Victoria business Frontrunners Footwear was named 2019 Store of the Year by the Canadian Independent Running Retailers of Canada.
The award was presented to owners Rob Reid and Nick Walker by New Balance, Boston at the annual North American Running Retailers Event in Austin, Texas – a gathering of 300 retail owners.
“This is a great honour for the store and our staff. We pride ourselves on being local and supporting community events,” said Reid. “Membership of the Independent Running Retailers has grown to 30 stores from across the country and it continues to grow every year, which proves that there is a demand for local retailers.”
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Established in 1988, Frontrunners has three stores in the Victoria area and one in Nanaimo. Reid founded the independent Canadian running retail group 14 years ago to share best practices, and grow the sport in Canada. The Best Canadian Running Retailer of the Year Award is given to the top store in the industry for its service and community work.
“We strive to be a leader in community development by supporting hundreds of local charitable organizations and events every year,” said Walker.
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Frontrunners sponsors events such as the Oak Bay Half Marathon, GoodLife Fitness Victoria Marathon, The Victoria Goddess Run, the Vancouver Island Trail Series and the Vancouver Island Race Series. It also supports the Every Steps Program at Cool Aid, and founded Shoes for Youth in 1996 providing more than 2,000 pairs of shoes to underprivileged youth on Vancouver Island.
Frontrunners also promotes a healthy and active lifestyle to more than 500 runners each year, through running clinics at all four stores.
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