Frontrunners Footwear has been honoured with two national awards for its expertise and support of the local running community.
Frontrunners has been locally owned and operated since 1988, with locations in Victoria, Langford, and Nanaimo.
The company was presented with a 2011 Golden Shoe Award by Canadian Running magazine. The Golden Shoe Awards are presented in the following categories: Canadian All-Star, High School Hero, Masters Master, Trail Blazer, and Community Pillars. Frontrunners was presented with the Golden Shoe Award for Community Pillars because of its support of more than 27 events each year, including the Frontrunners Island Race Series, Victoria Marathon, and Whistler Half-Marathon.
“Canada is full of selfless supporters of the sport,” the magazine says. “These individuals give us reasons to run, goals to chase, organizing races on many weekends of the year. Most of all, they have helped build communities of runners across Canada.”
In addition, Frontrunners was voted “Best Place to Buy Running Shoes” by Get Out There Magazine readers, in its annual Readers’ Choice Awards. The popular sporting event magazine said: “Our annual Readers’ Choice Awards recognize the people, places, and organizations that make active living in Canada so great.”
{advertisement} “There are a lot of selfless hours of work put into this industry — early morning volunteering, cold and wet run clinics, after-hours race package stuffing, and it’s nice to know that it doesn’t go unnoticed. We’re a pretty lucky crew to get to work and play on Vancouver Island with such a great running community,” says Frontrunners co-owner Mark Nelson.
Frontrunners also provides support to more than a dozen Vancouver Island-based age group athletes who struggle with the costs of competing and equipment. The Shoes for Youth program was founded by Frontrunners/Runners of Compassion in 1996 and has since provided nearly 1000 pairs of shoes to underprivileged youth on Vancouver Island.
Frontrunners also promotes a healthy and active lifestyle to more than 500 runners each year through its running clinics and running retreats.
