Local, independent running stores are the backbone of Canada’s running community–often bridging into triathlon as well. From product knowledge to community involvement, our local run shops shape running culture across the country. Together, ASICS Canada and Gripped Publishing are going from coast to coast, exploring Canada’s top shops and bringing you along for the ride.
Browns Sports & Cycle on Bloor Street is Toronto’s oldest bike shop, but make no mistake: they’re just as obsessed with running (and triathlon!). The multisport store has it all, but where their staff really excel is in helping athletes find the gear they need–gear that fits their goals, training, and the bodies they’re in now. Store manager John-Paul Raymond has been working as the store manager, and also as an expert bike fitter, for almost two decades, and his mission is simple: help each customer leave with the right tool for the job, whether it’s your third Ironman or a Try-a-Tri.
The shop has been family-owned since 1929, and at this point, Raymond is family by association—much like the athletes the shop sponsors–among them former pro runner-turned-triathlete Tamara Jewett, who recently ran a 2:40:05 marathon leg of Ironman Lake Placid. They also sponsor athletes like Sam Pedlow, a former pro beach volleyball player-turned triathlete, and triathlete and coach Miranda Tomenson.
Very few multisport stores offer high-end racing sneakers like the ASICS Metaspeed, but Raymond believes in having the right shoe for the race. “We have a lot of really serious triathletes and runners,” Raymond says. “And they need to have the high-end race shoes.” (The store also offers budget- and beginner-friendly running shoes for new triathletes, or for runners who are working through an injury, plus plenty of training-shoe options.)
“We love carrying ASICS, because they make sneakers for other sports, as well,” says Raymond. “We actually started carrying them for their tennis shoes, but I was special-ordering the running shoes for myself and some of our clients, and we realized we needed to bring in more sneaker options for our triathletes, as well as the runners who come to us.”
A lot of the new triathletes Raymond sees are actually runners trying a new discipline—and that’s where shoe fitting gets interesting, he says. “When runners are coming to triathlon, often it’s because they’re needing to shift from just running into more of a multisport lifestyle, but running is still what they love to do,” he says. “We’re trying to help them continue to run, and what they need in terms of shoes may look different than what they were using before they decided to make the switch.”
Much as it’s hard for pure runners to admit, sometimes the multisport element that Raymond introduces them to can even help their running. “Some of our runners-turned-triathletes are posting their best run times in years because they’re dropping their run load,” he says. “They’re swimming and cycling, so they’re building up those muscles and joints, and then they’re finding they can handle running a couple of times a week again, and that when they do run, they actually feel good, and even faster.”
“A lot of athletes come to me having done a lot of research on the best gear, the fastest shoes, all that stuff,” says Raymond. “It’s my job to make sure the shoes they end up with are the fastest shoes for them, not the fastest shoes for someone else with different knees, or a different stride, or who’s at a different point in their running journey.”
Since 1971 (40 years after its doors opened to cyclists), the shop has been catering to runners, starting with selling metal cleats for track running. (If you walk into Brown’s, you’ll spot memorabilia from decades of cycling and running history.) The jogging craze brought in even more runners, and the triathlon scene developing in the ’80s and ’90s really shaped the current vision of the store.
“We’ve seen so many trends come and go,” says Raymond, grimacing as he recalls the brief barefoot running boom in the mid-to-late 2000s. Now, the biggest trend is super shoes, and he spends a lot of time educating customers on the reality of the shoes that are designed for racing, not training.
“We have to teach new runners about things like not using super shoes for most training runs, and about things like cycling their running shoes, so the foam has time to rebound if they’re running higher mileage in their sneakers,” he says. “And now, shoes last longer, but the foam will often wear out before the shoe looks like it’s getting too old to use. So you need to track how much distance you’re logging on each pair, especially if you’re a runner or triathlete who is prone to shin splints or other issues.”
A lot of what Raymond does is perhaps counterintuitive as a shop manager, but the right thing to do for the athletes who come to the store. For example, he will often talk them out of buying the lightest, fastest, priciest options (at least, not right away). “For amateur or recreational athletes especially, we focus on comfort first,” he says. “You don’t need the lightest or fastest bike or shoes if they won’t be the most comfortable.”
At the end of the day, Raymond just loves seeing athletes come into the shop in search of their next big adventure, and he’s rarely disappointed. “I see so many people bounce from one endurance sport to another, just really having fun with it,” he says. “They’ll do a sprint triathlon and then a marathon, a half-Ironman and then a 5K. It’s fun watching them progress and try new things.”
Check out Brown’s Sports and Cycle, here.
The post Brown’s Sports & Cycle is Toronto’s oldest bike shop—but they also love running and triathlon appeared first on Triathlon Magazine Canada.