Canada's Word of Mouth Discovery #3 - Running Room

Even if you're not a runner or athlete, you have to be impressed with the community-centred aspects of Running Room. It is a true Canadian success and marketing inspiration. Based on their success from a one-store enterprise in Edmonton in 1984, one might suggest that you have to locate yourself away from the corporate playground of Toronto to get in touch with effective grassroots marketing.

Chief evangelist, founder and now overlord of 70 stores - John Stanton, realizes what business he's in  - the Running Room is about healthy active lifestyle and enhancing social networks and not about rubber and canvas sewn together for technical athletic performance. He adds "you could be satisfied by buying shoes at a big box store but if you really want to improve your running, you should come to the Running Room."

Many non-joiners call the Running Room a cult; but even the grudge bearers, Type-A hyper- competitives or wagon jumpers who have lapsed their membership in Running Room's community, admit it's a cult with Koolaid that has positive side effects and members that comprise some of the friendliest people you'll ever see inhabiting urban spaces.

Like body snatchers, runners of all sizes and ages converge on stores across the country on Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings for clinics, support, friendship and the occasional gear upgrade.  Grassroots recruitment is fuelled by clinic attendees and fervent runners  -turned-employees.

It's also purposeful that the store locations are located in city neighbourhoods near cafes and restaurants for apres-run banter and bonding sessions.  They've cleverly developed a tight knit "gore tex and Lycra" bond of active-ites.

They also bring this full circle by providing a fresh and expansive on-line experience with bulletin boards, suggested list of races and local training run maps, athlete and race director dashboards and charity exposure.

At race events, Running Room grassroots exposure is always in evidence with packs of similarly clad runners cavorting around "race bunny" pace runners (staff who volunteer to run the race at a certain pace speed with trademark bunny ears), free samples galore and gear tent for your last minute needs.

Just when you think 'wow that a great community experience", the special sauce behind the Running Room is John Stanton - the founder. His story is that of an out-of-shape 235 pound dad and smoker who struggled to complete a 2.5k run. Since then, his commitment to running has led him to participate in 56 marathons, lose well over 60 pounds, author a couple of books on running and active life, launch a more sedentary line extension called The Walking Room  and spend close to 300 days on the road proselytizing about Running Room's virtues.

Having seen John at a number of his appearances, people have a genuine affection for him --- his employees always smile reverently and a coterie of adoring curiosity seekers routinely ambush him with praise and questions after his motivational speeches.

The result - a highly successful and profitable business located in every major town and city across Canada, a slow yet well-planned expansion to the northern states of the U.S., the satisfaction of 500,000 people having galloped through their instructional clinics, sponsorship of over 400 local races and an impressive network of 275,000 on-line community members with 27,000 articles submitted in their forums.

I'll leave the last word to John Stanton "I firmly believe  we could solve all the world's problems, if we got everybody in running shoes and a T-shirt."