Running Niche Newsletter – July 2025

Running Niche named one of the 2025 Best Running Stores in America — thank you for your support

Dear Running Niche Friends,

We are proud to announce that Running Niche has earned 2025 Best Running Stores in America recognition. This program honors run specialty stores for their dedication to their communities, staff, and innovation. Thank you to our Running Niche community for nominating us. Once nominated, we completed a thorough evaluation form that addressed topics like employee benefits, inclusivity, sustainability, community engagement, and innovative business practices. From there, we made the Top 100 stores, and then were secret shopped twice (!!) — focusing on customer interactions and in-store experience. Based on a combination of these scores, the Top 65 2025 Best Running Stores were selected.

Our entire team at Running Niche is motivated by this recognition, and we will continue doing what we do to get you into the right products for your walking or running, help with your training, and host our Wednesday evening Running Niche Run Club!!

Tax-Free Weekend Tent Sale August 1–3 at Running Niche

Got a big weekend coming up: Missouri No Tax Weekend August 1–3. We will have a variety of past-season shoes on sale for $50, $75, and $100. While supplies last. No special orders. Also, please note all sale shoe purchases are final.

Focus on Team Running Niche: Olivia Min

Olivia just completed her first Lydiard Method training cycle. It culminated in Grandma’s Marathon in late June. Here is her story in her own words.

“My running journey started when I was in middle school when I signed up for track and field because I wanted to skip ballet class. I did not join the cross-country team until 10th grade because I thought 3 miles was too much running. At the end of high school, I ran a half-marathon and afterwards, vowed to never run that long again (I’ve done 6 more since then). I didn’t run competitively in college but continued running independently to stay in shape. Fast forward to medical school when one of my closest friends who was already on Team Running Niche plants the idea of running the Boston Marathon together at the end of medical school. My first response was that she was insane and that I’d never be able to qualify, but then I thought why not? I knew I couldn’t do it alone, so that’s when I sought out the help of Running Niche Bob.

“What I like about the Lydiard training is the structure and variety of my runs! Prior to Lydiard I ran 6 miles every day basically as fast as I could, maxing out my HR nearly every run. The Lydiard plan has different workouts in each of 5 phases so that each run is intentional, including recovery runs that let you recover. I used to think that to get fast, I had to do every single run fast. The Lydiard plan helped me to strike a balance so that I peaked at the right time. If I hadn’t signed up for a training cycle, I probably would’ve been trying to do 30 mile runs at race pace to train for my marathon. Bob really tailors workouts to each individual runner as well, so you’re not just following a generic plan. Being on TRN has also helped me find running buddies and forced me to branch out of my normal 6-mile Forest Park loop. Even though a lot of the people I run with are much faster than me, they are always so supportive on our runs and it’s encouraging to see so many Team Running Niche singlets on the race courses. I’m faster than I’ve ever been and definitely would not have reached this point without an actual plan and Bob’s coaching.”

Olivia failed to mention she set several PRs this training cycle. At Grandma’s she clocked 3:10:30. She also earned a half marathon PR this cycle at GO! of 1:28:50 and a 5K PR of 19:18 at the All American 5K. Outside of running, Olivia is a medical student at Washington U and hopes to become an oncologist.

Weekly Group Social Run – Wednesdays at 6:30 PM

Join us every Wednesday evening at 6:30 PM in front of Running Niche for our free weekly 5K group run/walk. All paces are welcome — including walkers — with pace groups ranging from 7:00 to 12:00 min/mile.

Each group is led by a designated pacer to ensure no one runs alone. Whether you're new to running or training for your next race, it's a great way to stay consistent, meet others, and move together.

RSVP on Eventbrite
Join the Running Niche Run Club Facebook Group

Thanks for reading, and as always, we appreciate your business and friendship. We are lucky to have such an inclusive and supportive city-based running community. Hope to see y’all this coming weekend!

Happy running and walking!
– Jennifer and Bob