5 store while 700-1000 series are available to us. These shoes are better quality, more expensive, with a lot more features so the staff can figure out what the customer needs."

"People do care about the look of the shoe," Yoakum said. "Though women talk about style more, sometimes men seem to be even fussier. Women shrug and say, ok if it feels good I will learn to love the orange trim or whatever."

Marin Running Company carries kids through adult sizes. They have many shoes for active youngsters or teen runners and, of course, for older men and women who walk or run. In the 1970s and 80s there were more independent stores like his, but now most people shop in the big sports authorities and on the internet.

Sue Saunders, a San Anselmo mom, was in the store with her son Matt, a freshman at Drake High School. "Both Matt and his sister Vanessa are doing cross country now. I used to get whatever was the cheapest shoe online. I didn't realize that you can hurt your back and your feet with the wrong shoe," she said. 

"Everybody says to shop here. It's the best," said Matt. He left with the perfect pair for him.

Samantha Sharp, who grew up in San Rafael, was shopping for new running shoes the day before leaving for Carleton College in Minnesota. She ran cross-country for two years and her coach originally recommended the store. She likes to shop at Marin Running Company because "everybody is very knowledgeable about shoes, activities you are wearing them for, and about feet in general. This is my fourth pair from the store and I've been happy with all of them."  

The clientele at Marin Running Company is 66 percent female, said Yoakum. He said that a study done on 10K races and marathons from 1986-2008 shows that in 1986 16 percent of the runners were female, but now it is up to 60 percent. Many of the women who come to the store walk along the Terra Linda ridge or around Phoenix Lake. If he had a store just dealing with hard core runners, Yoakum said he would have gone out of business by now.

Julia Saunders who works at the store was wearing hot pink Adidas marathon shoes, with yellow insets and turquoise laces. She said they are more basic and meant for cross training. Even the sole has great colors.

With our climate here in Marin, everyone wants clothing to keep them warm in the winter and cool in the summer. At Marin Running Company, the clothing options for men and women include shorts, shirts, pants, socks, sports bras, caps, and sunglasses.

Fabrics that wick the sweat from the body are the most popular. Many of the clothing lines are going with more organic materials and eco-friendly items are popular. Sustainable fabrics include things like coconut, bamboo, charcoal and even silver woven into the clothing.  Many items now also have UV protection from the sun. 

Marin Running Company carries clothing from vendors like prAna and smaller manufactures like Rese out of LA, and Dude Girl from Truckee, along with the big companies. A brand named Feetures makes socks made of woolen bamboo. Bamboo additives make the socks both anti-microbial (lest stinky!) and fast drying.

How long have they been here?  

The store opened in 2000 as Fleet Feet San Anselmo, but they became independent from the franchise in 2009. Same owner, new name. Going independent – though confusing to come runners –allowed the store to carry a wider range of shoes and apparel to serve the specific needs of Marin County's runners, walkers. and hikers.

Who are they?

You would think that someone who owns a running store and was on the track and cross-county teams at Drake High School would have won many trophies for running but, no, Yoakum says he was never the top guy on the team. And the only award he won in high school was a National English Award sponsored by Brown University. Otherwise, he said, he was "an unremarkable student." He has been a runner for 32 years and has participated in a number of marathons including Boston, Chicago, and New York.

For about ten years, Yoakum lived in New York and made a living as a professional illustrator for comic books, the most famous series being Batman: Outlaws in 2000 for DC Comics. He and his wife have two small daughters and live in San Rafael.

Why are they business of the week?

Yoakum is a real part of the community, a business partner with the local schools -- giving them donations to their auctions, helping with walk-a-thons, using his store items as prizes and giveaways.

The store has free talks and events, like Ladies' Night tonight, during which they will offer free massages, free chocolate, and free wine from 6-9 p.m. Ladies' Night – featuring local vendors and great giveaways – is something he tries to do to thank his customers at least once a year.

Recently, raw food nutritionist Diana Stobo gave a talk. Yoakum has an upcoming book signing with Dipsea: the Greatest Race -Centennial Edition author Barry Spitz. And the store just went through the barefoot minimalist craze and did two seminars on the topic.

Marin Running Company has also partnered with charities, including Susan G. Komen Foundation, Avon Breast Cancer, and Team in Training, offering discounts to participants and putting on training seminars.

The store is also an official partner of Adidas to sponsor and support Tamalpa Runners, Marin's largest running club. 

A treadmill stands next to the shoe department, allowing runners to not only try out a shoe, but also for the staff to use video to check the proper alignment. Its just one more way for the staff to check the customer's footwear.

Service, service, service, plus the commitment to support our local community and national charity organizations, the thoughtfulness to seek out and sell sustainable products and to work with small vendors, and, most importantly, to give the customer the shoe that is right is why this store is our business of the week.