The newest Boulder Running Company store officially opened on April 3 in the Cherry Creek shopping district of Denver with great fanfare amid a VIP party that included former Olympic runners, a best-selling running author, a reigning world champion hurdler and dozens of running industry movers and shakers. But the talk of the night centered on the size of the store (17,000 square feet!) and some of the store’s unique features—most notably the custom-painted floor, the Camelbak hydration bar, the huge community room, the Nathan-sponsored water bottle fill-up tap just inside the front door, the enormous replica of a Hoka One One Conquest shoe, the onsite physical therapy practice and the laboratory-grade force plate treadmill in the Saucony Stride Lab. (It’s one of only a dozen force plate treadmills in North America and the first one ever put into a retail store.) The store, located in the Denver’s Cherry Creek shopping district, is the fourth Boulder Running Company store and the 50th store owned by the Denver-based Running Specialty Group, which is headquartered two blocks away. Believe it or not, the store is actually temporary. The building it occupies is slated to be demolished in a few years and replaced with a new building, which means RSG will have to find a new space to put its flagship store. (Most of the features were designed to be easily moved, except, of course, for the high-end treadmill, which will likely have to be completely deconstructed and rebuilt.) Scroll through the images below to get a glimpse inside the store.
1 of {count}
Back to Start
View Larger Image.
Boulder Running Company—Denver/Cherry Creek
Located at 2500 E. 1st Ave. in Denver, the store had a soft opening three weeks ago. But even before it opened, the store had 70 people show up for its inaugural group training run.
View Larger Image.
Boulder Running Company—Denver/Cherry Creek
One of the first things you notice when you walk in the door is the Nathan cold-water bottle-refilling tap. Connected to the store's plumbing under the floor, it's near the front door so runners can fill up before, during or after a run on the nearby Cherry Creek Path.
View Larger Image.
Boulder Running Company—Denver/Cherry Creek
One of the most eye-catching features of the store is the custom-painted floor. It starts as a track, transitions into a road and eventually blends into a trail.
View Larger Image.
Boulder Running Company—Denver/Cherry Creek
As the painted road gives way to a wildflower-lined trail, a trail running testing ramp is off to the right and a larger-than-life Hoka One One Conquest shoe is in the background near the store's massive shoe walls.
View Larger Image.
Boulder Running Company—Denver/Cherry Creek
The store blends aspects of small specialty retail shops with bigger store environments by incorporating mini concept shops from major brands. (Yes, the brands, including Nike, paid for the positioning.)
View Larger Image.
Boulder Running Company—Denver/Cherry Creek
Part of the ASICS women's concept space.
View Larger Image.
Boulder Running Company—Denver/Cherry Creek
The women's shoe wall has more than 300 models from almost two dozen brands.
View Larger Image.
Boulder Running Company—Denver/Cherry Creek
The men's shoe wall also features 300 models.
View Larger Image.
Boulder Running Company—Denver/Cherry Creek
A sneak peak at the back shop area of the store reveals seemingly endless shelves of shoes.
View Larger Image.
Boulder Running Company—Denver/Cherry Creek
The store incorporates some of the best aspects of other stores within the Running Specialty Group system, including this call-out to local runners who are running the Boston Marathon—a feature borrowed from Bob Roncker's Running Spot stores in the Cincinnati area.
View Larger Image.
Boulder Running Company—Denver/Cherry Creek
A young runner gives the undulating surface of the Brooks test trail a practice run.
View Larger Image.
Boulder Running Company—Denver/Cherry Creek
Every detail of the store was designed with runners in mind.
View Larger Image.
Boulder Running Company—Denver/Cherry Creek
Denver-native David Oliver, the 2013 world champion in the 110-meter high hurdles, was the star of the VIP party on April 3. "This store is HUGE," he said.
View Larger Image.
Boulder Running Company—Denver/Cherry Creek
Liz Wilson, director of apparel sales at Brooks Sports, hams it up in the Brooks photo booth.
View Larger Image.
Boulder Running Company—Denver/Cherry Creek
Need gels? Bars? Chewables? Hydration tabs? This store has a massive selections of brands, flavors and types of products.
View Larger Image.
Boulder Running Company—Denver/Cherry Creek
The store utilizes a variety of merchandizing mannequins showing off new running gear.
View Larger Image.
Boulder Running Company—Denver/Cherry Creek
Near the back of the store, runners can find the Camelbak Hydration Bar. Yes, it's literally a bar where all sorts of hydration drinks can be sampled from a modified beer tap.
View Larger Image.
Boulder Running Company—Denver/Cherry Creek
A massive selection of hydration products is available for all types of running, from short, easy runs to ultra-distance mountain runs.
View Larger Image.
Boulder Running Company—Denver/Cherry Creek
The store has a wide range of brands and styles of apparel.
View Larger Image.
Boulder Running Company—Denver/Cherry Creek
One corner of the store has a massive selection of casual and outdoor shoes and accessories.
View Larger Image.
Boulder Running Company—Denver/Cherry Creek
The original Boulder Running Company store in Boulder was one of the first in the country to use video gait analysis. In this store, that service includes interactive details via an iPad app.
View Larger Image.
Boulder Running Company—Denver/Cherry Creek
The real gem of the store is the $100,000 force plate treadmill within the Saucony Stride Lab. While the onsite physical therapy lab will use the system to get runners healthy, any runner can receive a high-end gait analysis that includes impact readings from the force plate under the treadmill mat. Saucony is using the results generated from the laboratory-grade system in its shoe-design process.
View Larger Image.
Boulder Running Company—Denver/Cherry Creek
The Saucony Stride Lab system utilizes high-speed cameras from four angles to give a runners a complete picture of what their form looks like in motion.
View Larger Image.
Boulder Running Company—Denver/Cherry Creek
You would look good in this Saucony gear too, don't you think?
View Larger Image.
Boulder Running Company—Denver/Cherry Creek
Everybody needs undies for running right? Here are some with some built-in attitude.
View Larger Image.
Boulder Running Company—Denver/Cherry Creek
The store has a colorful array of sports bras in all shapes and sizes.
View Larger Image.
Boulder Running Company—Denver/Cherry Creek
South African running legend and former 2:11 marathoner Johnny Halberstadt (right) was one of the co-founders of the original Boulder Running Company store, which opened in Boulder, Colo., in 1996. He's pictured here with Nike rep Kenyon Neuman, a former University of Colorado runner with a 13:40 PR in the 5K and 1:04 PR for the half marathon.
View Larger Image.
Boulder Running Company—Denver/Cherry Creek
Among those on hand for the VIP party was esteemed running writer, avid runner and Ironman finisher Dimity McDowell, the co-author of "Run Like A Mother" and numerous other books.
View Larger Image.
Boulder Running Company—Denver/Cherry Creek
That's Adriana Nelson, the 2013 U.S. half marathon champion and co-founder of the Roll Recovery tool, with Amy Smith from Brooks Sports.
View Larger Image.
Boulder Running Company—Denver/Cherry Creek
Also in the house were 1996 U.S. Olympic marathoner Mark Coogan, now the coach of the New Balance elite distance running program, and Greg Tyndall, New Balance sales rep extraordinaire.
View Larger Image.
Boulder Running Company—Denver/Cherry Creek
Ken Gart, one of the principals behind Running Specialty Group, has been in the sporting goods retail business most of his life. RSG bought the Boulder Running Company stores last spring.
View Larger Image.
Boulder Running Company—Denver/Cherry Creek
One of the BRC runners that greats customers at the front door.
The post New Running Store Breaks The Mold appeared first on Competitor.com.