Runners’ Choice in Waterloo, Ont.: it’s not about the shoes–it’s about community

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Runners’ Choice in Waterloo, Ont., could be considered a legacy running store; it’s been around for nearly 30 years. But it wasn’t until late 2019 that it was taken over by Alex Ullman and Andrew Aguanno, both former collegiate runners who have spent the last five years growing the store and local run community into their dream.

“Runners’ Choice has always been focused on supporting local runners and building community,” says Ullman. He doesn’t just own the shop–he worked there as a student, and now, he coaches in the community as well as at the local university, as does Aguanno. Ullman is easily the most open, earnest and frankly wide-eyed running shop owner I’ve come across; his enthusiasm for the sport coming across even as we chat over Zoom. This is a man who not only loves running–he loves runners, he loves talking about running, he loves the gear, the shoes, the races. He loves everything about this sport, even when he’s dealing with inventory issues, store budgets, run coaching headaches and a lack of time for his own training. He’s all in.

“While I was in school at the University of Windsor, I worked at the shop for the previous owner—who bought it from the original founder years earlier—and really fell in love with the store at the same time he was looking to sell. I had started doing research at Laurier and was hating it, and one day, the owner asked if I wanted to buy the store. And it was just the right moment for me, and within a few months, I co-owned the store with my old friend, Andrew.”

Prior to making the move to Waterloo, Aguanno had been managing a running store in Windsor. But when Ullman reached out, looking for “old friends who had a strong background in running or were obsessed with running and running shoes like I was,” Aguanno jumped at the chance.

And so the two bought Runners’ Choice from Geoff Todd, who’d run it for two decades. They knew it would be a leap of faith, but were confident that the community would support them. And it really did—even when, just a few months after they took over, the pandemic hit and they had to close. “We were scared for the first week or two,” Ullman admits. “But we quickly saw that, between the push to support local shops, as well as a bit of a running boom where suddenly everyone wanted to run, our sales were actually increasing.”

The pandemic also forced the new owners to get serious about selling online in a hurry—the previous owner didn’t even have an online shop, but Ullman knew it needed to be a priority if the store was going to survive. “In 2019, when we bought the store, we almost immediately were working really hard to get our online storefront up and running, and we were lucky we got it done, as the pandemic really started to shut things down,” Ullman says.

Ullman adds that, even early on in the pandemic, he knew he had made the right choice to buy the store as he saw how strong their community was. Five years later, the store is stronger than ever, with Ullman and Aguanno coaching runners out of the store… when they’re not busy coaching at the two local universities in Waterloo. (Ullman coaches cross-country at the University of Waterloo, while Aguanno coaches at Laurier.)

As former university athletes themselves, Ullman and Aguanno are both still passionate runners, though, as any run store owner knows, owning a run shop tends to mean it’s harder to get in your own training sessions! (Ullman’s current shoe obsession is the ASICS Novablast 5.)

There are also three running groups that are led by the Runners’ Choice crew: a beginner’s group, a fun run group, and a more serious marathon training group. The fun run and beginner group runs are free, and Ullman says they’re a great way to engage with the community, and to hear about what local runners are looking for. The marathon group, which meets four times a week and is coached by 14-time Boston Marathon finisher Michele Craddock, tends to be more serious, though the paces that the runners aim for vary widely. “Michele is great,” Ullman says. “We’re really lucky to be working with her. She knows how to keep everyone motivated and committed.”

Beyond that, Runners’ Choice supports more than a dozen other health, fitness and run clubs in the area, from the local Parkrun to the Spectrum Queer Run Club. They also support local races and events like Women Run Waterloo, plenty of demo nights out of the store and a virtual race and food drive that supports the Food Bank of Waterloo Region.

Ullman and Aguanno didn’t just want to own a running store. They wanted to become the bedrock for the running community in their area. And it’s clear that they’re succeeding, one fun run and shoe fit at a time.