Elite Feet Brighton: A Special Specialty Running Shop

A few weeks ago, my coach Marie posted some info on Facebook about a new running shop in Brighton, just a few clicks up US-23.  After a little digging, I went from curious to anxious about getting a chance to visit the shop.  After all, who likes running gear as much as I do? Who obsesses over running shoes and minimalist running products like I do?  Well, it turns out the crew at Elite Feet in Brighton do.  In fact, while they do carry a full line to address any runner’s needs, they clearly have differentiated themselves as a shop with a true belief in running form education and natural running/minimalist footwear.

The shop is beautiful.  Not too crowded with extra junk that no runner really needs, but well and smartly stocked with (my opinion) the best nutrition and hydration products from Hammer Nutrition.  Seriously, they seem to carry the entire Hammer line in all flavors and all varieties for all purposes.  They also carry a full line of Amphipod hydration gear, a small-ish but thoughtful collection of clothing for men and women, Garmin and Nike GPS systems, some high-end earbuds for the runners who tune in on a run, and a variety of other things like Feetures socks, injury prevention and treatment gear, and information on the local running scene.

The real jewel of Elite Feet Brighton, however, is that beautiful shoe wall.  They carry a lot of stuff you only see online, or are only starting to see trickle into the usual mainstream running shops.  To name a few…they are flush with New Balance Minimus Road and Minimus Trail in the latest colors, Hoka One One, Saucony Hattori, Kinvara 2, Mirage, Peregrine (my trail marathon shoe), and the very new Powergrid Cortana, Vibram Five Fingers Trek Sports and Bikilas, Altra Instincts (the most distinct looking, but maybe best new shoe around), and some mainstream Asics, Mizunos, Brooks, and Nikes.  For a small specialty shop, they really do seem to carry just about all the new options for minimalist/natural runners or aspiring ones.  Yet, they don’t do this at the expense of those traditional proven favorites across the more mainstream motion-control bandwidth.

I was like a kid in a candy store, if I am honest.  Most of those options I listed above for the natural running crowd are all low drop (flatter sole, less than 4mm drop from heel-to-toe to allow a natural midfoot strike), wide forefoot/toebox (to allow for your toes to splay and absorb impact), and very lightweight and flexible (to let your feet be feet). The best part is that Ken and Mike are industry veterans who understand the product and are running shoe geeks like me.  It is clear, however, that these guys won’t just slap you in whatever they are into at the time.  They have a dedicated treadmill with high-speed multi-angle cameras for on-the-spot gait analysis, they have weekly Good Form Running classes (more on this in a future post…but click the link in the meantime!), and they are dedicated to the whole runner and running technique.  In other words, they will help you learn to be a better, faster, less injury-prone runner and will work with you to go with as much or as little shoe as you need or want, with no preconceived notions or judgement.

That, to me, is why every local runner should check out Elite Feet Brighton.  Sure, some other local shops have given lip service to running form training (using a program that was clearly plagiarized from the Good Form Running program pioneered at Playmakers and available at Elite Feet and local New Balance shops).  However, I have witnessed first-hand the skepticism built into the sales staff at the old-guard running retailers about natural running. I have heard them automatically put new runners in the motion-control and stability shoes, after no more than a look at the runner’s body type and a meaningless walk across the carpet.  I don’t think most retailers trust runners to challenge themselves to learn about form and technique.  I only wish they would be more open minded.

Yes, natural running is a grassroots movement…and the manufacturers are responding big-time.  After all, running is really basic at its root...as natural as sitting or standing...and if (my opinion) you pull away the technology you will run closer the way nature intended.

I know there are many runners that benefit from stability and motion control technologies, or from a high soft heel, or rigid arch support.  I started out that way, too…but when I could barely walk after finishing my first marathon I knew something had to change (for me) and now I run twice as much with half as much discomfort and way more speed than I ever thought I could…all because I worked at adopting a more natural stride in more minimal shoes.  After all, you learn technique in every other sport, why not running?  Would you expect to shoot par on a golf course if no one ever showed you how to swing a driver?  Why should you expect to run a marathon without any thought to HOW you run?  As a runner have you ever been injured?  As I have said, though...the shoes are just a tool…you can run more naturally in more conventional running shoes, but low-drop, wide-toe, flexible shoes will help you make the most of a natural stride.  But don't take my amateur word for it, go to Brighton and talk to the experts.

So, if you are even a little curious, but maybe hesitant, to explore natural running form as part of your running arsenal, you MUST go to Elite Feet up in Brighton.  They will take the time to go into depth on these issues with you, to look at your form in a variety of shoes, to help you learn about the few basic (simple) tenets of natural running form. They may also keep you in a more traditional running shoe, based on your needs and preferences.  They do this using technology and experience.  They are not into fads, as critics of natural running may suggest, but they are in the business of helping runners learn to run better, stronger, faster and with less injury that they ever thought they could.  I think the local running community is lucky to have them here, and they have my business for sure.