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Bob Roncker’s Running Spot, a 27-year-old specialty store in Cincinnati, was recently named the national Running Store of the Year for 2008.
 The presentation took place at The Running Event November 12 in Dallas. "This award belongs to our staff. It has been a real team effort." said owner Bob Roncker upon accepting the award. "I got into the business a long time ago as a labor of love. I still enjoy what I do and I don't feel like I am close to slowing down." Roncker recently opened his third running store in Loveland in the historic building that once housed a railroad station. Last year at The Running Event, Roncker was among four retailers inducted into the inaugural class of the Independent Running Retailers Association (IRRA) Hall of Fame.
Roncker has a Masters degree and was a teacher and coach at Elder and Walnut Hills High Schools before going into retail. He started in the running business working as a shipping clerk for Runner’s World magazine when it was located in California. He later worked for a group that had a Phidippides running store before opening his own shop with his wife Mary Ann.
Roncker’s academic background is evident in a shoe museum that is housed in his flagship store in O'Bryonville. It includes shoes that date back to the 1940s. Roncker also publishes a regular newspaper for his customers called The Runner's Spotlite. The publication includes training tips, product information, and a ranking 20 deep in all age groups of the local runners and walkers in the area.
Bob Roncker's Running Spot also hosts numerous events including injury prevention and health clinics every Thursday evening. For over 20 years The Running Spot also provides a podiatrist, Dr. Stacy Osborne, at the store each Saturday afternoon for free consultations. On Sundays, the store leads adventure Nordic walking hikes to a new site each week that combine exercise, discovery, and an historical narration of the route.
The selection of Bob Roncker’s Running Spot as Store of the Year capped off a year-long search to name the 50 Best Running Stores in the country by Formula 4 Media, producers of the Running Event. the Running Spot was chosen from four finalists which included Big Peach Running Co. in Atlanta; FitNiche in Lakeland, FL and Fleet Feet Sports Tulsa.
The selection process began with stores being nominated by consumers and members of the trade. Nominations were edited and then more than 100 stores were mystery shopped and “rated” by Franklin Resource Group, the leading retail merchandising company serving the sporting goods market. The “ratings” are based on a 20-point evaluation of the store based on a Franklin representative mystery shopping the store and spending at least $100 on a pair of shoes.
The mystery shopping score was combined with ratings from vendors who graded the stores on their ability to represent their brands and their credit scores. Stores were also awarded grades based on their involvement in and support of the local community. The mystery shopping score accounted for 50% of the overall grade; the vendor ratings and community involvement score each accounted for 25% of the overall grade.
This is the third year the 50 Best Awards have been presented at The Running Event and over that period, the scores on the mystery shopping ratings have increased dramatically.
“In 2006, if your store scored above a 67 on the mystery shop rating, you had a good chance of making the 50 Best list,” said Mark Sullivan, president of Formula 4 Media. “Last year if you scored a 74, you had an excellent shot of making the cut. But for 2008, unless you scored an 80 or higher on the mystery shopping evaluation, you had a very slim chance of making the list.”
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