Mill City Awesome

It’s been a few weeks since now, but I finally bought some new running shoes. I guess it’s not really news if you read my blog, because you would have seen it come up on my Twitter feed. Anyway, I made the trip to Northeast Minneapolis to Mill City Running and (as you could also see from my Twitter posts) could not have been happier.

I’ve been let down by the last few running shoe fittings I’ve had at other stores, so I was over the moon with how much attention I was given at Mill City. Like other running stores, they took a look at my feet, my instep, how I walk, and so forth. They went the extra mile however in putting me in a pair of neutral shoes and have me run on a treadmill. Makes sense doesn’t it? I’m looking for the best pair of running shoes - so it only makes sense to see how I run. This was all filmed on an iPad so I could even look at it when I was done running. The big surprise was that I don’t overpronate severely like I’ve always been told! 

I then tried on probably about a dozen stability shoes, nearly running in all of them outside on the sidewalk in front of the store. Never before have I tested out so many shoes. Needing a stability shoe instead of a motion control shoe definitely expanded my options, but I also think that the staff at Mill City Running really want to give people as many options so they can find that perfect shoe. The perfect shoe for me? The Mizuno Wave Inspire 13 - which funny enough is a shoe I’ve used in the past, just in previous model versions. 

When I was up at the cash register paying for my shoes, it came up in conversation that I used to work in the bicycle industry and how I kind of got sick of needing to make sales versus helping people. Bekah - who helped me during my entire fit process and who I later remembered later in the car is one of the store’s owners - responded (and I’m totally paraphrasing here) that she sees that a lot in the outdoor industry too, especially with the larger companies. At their store though - while they obviously want to stay in business - she doesn’t see sales transactions but instead just sees the store as simply helping people with their passion for running. 

And with that, Mill City Running got a customer for life.

Oh, and also they have loon socks.