Road Runner Sports

Full review
Are you a runner or fitness walker? Do you workout at a health club? Do you cross train? Enjoy hiking for fitness? Take aerobic or step classes? Use fitness tapes? If the answer to any of those questions is "yes" and if your interest ranges anywhere from casual to obsessed, you probably should be a customer of RoadRunnerSports.com.

Get the Gear

The main reason to use RoadRunnerSports.com is to get the gear, the right gear for the fitness activity of your choice. RoadRunner carries an extensive selection of:

Running, walking, casual and trail shoes
Fitness apparel
Underwear & socks
Heart rate monitors, watches & electronics
Accessories (like sports bags, wraps & braces)
Sports nutrition

RoadRunner positions itself as a runner's resource - "The World's Largest Running Store". I'm not a runner; I'm a walker. (My joke is, I don't run unless someone is chasing me, but I'll walk real fast if there is a cupcake at the end of the trail.) Road Runner is shortchanging itself, and you -- if you are not a runner -- by pushing just the running market. The store is capable of meeting every major need of the fitness walker and, at least some of the needs of other fitness aficionados.


Hey duck! What are you doing at Road Runner?

The fact that I'm now a rabid customer of Road Runner, is well, laughable. Just two years ago, the thought of me, or my husband, doing much more than sitting in front of the TV and pouring ourselves another Jack Daniel's to go with the chips and dips was amusing.

Don, as some of my more regular readers will remember, suffered a massive heart attack a year and a half ago. (Wonder if the drinks, chips and dip and smokes had anything to do with that?) He lost 60 percent of his heart's capacity, which put a vital 45 year old in the senior citizen category of physical ability. While the heart can't heal its dead part, the alive part can be strengthened to compensate for what is gone through steady, moderate exercise and good diet. Born again, my dear husband has morphed into a faithful fitness walker, turning in 3 to 4 miles on a nearly daily basis.

My habits weren't changed when Don changed his habits. Hey, after all, I didn't have the heart attack, he did. Right? (Don't worry if you are laughing at me, because I'm laughing at myself, too.) Pass me some more chips and dip and make the Jack a double this time! It took a group of online friends becoming obsessed with pedometers and daily stepping and mileage to get me hooked on the idea of breaking a sweat (and passing up the dip) being a good thing. More information about my current insane walking obsession at the end of this review.

Over the course of the last year, Don's born again walking routine and my newfound addiction for walking and numbers have met, and we've become a family of fitness walkers, needing gear for same.


I buy shoes at RoadRunner

I like to buy shoes at Road Runner. Er, I love to buy shoes at Road Runner.

Somewhere in the midst of my burgeoning walking obsession, I discovered that the lower back problems I had been struggling with for years went away when I wore the right shoes on my feet. Wear high or moderate heeled shoes? Lower back ache! Sciatica! Wear good walking or running shoes? No pain! Vitality!

Middle-aged rather eccentric ladies such as I can get away with decreeing walking/running shoes as the only footwear de jour, and so I have. I wear running shoes with any outfit at work or at home. Side note: This has worked for Cybil Shepherd. She only wears running/walking shoes, taking this fashion concept all the way to the Oscars, with gown and jewels. Since I sing like Cybil Shepherd (badly), I might as well dress like her, yes?

If you want to buy shoes at Road Runner, start with the Shoe Dog, at least your first time out. The Shoe Dog will "fetch" the shoes that are right for your size, arch, weight and pronation. (If you don't know your arch or pronation, there are online tools to help you sniff it out.) A real shoe store salesperson in real life who really knows his stuff is going to be able to fit you for the perfect shoe at the perfect size better than an online tool. I like shopping online. The Shoe Dog worked fine for me.

Once you know what you need, either through a real life salesperson or the Shoe Dog, you can skip the Shoe Dog on return visits and join me in haunting the Clearance and Sales sections. I have gotten phenomenal deals on first rate shoes, picking up clearance items for just a fraction of the retail cost.

My shoe wardrobe is to the point where I don't really need to buy any new running/walking shoes for the next few years...but, hello, where's the fun in that? More is better. As long as Road Runner has a clearance section, I'll be there, haunting it, scouting for the true bargain that is sure to come my way. Should I choose Saucony or Asics for the company Christmas party? Gel is in this year!


Big Feet on Women mean....

We know what big feet on men mean, but what does it mean to be a big footed woman? Nearest I can figure, it just means shop at Road Runner. I'd been squeezing my tootsies into a size 10, when it turned out the poor pumpkins needed room to breathe. Road Runner size and width selection is extensive, and the comprehensive product descriptions tell you when to "size up" for a particular style. I regularly buy size 11 now, depending on what Road Runner advises, and my feet love me for it.


We're just looking for a little support

A recent trip to Road Runner had me picking up some Buddy shorts for my dear husband and some jog bras for me.

What's a Buddy Short? Why, it's a short with built in support for, er, my husband's "buddies", of course. As I write this review for you, my dear Don is walking the path around the Cooper River, with his buddies warmly supported. (I can't be there to do it for him; I'm watching the children.) It will be my turn to walk soon, and I'll put on my new Nike jog bra, making sure my friends are warmly supported as well, all courtesy of Road Runner sports.

Every woman's friends can use your support...and I'll walk 60 miles for the cause, even without a cupcake as a reward. A couple of months ago, I got myself involved in an adventure of a lifetime. I signed up, with a bunch of online folks, to walk 60 miles in 3 days in the Avon Breast Cancer New York 3 Day. Support the friends of a woman you love! (more details at the bottom of this review).


Road Runner has an extensive selection of under and outer garments, with fantastic deals on clearance. My new Nike Dri Fit bra was purchased at less than half of retail price.


My husband's not a heel....

... but he's sure been having a pain. Don is fighting a recurring problem with heel pain right now. On the advice of a physical therapist, I've purchased both a heel cup and an arch support through Road Runner. The arch support, which Road Runner touts as "ending plantar fascitis pain", is new and my fingers are crossed that this is going to help. Road Runner carries supports and wraps and splints and braces for (seems to me) most of what ails you.


Sock it to me

I spent $28 on 3 pairs of socks for myself the other day. This was a heretofore unimaginable amount of money to spend on socks, which are commonly considered, in my home, to be toys which the dog sometimes allows the humans to wear. Spending more than $9.99 on a 6 pack for anyone in the house was like handing out cash for the dog to chew on.

In gearing up my training for the 60 mile event, I've found that already cheap socks aren't cutting it. Or, more precisely, they are cutting it and it is my feet! Road Runner understands that and has a selection that would, cough, knock your socks off. It took me 30 minutes to choose the socks that I would spend a portion of my life savings on, but Road Runner helped me make the choice by giving me tons of technical information on each style. Now, I just need a safe to store the valuables away from the canine. What is it about dogs and socks?


Okay, you like Road Runner's products. How's the website performance?

Honestly, the website performs more slowly than I'd usually tolerate from a store that is part of my normal online travels.

The first couple times I visited, I ended up leaving without buying anything, frustrated because sifting through so much information and so many available styles took too long. Not only was I new to Road Runner, I was new to what on earth I needed for a fitness lifestyle that was so foreign. (Page loads aren't that fast, either, even on a cable connection. Bring patience. )

My needs kept driving me back, and once I persevered, learning the ropes of the website and the products that were right for me, my trips became faster and I became happier.

The key to true shopping bliss with Road Runner is holding the print catalog while shopping online. With such an extensive product selection, it is much faster to flip catalog pages than to drill down throughout the website. If your fitness needs aren't urgent, I suggest you go to http://www.roadrunnersports.com and push the "free catalog" button at the very bottom of the home page. Wait a week for the catalog to arrive, and then shop online with the catalog in your hand. Combining the immediacy of the web and web based specials with the speed of the print catalog information gives you the best of both worlds.


Is Road Runner service fast?

Is Road Runner fast? Just ask Wile E. Coyote! Man, these guys are fast. I will never discern how the company, based in San Diego, California gets regular shipping orders to me in Almost Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the matter of a couple of days, but they do. Time and time again. I am a rabid internet consumer, and I've never had so many orders delivered so quickly by anyone else. It feels as if they've already anticipated my order days before I place it.


What's the downside?

The only downside to Road Runner amounts to quibbles. They are primarily a print catalog retailer that made the conversion to the internet. Compare to FogDog, created for the net. When you shop FogDog.com, you shop an Internet Retailer, capital letters and all. You can fly in and out, with a website experience that is near flawless.

When you shop Road Runner, you're not in for the website experience of your dreams. But if you spend a bit of extra time you will get the right product at an excellent, nearly unbeatable price, with first rate service.


Deals and Steals

As mentioned previously, there are serious bargains in the clearance section. ($100 brand name sneakers for $20.)

Road Runner has a "Run America" club. For a $19.95 fee, you get a list of services (none of them particularly attractive to me), and 5 percent discount on all of your orders for a year. Do the math, and you'll see that you have to spend $400 in a year to break even. While I'm well on my way to spending $400 with Road Runner this year, I prefer to not bank on that up front. Loyalty clubs with up front fees irritate me; if they don't irritate you, check out the Run America club.

Free shipping, $100 or more, is pretty standard. Shipping in and of itself is reasonable. Online orders only: flat rate $7.99, no matter what you order. Excuse me while I faint and load up my shopping cart.


Overall Recommendation

If you are into any kind of fitness endeavor, taking the time to establish a relationship with Road Runner is time well spent. Get to know the website. Get to know the print catalog. Be prepared to take advantage of their resources when you need a shoe, a brace, or a little support for your buddies.

They'll reward with the right product at an excellent price, delivered speedily.


"182,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. 40,000 women die from it. The ten women of Team EA have decided to make a difference. We've committed to raising $19,000 as part of the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade to fund research and provide early detection and awareness to medically underserved women. Team EA will walk 60 miles from Bear Mountain State Park to Manhattan, New York, October 11-13. If you would like more information or to help this worthy cause, please go to http://teamea.pledgepage.com or see my profile page.

Thanks for Supporting Our Breasts!"