50 Best Running Retailers In America

There are lots of great running stores in the U.S. These are the best of the best.

The Franklin Resource Group, the leading retail merchandise company in the sports industry, sent their secret-shopper reviewers to visit running retailers around the country and rate them based on 20 criteria including environment, fitting and checkout. The stores were also rated on community service, and vendors were asked to evaluate them based on brand building and credit worthiness. The votes have been tabulated.

NORTHEAST/MID-ATLANTIC

City Sports

18 locations in New York City; Boston; Washington, D.C.; and Philadelphia

citysports.com

Greater Boston Running Company

3 locations in Boston metro area

greaterbostonrunningcompany.com

Gubbins Running Ahead

4 locations in East Hampton and Southampton, N.Y.

gubbinsrunningahead.com

Haddonfield Running Company

3 locations in South Jersey, N.J.

runningco.com

JackRabbit Sports

3 locations in New York metro area

jackrabbitsports.com

Marathon Sports

6 locations in Boston metro area

marathonsports.com

Maine Running Company

2 locations in Portland metro area

mainerunning.com

Medved Running & Walking Outfitters

3400 Monroe Ave.

Rochester, N.Y.

585-248-3420

medvedrunwalk.com

Pacers Running Stores

6 locations in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.

runpacers.com

Potomac River Running

8 locations in Virginia and Maryland

potomacriverrunning.com

A Running Start

705 Penn Ave.

West Reading, Pa.

610-320-9097

arunningstart.biz

Second Sole Cranberry

667 Castle Creek Dr.

Seven Fields, Pa.

724-772-2808

secondsolepa.com

Whirlaway Sports Center

500 Merrimac St.

Methuen, Mass.

978-688-8356

whirlawaysports.com

SOUTH

American Running Company

1689 Main St.

Dunedin, Fla.

727-736-8232 or 877-RUN-1ARC

americanrunningcompany.com

Fit Niche

2 locations in Tampa metro area

fitniche.com

Fleet Feet Sports Huntsville

2722 Carl T. Jones Dr., Suite B1

Huntsville, Ala.

256-650-7063

fleetfeethuntsville.com

Fleet Feet Sports Tulsa

2 locations in Tulsa, Okla., metro area

fleetfeettulsa.com

Jacksonville Running Company

9823 Tapestry Park Circle

Jacksonville, Fla.

904-379-7170

jacksonvillerunningcompany.com

Raleigh Running Outfitters

2 locations in Raleigh/Durham, N.C., metro area

raleighrunning.com

Soler’s Sports

3 locations in San Antonio metro area

solerssports.com

Run On!

5 locations in Dallas and San Antonio metro areas

runontexas.com

Runner’s Depot

5 locations in Vero Beach, Ft. Lauderdale and North Miami, Fla., metro areas

runnersdepot.com

Runner’s Edge

3195 N. Federal Highway

Boca Raton, Fla.

561-361-1950

runnersedgeboca.com

Running Zone

3680 North Wickham Rd.

Melbourne, Fla.

321-751-8890

runningzone.com

Sportspectrum

6970 Fern Ave.

Shreveport, La.

318-798-1241

sportspectrumusa.com

Swag’s Sport Shoes

7415 Old 3rd Street Rd.

Louisville, Ky.

502-368-2443

swagssportshoes.com

Track Shack

1104 N. Mills Ave.

Orlando, Fla.

407-898-1313

trackshack.com

MIDWEST

Big River Running Company

3 locations in St. Louis metro area

bigriverrunning.com

Bob Roncker’s Running Spot

4 locations in Cincinnati metro area

runningspot.com

Elite Feet

5017 W. 119th Street

Overland Park, Kan.

913-498-FEET (3338)

elitefeetkc.com

Fleet Feet Sports Chicago

2 locations in Chicago metro area

fleetfeetchicago.com

Fleet Feet Sports Cincinnati

9525 Kenwood Rd.

Cincinnati, Ohio

513-793-8383

fleetfeetcincy.com

Garry Gribble’s Running Sports

4 locations in Kansas City (Kansas and Missouri) metro area

garrygribbles.com

Gazelle Sports

214 South Kalamazoo Mall

3 locations in Holland, Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo, Mich.

gazellesports.com

Hansons Running Shop

4 locations in Detroit metro area

hansons-running.com

Lincoln Running Company

1213 Q St.

Lincoln, Neb.

402-474-4557

Movin’ Shoes

528 South Park St.

Madison, Wis.

608-251-0125

movinshoesmadison.com

Naperville Running Company

34 W. Jefferson Ave.

Naperville, Ill.

630-357-1900

runningcompany.com

Runners High ‘n Tri

121 West Campbell St.

Arlington Heights, Ill.

847-670-9255

runnershigh-n-tri.com

Running Away Multisport

2 locations in Chicago metro area

runningawaymultisport.com

WEST

Boulder Running Company

3 Colorado locations

boulderrunningcompany.com

Fleet Feet Sports Davis

615 Second St.

Davis, Calif.

530-758-6453

fleetfeetdavis.com

Fleet Feet Sports Tucson

7301 E. Tanque Verde Rd.

Tucson, Ariz.

520-886-7800

fleetfeettucson.com

Heart & Sole Sports

2817 San Mateo Blvd.NE

Albuquerque, N.M.

505-884-SOLE (7653)

heartnsolesports.com

Road Runner Sports

5553 Copley Dr.

San Diego, CA

858-974-4455

roadrunnersports.com

Salt Lake Running Company

3 locations in Salt Lake City metro area

saltlakerunningco.com

Shu’s Idaho Running Co.

1758 W. State St.

Boise, Idaho

208-344-6604

idahorunningcompany.com

Skinny Raven Sports

800 H St.

Anchorage, Alaska

907-274-7222

skinnyraven.com

Super Jock ‘n Jill

7210 E. Greenlake Dr. N

Seattle, Wash.

206-522-7711

superjocknjill.com

Wasatch Running Center

8946 South State St.

Sandy, Utah

801-566-8786

wasatchrunningcenter.com