Toby Claudio and runner Cebu

I had the chance to sit beside Toby Claudio last week at Bigby’s in SM. Toby is the scion of the Claudio clan, owner of Toby’s Sports, the country’s leading sporting goods retailer.

Toby was in town to finalize the opening of Runnr Cebu on December 1 at Ayala, the first store outside of Metro Manila. The first branch is in Bonifacio High Street in Taguig, a relatively new store but already the watering hole of runners.

Putting up a branch in Cebu wasn’t such a no-brainer but then Toby insisted that Cebu is a major city, thus Runnr has to be present in Cebu, and “to be the authority for running, gears, books, or everything needed for running.”

And for good measure.

Cebu is agog with running events. Too many races - that for example on November 29 - there are three events firing off almost simultaneously. The running bug has beaten almost all Cebuanos and often the road teems with runners.

Unlike Toby’s that is sort of a general sporting goods store, Runnr is a specialty store.

When it opens, Cebuanos will get the chance to scrutinize the latest running shoes in Runnr’s inventory that include Adidas, Asics, Fuelbert, Hammer, Nathan, New Balance, Nike, Polar and Newton.

It will also offer apparel, accessories, arch support and insoles, watches and eyewear, nutrition and even running books.

What would entice a runner to check out the place is the Footworx Fitting process that uses three state-of-the-art technologies: Foot Disc, High-Speed Video Gait Analysis and Custom Insole Molding.

Through Foot Disc, the runner’s true foot type is determined. Then the runner runs through a treadmill while a digital camera captures the gait (or the bearing or carriage while in motion) to determine pronation or Gait Analysis. The runner could try different shoes to find out the model that suits him or her best.

Insoles or arch support could be produced in minutes while the runner waits, thanks to the technology that Runnr will be bringing to Cebu.

As I listened to Toby discuss all these, what tickled my fancy was the man himself.

Toby has bad knees, had slipped discs, and LBP. Essentially, he should not be doing any running at all although he played college baseball, for UP in the NCAA.

Thanks to technology, Toby is back on the road and has completed a half marathon, so far, and is contemplating on joining the Cebu Marathon in January 2010. “As long you stick to it, you could do it,” he said.

That’s what Toby has envisioned Runnr to become. In his words, “to be an authority for running” in Cebu City. Matter of fact, he said, when a customer comes in the door, anybody at Runnr should already know what he or she needs!

When Toby was asked what he would recommend to a new runner who may wander at Runnr his curt reply was, “I’d recommend a good book about running.”

So watch out for the opening of Runnr Cebu. To know more about what the store will be offering, please visit www. runnr.com.ph.

By the way, I tested a Runnr pair of socks last Sunday. The soft, moist absorbent fabric pampered my feet. I never felt so comfortable in a while.

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