How long have you been in business?

We started the business 2 years ago in 2009 

What got you started? 

Both my business partner and I are passionate athletes, Raf has represented Australia in Duathlon at an elite level, his best result to date being a #3 World Ranking. I have been lucky enough to race as an age grouper in Kona for the Ironman World Champs and represented Australia at the ITU Long Course and Olympic distance championships. The opportunity arose when my athletic coach and I were talking whilst running one day. I have 15 years retail and brand management experience, spending most of my time with Diageo, the world’s largest spirits company. Raf Baugh is also a skilled Physiotherapist and level 2 triathlon coach. Raf's background has given us valuable insight and credibility in the Australian market both with his athletic accomplishments and his successful running coaching business “Front Runner”. Both Raf and I had a real passion for starting a small business focusing on running in WA and our unique skills combined well to allow the Running Centre to be born.

What separates your store from other sports retail? 

Raf and I developed a very comprehensive plan that led to the creation of our unique fitting system and training of our staff in shoe fitting. We wanted to strive to be a running store set up by runners, with runners working in it all with a technical understanding of running. We wanted to make our business so different to anything currently offered In WA. Our market research showed that many consumers when making a buying decision in sporting footware fell into two categories:

1) Was aware of the need to correctly fit their feet to the right shoes and would actively search for retailers that provided this service and were willing to pay extra to get more technical running / training equipment if the advice they were given was accurate and consistent. Our main competitive advantage is we are a small business that only employees runners (all with degree level education and most in sports science or physiotherapy) who understand intimately the equipment we sell and are trained and monitored on-going by a qualified physiotherapist. Only having one shop allows us to maintain this consistency of service and level of expertise.

 2) The consumer who does not know about correct footware fitting and buys on price, our biggest opportunity is in the runner who has not been correctly fitted in the past, they are also our biggest challenge. We need to educate people about the importance of proper shoe fitting to ensure injury free kilometers, nothing is more frustrating for someone wanting to get fit, get past an injury or work towards a goal than being sidelined by incorrect equipment that leads to an injury.  We rely on our past customers to refer these people into our business through the positive experiences they have had with our shop, our customer referral based component of our business is a very important part of our business and a testament to our sales staffs knowledge and their fitting technique.

Who is your favourite international athlete (now and past)?

International athletes are a long way removed from our core customer of everyday walkers, joggers and runners!

That said, we do love running and I think Haile Gebreselassie is a hero for many runners around the world for his consistency of excellence and also endearing nature.

Of the current crop, our own Ryan Gregson has all the key elements to put Australian running back in the mainstream provided he can avoid injury and get to London without interruption in his preparation.

Who has been the most inspirational Australian runner & why?

Steve Moneghetti. Steve is a fantastic athlete with a proven track record of excellence over a sustained period. Due to the similarities between his performances and what we aim for as a company, we have an ongoing relationship with Steve through an annual training camp here in Perth each February.

What do you think of the 2011 New Balance Running product?

We have had an excellent response to the new season range particularly the performance aspect. We have found that New Balance is converting customers who are looking for a sharper, lighter and more responsive shoe and this has changed the perception that New Balance is largely for the heavier runner or those looking for durability

Jana Pittman-Rawlinson has made a triumphant return to the track in Perth

tonight, with the dual world champion clocking 55.75 to win the women’s 400m hurdles at the Go for 2&5 Australian Athletics Tour Final in Perth.

Edging out national champion Lauren Boden, who ends her Australian Athletics Tour with 20 points for 5^th in the sprints/hurdles division, Pittman-Rawlinson’s run tonight is her first domestically since 2006 and the start of a 2011 IAAF world championships and 2012 London Olympics build-up.

“It’s great to back doing what I love and I can’t wait to compete for Australia again, next year is so important and I know that,” Pittman-Rawlinson said.

“The conditions here were good and thanks so much to Lauren (Boden) for a great race, it was really what I was hoping for.

“I’m back with (coach) Phil King and I am getting stronger, it’s just good to get this first race behind me and begin a build into Nationals.”

Pittman-Rawlinson will now shift her attention to the 89^th Australian Athletics Championships & Selection Trials in two weeks time and with her first run under her belt can head in confident of further success on Australian soil.

The sprints/hurdles winner’s cheque heads home with Sally Pearson, however, with the Queenslander winning the women’s 200m in a time of 23.22 (w: -0.5) to finish with 25 points overall, whilst national champion Brendan Cole clocked a season best 49.94 in the men’s 400m hurdles to soar to second overall with 22 points.

The distance crown was won by Tamsyn Lewis after the 15-time national champion clocked 2:01.44 to win the women’s 800m and take her point score total to 22.

Edging out West Australian Holly Noack (second, 2:02.84) and NSWIS scholarship holder Sianne Toemoe (third, 2:02.88) on the track tonight, Lewis was joined on the distance division podium byKaila McKnight (second, 20 points) and Jeff Riseley (third, 20 points) and couldn’t be happier with her building form.

“I am exhausted, we headed through 400m so quickly and I think tonight shows that I am really close to a great run,” Lewis said.

“I have always been a big fan of Australia’s domestic season, especially when we come to a great track like this in Perth, and the points concept is something I like.

“I wasn’t thinking about the $10,000 when I started tonight but to have it is a bonus – to be honest though I am so excited to head to Nationals running well.”

In other track highlights:

-          Local favourite Ben Offereins (45.85) clocked his first sub-46 400m of the year to win ahead of Sean Wroe (second, 46.26) and Kevin Moore (third, 46.76).

-          Clocking 10.38 (w: -0.3), national champion Aaron Rouge-Serret won the men’s 100m ahead ofLiam Gander (second, 10.63) and Flame athlete Matt Davies (third, 10.64).

Meanwhile on the runway, Mitchell Watt soared 8.21m (w: -1.1), yet another world championships qualifier, to win the men’s long jump and claim the 2011 Australian Athletics Tour jumps crown with 31 points.

Building towards a defence of his world championships bronze medal in August this year, Watt’s performance is another step forward for the 23-year-old as he returns from a serious adductor injury.

“We actually had a bit of a head wind tonight so I am pretty happy with that jump, it’s my third qualifier and perhaps the start of some consistency,” Watt said.

Set to duel with Commonwealth champion Fabrice Lapierre at the start of competition, the jump-off did not eventuate with Lapierre placing 4^th (7.48m, w: -0.2) overall with only one legal jump.

“Tonight was Fabrice’s first competition and I know how tough it is to get your rhythm back,” Watt said.

“Be assured that after a few more jumps he’ll be right back up there and I’m hoping that might come at Nationals in a couple of weeks.”

Joining Watt in the jumps division top three were Charmaine Lucock (second, 20 points), who won the women’s pole vault with a 4.15m clearance tonight, and Henry Frayne (third, 20 points).

Rounding out the Australian Athletics Tour division champions is Kim Mickle, with the Commonwealth Games silver medallist taking home the throws crown after impressing in front of her home crowd with a 59.46m throw to win the women’s javelin throw.

“I was feeling amazing coming into tonight and although the big throws didn’t come I felt awesome and think big things will follow at Nationals in Melbourne,” Mickle said.

“I’m not in it for the money but the $10,000 tonight is a real bonus, it gives me a chance to build as well as I can in a world champs year and fingers crossed some big results will follow.”

Boasting a final point score of 25, Mickle’s performances were enough for the West Australian to defeat world discus champion Dani Samuels (second, 23 points) and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Dale Stevenson (third, 22 points) for the title.

In other field highlights:

-          Stevenson won the men’s shot put with a best mark of 19.26m ahead of Swedish athlete Robert Melin (second, 16.21m) and Matthew Cowie (third, 15.14m)

-          Soaring 6.14m (w: 0.0), world junior championships representative Brooke Stratton won the women’s long jump, with Larissa Perry (5.98m, w: 0.0) second and Jessica Penney (5.98m, w: 0.0) third.

-          Paralympic long jumper Carlee Beattie leapt 5.79m (w: 0.0) to narrowly miss her 5.84m world record set at the Sydney Track Classic two weeks ago.

The Go for 2&5 Australian Athletics Tour Final was the final stop of the five-leg Australian Athletics Tour.

With events hosted in Brisbane, Hobart, Melbourne and Sydney before these past two days in Perth, the 2011 Tour boasted a $430,000 prize pool, the largest in Australian athletics history, and has provided a fantastic prelude to the 89^th Australian Athletics Championships in two weeks time.

The selection trial for the IAAF world championships in athletics later this year, the 89^th Australian Athletics Championships will be held in Melbourne for the first time since 2001 and for the last time at a closing Melbourne Olympic Park.

To view and download full results from the Go for 2&5 Australian Athletics Tour Final, please click here.

89^th Australian Athletics Championships & Selection Trials
Friday, April 15 – Sunday, April 17 2011
Melbourne Olympic Park

ENDS

Set to battle it out for the sprints/hurdles, jumps, throws and distance titles, a myriad of Olympic medallists, Commonwealth and world champions will line up at the Western Australian Athletics Stadium as the race for the $10,000 winner’s cheque reaches an exciting climax.

Olympic silver medallist and Commonwealth champion Sally Pearson heads into the Tour Final as favourite for the sprints/hurdles crown, with the Queenslander in 2011 undefeated across 100m and 200m. Times below 11.40 (100m) and 23.27 (200m) will take her total point score to a solid 24 and with the addition of the 100m hurdles to her program for the first time since the Commonwealth Games she will headline the two days of blistering athletics action.

Standing in her way are 15-time national champion Tamsyn Lewis, national 400m champion Ben Offereins, Commonwealth Games 4x400m relay gold medallist Brendan Cole and Flame athletes Lauren Boden and Aaron-Rouge Serret. The quintet head into the Tour Final with a minor placing all but secured and conditions permitting are capable of not only taking it up to Pearson but also etching world championships qualifiers next to their name.

Adding spice to an already outstanding sprints/hurdles start list is Jana Rawlinson in the 400m hurdles. Set to compete for the first time in Australia since 2006, Rawlinson is a dual world champion (2003, 2007) and has the 2011 IAAF world championships and 2012 London Olympics in her sights.

A seemingly unbeatable leader with 28 points, world and world indoor championships medallist Mitchell Watt is the jumps champion in waiting. Two world championships qualifiers in the past ten days suggests he is once again capable of an 8.35m plus leap which would take his final point score to a perfect 38, the most possible for an athlete competing in one discipline.

The challenge for Watt, though, comes from world indoor and Commonwealth champion Fabrice Lapierre and newcomer to the top ten of the Australian All-Time list for triple jump Henry Frayne.

Lapierre, who together with Watt provides arguably Australia’s best head-to-head athletics duel, on the same runway last year soared an unbelievable wind assisted 8.78m leap to become national champion whilst Frayne will look to stake his own claim for world championships selection with qualifying performances in both the long and triple jump.

Reigning world discus champion Dani Samuels currently sits atop the dais in the throws division, but local favourite and Commonwealth Games silver medallist Kim Mickle is hot on her heels.

If in Perth Samuels reprises her IAAF Melbourne Track Classic form (first, 61.00m), the national champion will boast a 24 point total and guarantee a minor placing.  To ensure victory she needs to win and throw further than 64.49m in turn taking her final point score to 28. Mickle, however, threw a personal best 63.82m at the Sydney Track Classic and on her home track later a similar performance is likely to take her point score total to 28.

Unable to make a play for prize money, but an exciting addition to the throws start lists is Commonwealth champion Benn Harradine. Competing domestically for the first time this year at the Go for 2&5 Australian Athletics Tour Final, Harradine arrives home in Australia in blistering form having only a fortnight ago heaved an IAAF world championships qualifier of 65.60m for second at an indoor event in Sweden.       

The race for the distance crown is heating up with the current top five - Ben St Lawrence, Lachlan Renshaw, Georgie Clarke, Tamsyn Lewis and Jeff Riseley - split by only two points. As St Lawrence is not competing, Riseley, Lewis and Commonwealth Games representative Kaila McKnight, who to date has only one performance next to her name, look set to challenge for the crown.

Riseley will line up for the 800m and victory in a time quicker than 1:45.61, a personal best, could take his final point score to 23 for an almost unbeatable lead, whilst McKnight is capable of a sub-4:10 run in the women’s 1500m to finish her domestic season with 22 points. Lewis is the only athlete in the race for prize money in two divisions (sprints/hurdles, distance) and an 800m time below 2:01:50 will almost guarantee a top three finish.

The Go for 2&5 Australian Athletics Tour Final will be held in Perth on Thursday, March 31 and Friday, April 1.

Tickets are available through Ticketmaster or at the gate.

To download and view the current Australian Athletics Tour leader boards, please click here.

To find out more about the Go for 2&5 Australian Athletics Tour Final including current entry lists, please click here.

Go for 2&5 Australian Athletics Tour Final
Thursday, March 31 & Friday, April 1
5:30pm (8:30pm AEDST)
Western Australian Athletics Centre

ENDS

Brought to you by Edward Ovadia who is in Berlin with official IAAF accreditation covering the championships for Runnerstribe.com

Day Eight featured several big Aussie medal hopes: Fabrice Lapierre and Mitch Watt in the long jump final, and Steve Hooker in the pole vault final. Hooker was battling injuries and planned to only manage a few jumps, but still you can never rule out the Olympic Champion and second highest jumper of all time. Watt and Lapierre, on the other hand, were right on their game, and have been all season. Both are very capable of pulling out big jumps which, depending on the scenario, might be good enough for a medal.

Big jumps by both Watt (8.28m) and Lapierre (8.21m) put then in very solid positions right off the bat, and after four rounds, they were still third and fourth respectively. Dwight Phillips was dominating in the front, regularly jumping mid eight metres, with a best of 8.54m.

Defending champion Irving Saladino of Panama fouled three times, and didn't make the top eight - which made the job easier for our boys.

With one jump to go, Watt had improved to 8.37m, with Lapierre jumping a second 8.21m, and both boys still sitting in third and fourth. With Lapierre jumping fourth last, and Watt third last, Lapierre knew he had at least fourth position in the bag when he lined up for one more jump. Unfortunately he only made it to 8.20m, which kept him in fourth place, with Watt guaranteed a medal before his last jump. He launched himself to a jump which looked to be at least 8.60m, but unfortunately just stepped over the line, and was fouled. So Watt ended up with the bronze medal! Phillips got the gold, but what was a brilliant competition for the Aussies!

Watt: "I was walking out there earlier today and looking at the medal podium, and I didn't think I'd be up there in about 10 minutes time! It's just amazing. I was really happy with my first round jump, took the pressure off, I took a bit of a risk in the later rounds, it took a couple of rounds to get it, but 8.37m, it's not far off my PB, and I think it was into a headwind as well, so just awesome. Very happy!"

Lapierre: "I couldn't get the pop today, it just wasn't happening. But I tried my hardest, and just couldn't get it going. [Saldaino exiting before the final eight?] It was open, it was always open, all it takes is one jump, and I just couldn't get that one jump today. I felt great, everything was fine. That was the goal, just get the first one in, make the final, and then get a better jump after that. But it didn't work out that way."

In the pole vault, Hooker's plan was to pass until he was jumping for a medal, and he passed all the way up until 5.85m. He had one attempt, missed, and passed to 5.90m. Now the pressure was on. But Hooker took it in his stride, and cleared it easily! The look of shock and surprise on Hooker's face as he fell, having easily passed over the bar, is one I'll never forget. Steve Hooker is nothing if not a class act. The man had three jumps during his entire time in Berlin, including warm ups, training, qualifying, and the final - two of those cleared, and one missed - and he still managed to come away with the gold medal. He knows how to make the clearances when it counts. And he certainly made them here! If an injured Hooker can clear 5.90m in one attempt, what a fit one can do is beyond imagination.

The 4x400m relay team of Joel Milburn, Tristan Thomas, Ben Offereins, and Sean Wroe, made it through to the final tomorrow night as the fastest non-automatic qualifiers. Offereins put his body on the line in what was one of the gutsiest performances of the Championships, taking the Aussies from the back right up to the shoulder of the Americans, who were powering in the lead.

The race started at a pedestrian pace, passing one kilometre in 3:06, a two kilometres in 6:11, and three in 9:15. With one lap to go, it was Cheruiyot, Sylvia Kibet, and Defar, head to head. A 58 second last lap resulted in Defar leading into the home straight, but being overtaken right on the line by both Kenyans, and forced into third, with Cheruiyot first.

Next up was the womens 4x100m final, which was won by Jamaica after the Americans dropped the baton in the heats. Fraser set them up nicely down the back straight, and Stewart brought them home in 42.06.

In the womens 4x400m heats, Australia was well represented after the team qualified earlier in the year. Pirrenee Steinert, Madeleine Pape, Caitlin Willis-Pincott, and Tamsyn Lewis ran the stick around for the Aussies (in that order), and did admirably well - they just missed an automatic qualification for the final by 1.2 seconds in coming fourth. But they should hold their heads high for taking their place at the World Championships, after people didn't expect them to be able to qualify at all. The experience is a great one for next year's Commonwealth Games, where the team hope to claim the gold.

Willis-Pincott: "We're happy to be here, I don't think we've had a 4x400m team here for the last few World Champs, so just to start mixing it with them again. I think we've got enough talent in Australia to be in the 400m relay."

Pape: "I have to say that I was disappointed, because I thought we were capable of making the final, and I know we wanted to show the country and the rest of the athletics fraternity that we belong in the final, so we need to work hard for next year, and make sure that we can come home with a medal of the gold variety in Delhi. We couldn't have done anything differently because we all did out best!"

The mens 4x100m final was all about one question - would the Jamaicans run another world record? The answer was no, with the men in yellow and green running 37.31, missing the record of 37.10 set last year in Beijing, but claiming the Championship record.

 

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'Hills are speedword in disguise '
Frank Shorter