Help us pick the top 50 running shops in America by voting for your favorites.

What makes a great running shop? Yes, it’s one that correctly fits you into running shoes that match your foot shape and running gait, but it’s much more than that. Is it a shop that sponsors or organizes local races and backs local school programs? Or one with a cool local wall of fame? Or a treadmill and high-speed cameras for gait analysis? Or the one that has the best happy-hour fun runs?

In part, the top shops in America are the ones you — our reader and connoisseur of all things running — consider the best.

Each year, Competitor magazine and Running Insight® identify the 50 Best Running Stores in America®. It starts with runners nominating their favorite stores through www.competitor.com. Then those stores are put through a rigorous evaluation process, which includes mystery shopping to assess customer service, credit ratings from vendors and assessments about local programs and community commitment.

RELATED: 50 Best Running Stores in America® for 2012

In past years, the shops ranked among the 50 Best Running Stores in America were the ones that offer exemplary customer service for every type of runner, organize training programs, group runs and local races, and provide knowledge and insights about the latest trends, the newest gear, proper running form and local trails, plus can answer endless questions about racing, training and injury prevention. In other words, it’s a shop that goes out of its way to do everything for local runners, no matter what age, experience or ability.
RELATED: Fleet Feet Syracuse Named Top Running Store In The U.S. 

Which running shop is the best in the country for 2013? Help us out by voting for your favorite shops by clicking here.

The winner will be revealed on Dec. 5 at The Running Event® (an industry-only trade show) in Austin, Texas, published online at www.competitor.com and profiled in the January 2014 issue of Competitor.