running

Fleet Feet Sports is Honored as One of 50 Best in USA

December 15, 2016 by Seb Frey

Fleet Feet Sports in Aptos Named one of 50th Best in USA!

Did you know that Aptos is home to one of the very best running shops in the entire US of A? For the third time in four years, Fleet Feet Sports is honored as one of the 50 Best in USA by Running Insight and Competitor Magazine.

Fleet Feet Sports Aptos took its place among the country’s elite retailers following an extensive nomination and review process throughout 2016. The judging culminated in the store’s recognition at a gala awards ceremony in Orlando on Dec. 1, 2016, as part of The Running Event, an annual conference and trade expo for specialty running retailers.

Fleet Feet Sports in Aptos was selected after a rigorous vetting process that rated the store on its service, product knowledge, merchandising and community service. The shop will be featured in a special issue of Competitor magazine distributed nationally. The store will also receive a commemorative plaque to mark the award. Each of the 50 Best winners will also share the award with consumers via a special window sign supplied by Competitor that indicates the store as a 50 Best 2016 winner.

The process of compiling a list of the top 50 running shops in the country began early in 2016 when Formula 4 Media, with the help of Competitor Magazine, began to collect and evaluate nominations from runners, soliciting feedback from consumers on their favorite running stores. More 16,000 individual customer nominations were received. A panel of industry experts from Franklin Resource Group mystery shop nominated stores to evaluate on 20 different aspects of retailing, including product knowledge, environment, vendor relations and community involvement.

Congratulations to Russ and Tina Coillot of Fleet Feet Sports! They have been tremendous supporters of our Aptos community and it’s wonderful to see their shop receive the recognition it so richly deserves.

Sandman Triathlon Returns for Its 30th Year

April 8, 2015 by Seb Frey

The Sandman Triathlon returns for its 30th year this summer! The Sandman Triathlon is a fundraiser for the Santa Cruz State Parks Lifeguard Association held at Seacliff State Beach. This year, the race will be held on Sunday, August 2nd at 8:00 AM.

The Sandman Triathlon is a USAT sanctioned event. It begins with a .75-kilometer ocean swim around the historic SS Palo Alto, followed by a spectacular 13-mile bike ride through redwood forests, Seascape and Rio Del Mar. To top it all off, the race finishes with an strenuous four mile run on the beach.

The Sandman is a sprint triathlon and designed to be a super fun and a family friendly event, it is the perfect triathlon experience for athletes that are new to the sport.

Registration for the 2015 Sandman is now open on Active.com. Athletes can sign up for the sprint triathlon, a duathlon or the one-mile kids’ fun run.

The Sandman Triathlon is one of Santa Cruz County’s oldest triathlons. Its inaugural race occurred way back in 1986 in the infancy of the sport. The Sandman was originally conceived by the Santa Cruz State Parks Lifeguard Association to be a positive Aptos community event that would raise funds for the association, who supports the junior lifeguard and lifeguard operations in Santa Cruz, including providing scholarships for kids from low-income families that otherwise could not afford the cost of the 4-week program. Over the past three decades, thousands of dollars have been raised for the Santa Cruz State Lifeguard Association to help provide high-quality water safety education to hundreds of Santa Cruz County youth.

Starting 2015 On the Right Foot in Aptos

December 31, 2014 by Seb Frey

Happy New Year 2015 — Planning to make 2015 a very Happy New Year

I’ve been working on Aptos Community News for over a year now, in part because I want to help make Aptos an even better place tomorrow than it is today. And in that spirit, I plan on starting 2015 on the right foot in Aptos. I’m going to improve our community starting with me, which is the only thing I am 100% in control of.

The good news is, I won’t be alone in this. Thousands of folks in the community are looking back on 2014, and looking forward to 2015 and thinking about what they can do better in the new year. I have a very long list of ways that I can personally improve, but as I get older, one thing that becomes increasingly important is maintaining my health.

And that’s why my eyes opened wider when I saw that the good folks at Fleet Feet Sports in Aptos are organizing Tons of Fun 2015, which is a community-based health and weight loss challenge. When striving towards any goal, it’s often more effective not to go it alone, and to at least have some kind of accountability partner…and maybe meet some like-minded, health-conscious Aptosians to boot.

I spoke with Tina Coillot who is one of the owners of Fleet Feet Sports, and put up a recording of our conversation on the Real Santa Cruz Podcasat. You can listen to the interview here:

Interview with Tina Coillot of Fleet Feet Sports

Download audio file…

It’s refreshing to talk to someone who truly has a passion for what they do – and I think you can really get a sense of that from my interview with Tina. I get the feeling that she really enjoys being part of our community and making the folks who live here healthier – and happier.

The interview is around 40 minutes long, so you might want to just subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or Stitcher and listen to it in your car, on your morning walk, at the gym, or whatever.

In the interview, we also talked about their “Couch to 5K” program – which I hadn’t heard about before we started talking. It sounds like just the ticket for me – someone who has never, ever ran (since high school anyway, and then only barely). I would love to be able to run a whole five thousand meters – so this is something I’m going to sign up for as well. In for a penny, in for a pound!

Happy New Year, Aptos! I love you. See you in 2015!

Fleet Feet Sports Aptos

November 4, 2014 by Seb Frey

Locally owned and operated by Russ and Tina (Hill) Coillot, (a Soquel High graduate) since 2010, Fleet Feet Sports Aptos is located in the Rancho del Mar Shopping Center. Fleet Feet Sports in Aptos strives to be more than just a store where you shop for shoes and apparel. Fleet Feet Sports is a place in the Aptos community you can visit often because you feel comfortable there. They are a resource for all your running, walking and general fitness needs; they will support you through setbacks and challenges and will celebrate your accomplishments. They are inspired everyday by you: our community.

In fact, Fleet Feet Sports in Aptos was recognized in 2013 by competitor.com as one of the 50 best running stores in the entire USA. That’s a pretty impressive achievement given the thousands of running stores across the country. But Aptos is the best, and so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that we would have one of the best running stores in the country.

Fleet Feet Sports also works with a number of charities in the area, they work with our kids in our elementary schools to help keep them fit, and sponsor a number of running events in the area. If you run, walk, jog, or get around on two feet, this is the place you need to come and check out.

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