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If you run in Saskatoon, you’ve definitely encountered Harvey Weber. He has been coaching in town for 40 years and, in addition to working with the Running Wild club, he is a fixture in Brainsport running store. So when we requested a tour of Brainsport, it made sense to do so with the most connected man in the Saskatchewan running scene.

“The joke is when someone comes to the store, I can walk up to them and find someone we both know,” he says. “The province is pretty connected, especially if you’re a runner.”

I’m not exactly in town, but I’m on a FaceTime video, and Weber flips the screen so I can watch him enter the big green building – the way they describe the building if you’re trying to find it in the Saskatoon’s Broadway neighborhood and began introducing myself to the staff there. (As I said, Weber is a great connector, even if you have spotty Wi-Fi.)

The building itself, part of a lumber yard built in the early 1900s, is impressive, but what’s even more impressive is the volume of shoes they managed to cram into the building . Behind the scenes (in the back), shoes are stacked on shelves in a maze-like configuration that seems to be a runner’s fantasy come to life: a never-ending wall of shoes.

The store is not just your usual visit and browse store. When you arrive, a receptionist will check in with you. Are you looking for specific equipment or clothing? They will point you in the right direction. Need new shoes? If you’re not entirely sure what you’re looking for, they’ll offer you a shoe fitting with a professional.

“So many people were coming into the store and walking around, and we had no specific orders or way to help them,” Weber says. “Today we have between eight and 15 fitters working in the field, and we have a long list of people we help. On a Saturday we can do 700 shoe fittings a day, so we really need a system.

“I would say 50 percent of the people who come here are looking for a specific running shoe, because they already run, but the other half come here because of a foot problem,” he says. The store now offers a wide range of more accessible shoes, such as the BILLY shoe, which offers more support and an easy zipper system.

Whether you have a wide foot and a difficult gait or need 4% more speed with carbon in your soles, the store has shoes for you. The stock is truly impressive: 16,000 pairs of sneakers in store mean you’ll find a shoe that fits you, even if you’re Cinderella. (Weber says most running stores in town only have 2,000 shoes in stock at a time.)

The staff is passionate about running. Weber may be the one who has been in the industry longer, but Brainsport has a staff who has been fitting shoes for over a decade, an Olympic wrestler turned runner, and many young runners who are more than ‘happy to spend all the time you need. discuss your next 5k or marathon. “And because we all run, there isn’t a race we haven’t done in the area, so we have a lot of insider knowledge to share,” adds Weber. “We are the place to go before an event!” »

In addition to being the go-to place to buy shoes, Brainsport is rooted in the community. They donate some of their excess inventory to local schools, shelters and other local charities. They also collect gently used sneakers for the same reason.

Burnaby, BC-run boutique is dedicated to the perfect fit

The store also recently began awarding the Rick Hannah Leadership Awards every year. “Rick moved here in the early ’80s and he was an extremely talented master runner,” Weber says. “He died about two years ago from Parkinson’s disease, but he ran until the end, until he couldn’t run anymore. He was so determined not to let Parkinson’s disease get him down. He put up an incredible fight. So we created this award in his honor, given to someone who does something wonderful for the running community. There have been many winners over the years for many different reasons.

One of Weber’s favorite events the store hosts is the annual Gingerbread Run: a local 5K run to raise money for the YWCA. It’s a real puzzle: “We have two people running around dressed in gingerbread costumes, and the goal is to try to beat them,” Weber explains. “We have some really fast academics wearing the suits, so it’s not easy to beat them.” And at the end, everyone gets hot chocolate and gingerbread cookies.

You really can’t beat that.