Le professeur de trail
Walk in with that excited feeling...gonna try on some trail shoes. Greeted by the guy behind the counter - I recognize him - I think he is the owner or at least the manager. Nice guy. There are a few customers being helped. Small store. I make my way to the wall of shoes. I scan the Brooks - no trail shoes. I scan the Saucony - no trail shoes. What?!? Must be wrong. I scan again. I now scan the Asics - no trail shoes. WHAT?!? You carry no trail running shoes? I stand in shock. For a moment I feel out of place. Trail runners don't belong with road runners. Dismiss that thought quickly...just foolishness. Doesn't change that there ARE NO TRAIL SHOES in the store. I quietly exit the store...crushed and disappointed.
I wasn't going to buy from them anyways I thought. Just window shop and try some on.
So I purchased a pair of new trail shoes (blindly) online today.
My favorite day of the week is RUNday
Tim
Flying Feet in York, and Runner's Sole in Chambersburg, both have trail shoes. The owner of Runner's Sole is an trail runner and ultra distance guy., and Chambersburg might not be too far for you. Call ahead and see if Rick will be there before you go.
With all the trails in your area, I can't believe a LRS wouldn't at least have a few pairs.
“Paralysis-to-50k” training plan is underway!
Flying Feet in York, and Runner's Sole in Chambersburg, both have trail shoes. The owner of Runner's Sole is an trail runner and ultra distance guy., and Chambersburg might not be too far for you. Call ahead and see if Rick will be there before you go. With all the trails in your area, I can't believe a LRS wouldn't at least have a few pairs.
Yeah I am rather surprised too. Harrisburg Area is really lacking for this.
Refurbished Hip
Running Warehouse has free shipping/return shipping and no one seems to care if you order 5 pairs at once to try on.
Ummm, not that I've done that or anything...
Running is dumb.
Snowdenrun
I have no LRS. I just ordered from zappos.com which has free shipping and return even to Alaska(runningwarehouse.com does not to AK). Very quick shipping too. It's VERY tempting to just keep all the shoes you bought to "try on and pick one". But sorry about your LRS. That is disappointing when you want to support a local business and end up buying online.
Yea, I hassled my LRS owner about it and he was pragmatic, he has limited space and he can only make room for shoes that are moving. Maybe your store just doesn't sell enough to make it worthwhile. On the other hand the LRS in Bend, OR is half trail shoes.
Was that The Inside Track over on the west shore? I know that the East shore and Lancaster stores do carry some trail running shoes. Sometimes they have them located by themselves, mostly between the mens and womens. When I was in the East Shore store several weeks ago they had just gotten in some new shipments and they were still in the back. That was where I got my NB 1210s and tried on the Cascadia 7s.
I have only been in Flying Feet once or twice but they seem to have a bigger store and therefore better selection then The Inside Track. I'm going to have to find a way to get to Chambersburg to see what Runner's Sole is like.
You might check in a local outdoor store, like if you have an REI. Anchorage REI has some trail shoes - usually the more robust ones (Montrail, Vasque), but I see some minimalists there also. They also have the ultra experience - running and mtn biking both. The Anchorage LRS tends to have road shoes with some trail shoes, but from traditional running shoe companies (Saucony, Brooks, Adidas, Asics, NB). Our LRS (like about 1mi from me) only has Brooks, NB, and Keene with limited selection of trail shoes. At one time or another, I've bought from all three as well as a couple places online. I have hard to fit feet.
Next time you're in your LRS, you might ask them about trail shoes. Let them know they're not serving a segment of the local running community. I asked the Anchorage LRS about Ultraspire, which they had not heard of until I mentioned it. Then I see they're a dealer - although minimal selection.
But if you were just going to buy online anyway, please don't waste their time.
Another Alaskan who supports Zappos if I have to go online. (UNfortunately, last order needs to get returned since that model didn't work for me.)
You know what disappoints me about my LRS? The lack of shorts longer than the ball huggers. I mean seriously! People do not want to see my "manhood" hanging out the bottom of the shorts or see me grape smuggling. Sorry. I just tried to go buy some new shorts yesterday, unsuccessfully.
Faster Than Your Couch!
Sad experience, sorry to hear about that, Jamie.
The Harrisburg and York areas have some wicked strong trail runners, I wonder where they get their shoes?
Run for fun.
Gumby - this is what I thought. This particular store seems to do most of their business with the local young runners (track & x-country) which is great but doesn't help me out. It is a small store.
Daydreamer - it was Inside Track on the west shore. Very small store - not sure how it compares with the one in Hbg though. I do like Appalachain Running Co. which is owned by my PT. It's in Carlisle. Next time I have to go to my PT, I will take a looksy.
Messenjah - I hear ya. No one wants to see that. I wear loooong shorts. Usually just buy cheap ones that are light weight. I even have a pair of board/swim trunks I cut the lining out of and wear.
I did order a pair of shoes through Amazon. But I am thinking of cancelling and get 2 or 3 pair through runningwarehouse and keep the pair I like the best. Still thinking....
I was at Harrisburg Inside track few weeks ago for trail shoes, not sure how many they had but he brought out 4 pairs to try on. I bought a new balance pair, but they hurt my heel after a bit ( which sucks cause other foot felt awesome) so I took them back and exchanged them.
Im gonna have too check out the other stores that were mentioned, see what they have.
Messanjah, best place I find shorts is Marshall's or TJ Maxx type stores, and they cheaper too.