Don't know if Brian Riazor Blue logs onto here any more. If he does I hope he doesn't mind me posting this. It's from a blog linked to "La Voz de Galicia" which is the most important daily newspaper in the north-west of Spain.
Here's the link, I've translated the text below.
http://blogs.lavozdegalicia.es/susanabas...-de-brian/
The writer is a lady who started running in 2008 and I think this is an excellent little homage to the shop. Perhaps I should have posted it 12 months ago...
Yesterday, Pablo, a reader of this blog, went to The Running Shop in La Coruña to buy some running shoes. It was closed. And whilst it is true that Pablo turned around and went on his way it doesn’t mean he has stopped running. He e-mailed me immediately and asked me to write something about the closure of the shop. Maybe there was still some sort of solution.. “maybe it’s a consequence of the economic crisis, maybe if all us runners get together we could even save the shop because its owner, at least with me, has always behaved impeccably”. Pablo added “periodically there may well be these amazing discount prices in other shops (which you’ll normally end up arriving just too late for anyway) but in general his prices are no higher than anywhere else..”
And there lies the crunch of the matter. Brian’s shop (the owner is an Englishman) is going to close on Nov 30 because it is small and because it can no longer compete with the big franchises and their merchandising and their paraphernalia. But it’s not because his shop is in any way more expensive.
Because it isn’t.
Brian’s shop has been open for 7 and a half years and the economic crisis has finally taken its toll. “The small specialised shop is undervalued”, Brian said to me this morning when I contacted him. And it’s true. I’m talking about the detailed attention of somebody who knows what they are talking about after years in the business. “And you really must know your stuff. That must be important for the big brand names too. I mean, if you go to one of these sports shops and buy some really cheap Asics and then discover that they’re not right for your feet or for your running style you will most likely blame the brand and never buy them again. They lose prestigue as a result...” explained Brian.
Now he’s working as an English teacher. “It’s a shame for the people who are just starting to run”, Brian says.
People like me.
I bought my first pair of trainers there. Then I bought a couple more. Brian always asks what you were going to use them for, how many times a week you ran and on what type of terrain. Next he’d choose a few models and let you try them and even run up and down the pavement outside. Meanwhile from the door of the shop he’d be assessing the way you ran and making his recommendations.
Yesterday I said to him “you probably won’t remember this, but I bought a pair of Asics in your shop. I ran my first ever marathon in those shoes”.
“That’s right, you’re size 41 aren’t you?”.
I answered yes, but I’ll tell you what, I wasn’t too sure, I always get a bit muddled up with sizes and different shoes..
When I hung up I hunted down those old Asics and checked the size.
Sure enough it was a 41.
I’ll be off to buy one last pair of shoes before he closes on the 30th.
Toral de los Vados 2007, 196 kilometers run.
