A Montrail visit to Medved! Inspired!

(click on pics to make them bigger!)

Last Thursday, I had the privilege to go to Medved Running and Walking Outfitters and join in on their weekly trail runs. It was a memory to be cherished.

Mort, the store manager of Medved, had set up a trail run and time for me to talk with the runners about Montrail shoes and give the runners an opportunity to demo them. I believe that a product that is so good as Montrail can easily win hearts once they are on your feet...and especially on the trails. So...here we went.

What an amazing group of men and women. I met runners who were seasoned, just starting out, and even first time on the trails. But the ones that left the biggest impression on me were the group of ladies who were in their 60's! Never could I have guessed! Not only did they visually look much younger, but their spirits were of that of a teen (well, maybe with the frontal lobes fully functioning!). They had choices to take the hilly route or the flat route...and it was always the harder of the two. They were telling me their goals as we mustered up the hills with smiles....and as we approached the top of a grueling one, the one lady yells out "I run for beer" and sure enough, I was handed one from her cooler when we finished.

Majority of the runners tested the rogue racers, which were loved by all. We also had fairhaven and masochist, which also had great reviews. I believe it was easy to show these runners how Montrail puts their heart and soul (or sole for this matter!) into their products. Myself, being fortunate enough to be on the Montrail Team am a firm believer in all they do to get our feedback on what works and what needs improvement....and the 2012 line will surely reveal all that they have done...can't wait.

The run ended 90 minutes later (yes, I was warned about the employee of Medved who likes to get lost...or should we say explore to add on miles !). Socializing afterwards at the local pub, talking about exciting races coming up, ...creating a whole atmosphere geared to the personality of runners.

The stores that I have been fortunate enough to visit have taught me on what is successful and what may need to adopt from the other - and that is, you need to create a culture around your store, get the vibe going, group activities, motivational talks, - it makes it a whole experience to just visit the store and trust the employees who are taking care of your...sole!

Thank you Medved and I am blessed to have met all of the local runners from Rochester, NY.

http://www.medvedrunwalk.com/ is a wonderful place to visit!