Exploring the Boston Running Stores

Since today was my first Saturday back in Boston, I decided to go on a little tour of running stores.  Last time I was in Boston I lived in the South End and there was only one running store around there.  I didn’t go there today, but thought that it is worth mentioning.  The store is the South End Athletic Company.  It is where I received my first gait analysis and found out that I needed a neutral shoe.  I tried on a few and then fell in love with the Brooks Glycerin 12s.  They felt amazing on my feet then and still do.  At that time there was snow on the ground in Boston so I looked at cold weather running clothes while I was there.  I was directed to these bins at the side of the store that were full of marked down running clothes.  I was in luck because most of it was winter apparel at the time.  I did end up finding a good buy on a long sleeve running shirt.  The store is well organized though a little small.  The non sale clothing is a little pricey, but they have a great shoe selection and the staff is knowledgeable and extra friendly.

Today my first stop was the Nike store since it is right down the street.  The store is pretty big and very organized.  The Nike running club was actually just getting done with their run when I entered.  It looked like there was a cool down area in the back with lockers; seems like a nice program.  The merchandise was on the pricey side, but Nike is expensive in every store that I have seen it in.  You get what you pay for.  I have a couple of Nike shirts that I got on clearance at Bealls Florida and I have to say they are amazing quality.  There wasn’t a clearance section in the Nike store, not even a sale rack and I had a lot of other stores to visit, so I left.

A dog inside Marathon Sports

Next up was Marathon Sports, which is known for its proximity to the Boston Marathon finish line.  When I first entered I was surprised at how small it was.  It is a very narrow store, which was very crowded at the time.  There was even a dog there for some reason.  In the back I saw a treadmill used for gait analysis.  When I left there was a guy running down Bolyston Street to test a pair of shoes before he purchased them.  The staff is very friendly.  I had asked one of them if they had any Glycerin 12s left since the 13s are out now, but sadly they did not have any.  The clothes, like most of these stores were expensive, though they did have a sale rack, but only 30% off.

I was expecting more from the New Balance store, but was sadly disappointed.  The store was tiny, and not just that but there was hardly any merchandise in it and what was in it was very expensive.  The staff seemed friendly, but there wasn’t much for me to look at so I walked around the space once and then made my exit.

The next store I had never heard of.  It is called Athleta and is an all woman’s athletic clothing store.  When I first entered I got the impression that the prices would be way out of my reach.  It is a very nice looking store that is well organized.  I looked around a bit and the regular priced items were a little too much, but then I spotted a sale rack.  These prices weren’t too bad, but I didn’t see anything that I wanted.  I planned to make my circle through the store and then to the exit when I saw a table in the way back with food and drink on it.  I made my way back there and then saw racks and racks of sale items.  I ended up finding a shirt that said it was unstinkable for a decent price.  Before I tried it on I went to the table of food.  I hadn’t eaten breakfast yet so I was starving.  I grabbed half a bagel and a glass of orange jucie and contiuned browsing.  I didn’t find anything else so I asked an associate if I can go in the dressing room.  She brought me to a room and wrote my name on the chalkboard that hung outside of the room… fancy!  I entered and then she shut the curtain behind me.  The shirt fit great so I got it.  The store is pretty big and the employees are really friendly.  I will definitely go back there before I leave Boston.

Next up was City Sports.  I had shopped there last time I was in Boston.  I went in and headed straight for the shoes.  I planned on seeing if they had any Glycerin 12s left.  I found the 13s on their shoe wall and then waited for an associate to help me when they were free.  I noticed that the associate was bringing a customer the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 14s.  Those are over a year old, I know this because they were my first running shoe.  I looked where he took the shoe from and there were other old models as well including my Glycerin 12s!  I asked if they had any in my size and it turns out they did!  While I waited I noticed a sign that said if you spend a hundred dollars you get twenty five off.  Since the shoes were seventy five I just needed to find something for twenty five and I would get it for free!  I found a shirt and some others things to add up to twenty five, checked out at the register, and then I left a very happy customer!

After that I went to the Boston Marathon Adidas RunBase.  This store was pretty cool as it was filled with Boston Marathon memorabilia and in the center of the store there was a sculpture of the Marathon course showing the elevation.  I looked around for a while and read all the Boston Marathon facts that were written all over the store.  An employee noticed the runDisney shirt I was wearing so I talked to her a while about Disney races.  She ran Dopey this past January.  Dopey is the 5k, 10k, half marathon, and marathon run four mornings in a row.  I then continued to look through the store which was also expensive, then I left.

Next was the Puma store.  I was actually wearing puma shorts that  I purchased at the Premium Outlets in Orlando last year.  This store did not have any sale items.  An employee showed me these really cool shorts that were made out of a reflective material so it is better to see at night.  The store is bigger than most of the stores that I mentioned and the staff was very friendly… I was just hoping for a sale rack or two.

After that I went to Lululemon which was right next to Puma.  I couldn’t find it at first because the name was not on the outside of the store.  I opened up maps to make sure I was in the right spot.  There was stained glass with a logo on it above the doorway and I saw yoga clothing; this must be it!  I walked inside and noticed how small it was.  It was probably about the size of Marathon Sports.  I did not purchase anything because this was probably the most expensive store out of all of the ones I visited today.  They did have a sale rack, but the sale prices would be regular prices in other stores.  Like Athleta they had name boards on the dressing room walls.  When I entered I saw a sign for free yoga classes; I may try one for my cross training.

I wanted to add Marshalls to the list because it has been one of my favorite places to buy running clothes.  I have found so many good deals there and today was no different.  I even found a shirt for my mom to wear with her green Sparkle Athletic skirt to dress as Ariel for the 5k at Disney in February.  They have deals on almost everything that you could need for running including phone armbands, headbands, socks, water bottles, towels, and all kinds of running clothes.  The prices were the best of anywhere that I went today.  This won’t be the last time I go there this trip.

Here is all the loot from a successful quest!