WHAT CLOSURE LOOKS LIKE…

WHAT PERSEVERANCE LOOKS LIKE… >>>>>

Well, we are officially one week into our closure notice. We’ve learned a lot about ourselves and our community in short order. And while I recognize that our perspective may be fairly inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, perhaps the insight from one small business can augment our ability to relate with one another— to connect, to empathize–and be patient with the process.

HERE ARE SOME WAYS WE CAN HELP SUPPORT EACH OTHER:

BUY RUN ON! SHIRTS ORDER SHOES ONLINE AT-HOME GAIT ANALYSIS

The images of this health crisis can be stark and a scary. Seeing our Downtown shop boarded up and completely closed off is eerie and initially conjures some serious melancholy feelings. Talking to restaurant owners about how their business is barely hanging on brings frustration and sometimes even anger. Seeing the suffering and trials of those directly fighting this virus (both victims and healthcare professionals) is both heart wrenching and frustrating for those of us that want to help.

But like a frozen tundra, there is so much more life lying under that icy surface of reality. So here is my “ode to optimism” and also my “homage to abidance.”

I tell my kids every day, closing Daddy’s shop is hard, but they should feel good about what that abidance and sacrifice represents: community, forfeiture for the greater good, and standing in unity with our other businesses that are making the difficult decision to close.

The emails and orders from our community asking us to ship their shoes to them, helping them with a virtual gait analysis (see below for more info on this), and buying so many of our RUN ON! fundraising shirts is truly inspiring. I’ll never forget these gestures.

The ability of our staff to work under duress and step up under pressure as well as sacrifice themselves to keep our community safe and their store secure is simply amazing. I can’t wait to hug them all in person.

Virtual group runs and walks! As many of you know, we have two very large group training programs that typically meet on Saturday mornings. The last two Saturdays, without complaint, they have been checking in at 8am sharp, sending photos and morning salutations, and heading out on their workouts on their own. They encourage each other and they have not shown an ounce of quit. I’m floored by their ability to expect the unexpected and roll with the punches–great lessons that will serve them so well in their future endeavors.

There are so many more wonderful images and stories I can share, but given that we may be only communicating virtually for a while, I’ll leave some in the tank so I can still have something to talk about later.

Until then, there ARE some things that you can do to support yourself, your favorite running store, and your community:

1.) Keep buying and wearing those shirts below! Our first shipment will be printed this coming week and shipped out. We’ll send another batch to the printer as you send in your orders. THANK YOU for this display of solidarity.

2.) Email us and order your shoes! We don’t have our footwear inventory up on our website yet (we are working on that), but we ARE taking email orders and inquiries. It’s super easy for us to check your past orders and also recommend other shoes. We will either deliver the shoes ourselves or we will ship them ASAP.

3.) Speaking of recommendations… we are instituting that I really think we’re all going to enjoy. VIRTUAL GAIT ANALYSIS! Sure, coming into the store is the best way to do this, but we have built a really EASY tutorial on how to take a video of your foot-strike and send it to us so we can virtually provide our expertise and suggestions. I can’t wait to see your emails coming in and hopefully, get even more of our staff back operating and working virtually from the safety of their homes. We can ship any shoe and will accept returns on any shoe purchased, no questions asked, of course.

BUY SHIRTS!

BUY, WEAR AND SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SHOP AND THE OREGON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

To celebrate our strength in community, we encourage all of us to be safe, keep our distance, and RUN ON! in the face of this crisis. Our sport–at it’s core–is a solitary one. There is beauty and healing in its simplicity. We can distance ourselves physically while still maintaining a sense of community and health. Join with us and support our community in the coming weeks and months by purchasing and wearing this shirt to show your solidarity. This will go a long way to helping us maintain a sense of community while we are apart, maintain some activity in one of your favorite local shops, and also raise funds for the Oregon Community Foundation and their integral work to help our state with the fallout from COVID-19.

ORDER SHOES!

We know it’s a little old school, but while we work on building our website to have live inventory, simply email us (or Facebook message) your request and we’ll get right back to you with a pay link and/or advice on what shoe you have purchased before or what shoe we recommend. CHECK OUT THE VIRTUAL GAIT ANALYSIS VIDEO BELOW. Or email us at info@foottraffic.us

AT-HOME VIRTUAL GAIT ANALYSIS!

Nothing beats an in-person gait analysis and the expertise it brings. But it’s DEFINITELY better to get some expert advice rather than shop blindly and hope the shoe you picked or the shoe you wore before fits again. Let us help by sending in your analysis and we’ll give you some options! Looking for a little more in-depth analysis? Not a problem. Simply substitute the walking video above with a treadmill video by propping your phone up behind the treadmill, running in your old pair of shoes (tell us what kind of shoe it is and snap a photo of the bottom of them), and send that in to us! Can’t wait to see all of you (well…at least your feet!) soon!

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