Up and Running Birmingham - running shoes, running clothing, running accessories, Birmingham running shops, Birmingham running clubs, Birmingham running events, Birmingham running

Meet the team ...

The Birmingham City Centre Store is run by a great team that includes ...

Nicky, a keen long distance athlete, competing over distances from 10k to marathon. With best times of 33:28 for 10k and 74:40 for half marathon and an England vest to her name in 2007 she is looking to improve on this in 2008!!! As a self confessed running 'geek', any questions about gadgets/heart rate monitors/GPS...she's probably the one to ask!

Dom may not be a runner himself, but he has started since working in the store and we've already got him signed up for a race! He is passionate about New Balance shoes and has a good knowledge of off-road shoes coming from a Biking and Outdoor Adventure background. Ever the enthusiast, he certainly makes for an entertaining shopping experience!!!

Will - our newest recruit, but ever the enthusiast, he can really help you find the perfect shoe for you. A whole heap of shoe experience, and a keen and talented experience in Rugby offer a large wealth of advice.

Coming soon, bios of Aidan, Anthony, Dan, James, Leon, Michael, Michelle, Pete, and Ruinan.

In-store Events

Saucony Paramount

I just recently started running so I do not really have a base to compare Sauony to. But I have tried on mostly all of the shoes in the store and I brought Paramounts. I have been running in Paramounts for about 5 months now. My first impressions was it looked a bit over the top for my liking, but when I tried them on for the first time something in my head just clicked and said “I am getting these shoes”.
The comfortemp material is really nice to have, even if my whole body is coated in sweat my feet are nice and cool. The shoe is really flexible and really lightweight. Also, the cushioning is amazing with the full length progrid spreading the impact across the whole foot.
But, with all the technologies I find it wears down quite quickly and it does not take long for the uppers to diminish. Also, it does not have great stability support so I would recommend it to neutral or very mild pronators.

Garmin Forerunner 405

Reviewed by Nicky ... I've just upgraded from my trusty 205 to the new sleeker looking 405 (what can I say, I just like new gadgets!!!). Only been using it for a week but so far all is good. Similar features to the 205, but notably the GPS signal registers quicker at the start of a run. And obviously it looks much better! The scroll wheel is better than the arrow buttons on the older models, making it much quicker and easier to flick through the menus and switch between modes. I also went for the heart rate monitor version this time....although I was a bit reluctant to swap to the solid strap after Ive been using the polar wearlink. Good news is the Garmin transmitter straps are softer than the T31 Polars so more comfortable and seem to keep a closer contact. Also the digital transmission means that I dont get peaks of about 230bpm when I run by the railway lines!!! (Oh and I dont have to wear a Polar on one wrist and a Garmin on the other!). So far definitely a good buy :o)

Inov-8 F-Lite 301 PK

The new range of Inov-8 shoes introduce themselves as 'Urban Extreme' footwear. The PK in their name refers to the hot new urban sport of Parkour, which you may know as 'free running', that has been seen on varoius BBC promos, hip advertising and the most recent Bond film. This hot new urban sport involves crazy French youths diving across buildings, jumping over railings and generally laughing in the face of their expensive health service. With their excellent grip, light dynamism and organic, foot friendly, design the Inov-8 shoes, and especially their '...lite' range, are ideally suited for harder surfaces and urban racing. Parkour enthusiasts have undoubtedly used this brand before and, with this in mind, Inov-8 have begun sponsoring a PK team and engineered their own style of PK specific shoe. Such a low profile, so light, cushioned and comfortable these F-Lites hug the foot without constricting it. At the risk of quoting an Inov-8 sales pitch; the shoe works with the foot rather than controlling it. Furthermore, it may be erroneous to claim that these shoes are a 'specific' PK shoe, they are equally at home on canal towpaths, roads or relaxed moorland as they are clambering about like some metropolitan feline. And don't you know, they're actually rather attractive too. NB from Nicky.....despite Dom's claim that he doesn't do PK, I beg to differ watching him bound around the store, scaling the walls...bounding up/down the stairs...since he got those shoes he thinks he's Tarzan!!!

OMM Kamleika Jacket (Full Zip)

No joke, if you are a mountain marathonite, orienteer, off road runner, hill walker or if you have EVER BEEN OUTSIDE, this jacket will change your life.

Timex Bodylink System

Reviewed by Nicky ... First impressions of the unit....too many bits!!! With the watch, GPS block and HRM strap all needed - that was a bit of a drawback, and then if you want to download to a computer afterwards you also need the data recorder. Hmm with all that I was starting to feel a little cluttered! But in fairness the GPS block wasn't as annoying as I expected, clipped on the back of my shorts in the middle of my back it sat pretty well and I didn't really notice it was there once I got going.
Performance-wise, I liked the watch. Big display, easy to use, nice and straight forward and neat enough to wear as an every day watch. Being able to set a target time for a set distance and then have the watch work out whether you are on target or not and by how much is a pretty cool function.
Would be great for a marathon (especially by about mile 18 when simple mental arithmetic becomes impossible!) instead of writing all the mile splits up your arm!
The GPS struggled to find a signal when I used it in the city centre with all the tall buildings, but it held its signal pretty well in the trees once I got out of the city and off the beaten track!
All in all I'd say it's great value at £185 for a great watch, with HRM and GPS compatibility. But for the lower price be prepared to carry the gadgets, as opposed to a Garmin with just the watch.

Garmin Forerunner 205

Reviewed by Nicky ... I've been using this for over a year and don't intend to change it any time soon! It may not be the most attractive watch on the market (if its looks you go for then the 405 will be for you when it is released!) but functionally its awesome. As someone with weedy wrists, I don't find the 205 too bulky, so can't imagine anyone having a problem in that respect. Plus it comes with a small and a larger strap, so one size really does fit pretty much all!
I by no means use all the features, and I'm still discovering new tricks...mines set up to beep and take automatic splits every mile so that when I download my sessions to my computer afterwards I can look at each mile individually (yes OK I'm a self confessed running geek!). It gives you distance, time, pace (average and maximum) and altitude as well as calories burned, and will show you on a map where you've been! You can even download training programmes from the Garmin website to your watch so you just need to check on there what you are scheduled to do each day. For anyone who runs in areas they don't know well (if you're away on business or on holiday etc) theres quite a cool function where you can press “back to start” and it will show you on a map how to get back to where your run started! Nifty huh?!
As with the Timex Bodylink, the Garmin 205 does struggle to find signal in the city centre with all the tall buildings, but in a head to head the Garmin registered quickest when I started running out of the city and it also holds signal really well in woods amongst the trees.
Personally I rate the 205 much higher than the Timex, largely because there's only the watch, no other gadgets required! Definitely one of my favourite running toys :o)

Local Runs

Run The World's Biggest FREE Half Marathon, Register at WorldWideHalf.com

Birmingham Half Marathon
Sunday 26th October
Race details on www.birminghamhalfmarathon.com, and
Entry Forms and advice in store

Drop into the shop for the latest race information and entry leaflets, and if you're an organiser drop us a line with your race details.

Have you got a local running-related businesses that our customers will want to hear about?
Get in touch, and we'll mention it here and in the shop ...

Meet the team ...

In-store Events

Reviews

Saucony Paramount

Garmin Forerunner 405

Inov-8 F-Lite 301 PK

OMM Kamleika Jacket (Full Zip)

Timex Bodylink System

Garmin Forerunner 205

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