Owners: Larry & Teresa Nightingale
While we’ve enjoyed running the roads & trails of the Sunshine Coast since moving here in 1999, there was one thing missing: a running store. A place with a good selection of running shoes, technical clothing and running gear, clinics and weekly group runs, and staff who are runners and like to talk running. There are lots of these stores in the Lower Mainland, and even one in Powell River. All a ferry ride away.
Finally in the fall of 2015, when Larry was feeling that his fitness equipment sales & repair business wasn’t going anywhere, he thought Hey, why don’t we just open a running store ourselves? And the concept of PaceSetter Athletic Footwear was born. (Except it took us a while to choose a name. It could have been “The Jogfather”. Aren’t you glad we kept looking?)
And it makes perfect sense for us. Combined, we’ve been running for over 90 years. 90 years!! That’s a lot of miles or kilometres or whatever units you like best. We’ve been involved in running from all sides: as kids & teens running for school teams; at an elite level racing cross country, track, and marathons; as race directors and series coordinators; as club executives; as masters runners both competitive and recreational; and as coaches and clinic leaders.
We also have many connections in the running world, near and far. Quite a few of our old friends and teammates have their own running stores, and we’ve partnered with one of our favourites, the very successful Peninsula Runners, to help make our vision for PaceSetter come true. Being part of their buying group gets us access to brands that would otherwise be off-limits to a small start-up, and having their advice and help in all the practical details is invaluable.
Note — you’ll mostly see Larry at the store. Teresa is not giving up her busy web design business which she loves!