RUNdetroit new running store visit and interview

Recently, RUNdetroit opened their new running store in the City of Detroit.  It's located in Midtown right near Wayne State at 441 West Canfield, #5, Detroit, MI.  They were having a grand opening on June 1st and 2nd so it was a great time to see their store.  I thought it would be a great opportunity to go and meet the new owners of the store since I'm Detroit Runner!  Haha!

I had an opportunity to meet the owners, Justin Craig and Alia Polsgrove and get some pictures as well as do an interview with them in regards to the new store.  They had a group run that morning but I was running the Dexter to Ann Arbor Half Marathon the next day so no group running for me.

The store has a nice industrial feel to it inside.  They sell numerous brands of shoes as well as having an inventory of running clothes.  They also had an extensive selection of Swiftwick socks.  I have a pair of these and they are great running socks.  They also had a selection of runners nutrition, a good selection of injury prevention items, compression socks, and accessories.

Check out the store:

Store front

Owners, Justin Craig and Alia Polsgrove

Because it was their grand opening, they also had yoga going on in the store as well.  As most of you know, I love doing yoga and the benefits are immense for runners in my opinion.  It was nice to see them incorporate this into their grand opening with another local business.

The wall of shoes - my favorite part of the store!

Clothes, injury prevention products, running belts

Sock, nutrition, accessories, and womens specialty products

Here's the interview with Justin, one of the owners, to gain a little information on them and the store:

Tell me a little about yourself, especially your running.
Opening a running store can really put a damper on your training.  Alia and I did a lot of the build out for RUNdetroit ourselves, but now that we’ve got the doors opened, we’ve resumed training and hope to start jumping into some 10Ks or half marathons shortly for tune up races.   Over the last few years I had been primarily racing trail ultras in the Pacific North West, mainly focusing on the 50K.  However I rarely trained on the trails, instead I trained on the road getting in most of my miles by running to and from work. 


Now that we’re firmly planted in Detroit I’m looking forward to getting back to road racing and chipping away at my marathon goals.  I’m still looking forward to racing on the trails from time to time. Hills are much less of an issue here so I hope to set some new PRs.

How did you determine you wanted to be located in Detroit?
Well Alia is from SE Michigan and wanted to come home.  We knew we wanted to live in a city vs a suburb so settling on Detroit was pretty easy.  For being a city, Detroit has a friendly small town feel. 

Will you be having weekly group runs?
Yes, we kicked off our Saturday group run as a part of our grand opening.  We had a great turn out! The keg of Motor City beer was a big hit post run.  We’ll have a group run leaving from the store every Saturday at 8am.  We have a 3,6 and 10 mile loop.  We’re really focused on being open to runners (and walkers) of all abilities. 

What brand of shoes are you carrying?
We currently have Brooks, Asics, Altra, Saucony, Mizuno and New Balance.  We have a variety of options from traditional high mileage trainers to lightweight racing options.  We also have options when it comes to heel offsets, from the traditional 12mm down to Zero.

What's the most important thing RunDetroit has to offer?

Customer Care.  We want to help customers enjoy their run and reach their goals while staying injury free.  We spend a lot of time talking about injury prevention and explaining why we chose to bring out the shoes we did during our gait analysis.  We hope customers leave RUNdetroit feeling like they were involved in the fit process and have a better idea of how their body works.

What's your advices for new runners thinking of starting to run?
Just try it.  Go for an easy walk jog around your block and try to settle into a routine.  I highly recommend visiting your local Running Specialty Store to get fitted with a quality running shoe.  They are going to cost a little more than something you’d buy at a sporting goods store but the staff will be able to fit you in the correct type of shoe for your needs.  At RUNdetroit, we have a lot of new runners coming in for shoes.  During our time we offer advice on training (to stay injury free), nutrition, and invite them to our running group.  Having people to run with every week can be a big motivator. 

What are some of the products you carry that you are really excited about?
Unpacking our opening shipments was like Christmas morning!  I’m really excited about everything we chose to bring in.  I will say that I’m really excited about our rehab products.  I’m very focused on helping injured runners get back to running asap, whether it’s shin splints, plantar fasciitis or knee pain, we have some great products and advice.

Will you be offering any classes or coaching at this time?
We’ll be working closely with local physicians, therapists and trainers to offer regular in-store guest speaker nights.  Our speakers will educate customers on topics like common injuries and prevention, nutrition, as well as topics like setting up a running commute, (where do you shower!?!)  We’re not going to be offering any coaching at this time.  We’re focused on doing everything we do to the highest standard.  Once RUNdetroit starts to hire staff we will revisit the coaching idea.  Right now we’re honest enough to say that we would not be able to run the store and coach to our standards at the same time.

What else would you like to share with us?
Alia and I are really excited to be back in Detroit and be able to provide this service to the people who live and work in the area.  Our focus is on Customer Care and education.  I have an extensive background in orthopedic medicine, specializing in foot and ankle surgery.  I feel very fortunate to be able to combine this background with our passion for running and create a service like RUNdetroit.


Before I left, I decided to pick up a new shirt.  Check it out!  They've got a great logo.

It's great to see a new running store in the area and I wish them all the success!  So take a trip down there to see it and pick something out for yourself.  Introduce yourself to them.  They have the expertise to help you with anything related to running.

Thanks Justin and Alia for taking the time with this and welcome to the community!

Have a great day and....Keep Running!!!!