Tim Waz • Grounded Running
The YOUFit Difference
story by JENNIFER BROWN-CARPENTER photos by SUSAN DELOACH
There is a moment that happens almost every day at Grounded Running. Someone walks through the door, looks at a wall filled with shoes, and says, “I have no idea what I need.” Whether that person is training for a marathon, beginning a walking program, preparing for a vacation, looking for something comfortable enough to wear all day, or has been referred by a medical professional, they are stepping into the right space.
The different reasons why people seek new footwear is exactly what led Tim Waz at Grounded Running to create the YOUFit process. Everyone at Grounded Running believes finding the right shoe should begin with the person, not the product. There is no single “best” running shoe, walking shoe, or comfort shoe. Every customer brings a different foot, history, activity level, and purpose through the doors. The team at Grounded Running has the job of understanding those differences and helping narrow an overwhelming wall of choices into a few options that make sense for the individual.
Each person who walks into Grounded Running can expect the same process. YOUFit begins with a conversation. Before we start pulling shoes, the team wants to know how you plan to use them. Are you running three miles several times a week or training for your next marathon? Are you walking the Spanish Moss Trail every morning? Do you spend long hours standing at work? Are you preparing for a trip where you will be walking through airports and cities all day? Were you referred to us because your physician, physical therapist, podiatrist, or another medical provider suggested looking at different footwear? We also want to know what you have worn before, what has worked, what has not, and what you hope will feel different this time. That conversation is important because two customers with the same shoe size can have completely different needs. A competitive runner looking for a responsive training shoe may want something very different from a customer who wants maximum cushioning for walking. Someone spending twelve hours a day on their feet may prioritize comfort differently than someone looking for a shoe for weekend travel.
Once they have had this conversation with the customer, they move into foot scanning and measurements. Feet change over time, and many people are surprised to discover that the size they have purchased for years may not be the right fit. One foot may also measure differently from the other. The scanning process provides useful information about size and shape, but technology is only one piece of the process. It cannot replace the conversation or the experience of a trained fitter.
Then comes the part of YOUFit that often makes the biggest difference: trying shoes on and comparing them. It is difficult to know whether a shoe is truly right for you when you experience only one option. Tim and his team want customers to feel differences between models. One shoe may feel softer, another more supportive, and another more responsive. A customer may discover that the shoe they expected to love is not actually the one that feels best once they have something to compare it against.
Grounded Running’s partnership with HOKA provides a great example of how different shoes from the same brand can serve very different customers. HOKA has become close to a household name over the last several years, with more and more people reaching for these aesthetically pleasing, max cushioning, physical-therapist and podiatrist-recommended walking, running, and lifestyle shoes. With more than 15 different models, HOKA really does have a shoe for everyone. And while the Bondi, Gaviota, and the new Clifton Pro may all carry the HOKA name, each creates a distinctly different experience underfoot.
The Bondi is the shoe the team at Grounded Running will often reach for when a customer is looking for a highly cushioned, plush experience. That customer might be a runner putting in easy miles, or they could just as easily be a walker, someone spending long days standing at work, or a traveler looking for cushioning and comfort throughout the day. The Bondi demonstrates that the shoes sold in a specialty running store are not only for runners. Great footwear can simply make everyday movement feel better.
The Gaviota gives us another direction. It combines generous cushioning with additional guidance and stability. For customers who prefer or benefit from that type of support, it can provide a very different experience than the Bondi while still maintaining the cushioned feel many people associate with HOKA. During a fitting, simply comparing the two can help a customer immediately recognize which sensation feels more natural to them.
Then there is the new Clifton Pro, which moves the conversation toward the runner looking for something a little more energetic. It maintains cushioning and comfort but introduces a more responsive, performance-oriented feel. For someone who wants an everyday training shoe that can also feel lively when the pace increases, the Clifton Pro gives us another completely different option to introduce during YOUFit. That is why the team at Grounded Running does not begin a fitting by deciding which shoe someone needs. They let the process lead them there. A customer may enter the store asking for maximum cushioning and discover that they actually prefer something more responsive. Someone may arrive convinced they need a certain type of support and find another option that feels more natural. A runner may come in looking for one model and leave with something they never expected to try. Those discoveries are where specialty footwear fitting becomes valuable.
The goal of YOUFit is not for Tim and the team at Grounded Running to tell customers what they are supposed to like. It is to give them the information, measurements, comparisons, and experience they need to recognize what feels right for themselves. That approach extends far beyond running. “In the 11 years that we have been open, we have never sold somebody a shoe. What I mean by that is that we are really good at showing people options that work well for their feet and then letting them tell us what feels best to them. You and I could wear the same size and have the same structure to our feet, but then if we put the same shoe on, it’s going to feel different to each of us,” Tim explains.
The customers that Grounded Running serves include runners and walkers, people sent to them by local medical professionals, workers who spend long days on their feet, travelers looking for comfortable footwear, and people who simply want to move through everyday life more comfortably. That broad community is also what makes being recognized again as Shoe Store of the Year in South Carolina and as one of the Top 50 Running Stores in the United States for the third consecutive year especially meaningful to everyone at Grounded Running. The recognition is something they are extremely proud of, but what matters most is what happens every day on the sales floor: listening to people, understanding what they need, and helping them find something that makes movement feel better.
The right shoe does not begin with the logo on the side of it. It begins with you. And while this feature highlights Grounded Running’s partnership with HOKA, YOUFit is intentionally about finding the right shoe across the entire footwear collection at Grounded Running. Tim and his team are proud to offer Altra, Adidas, ASICS, Astral, Brooks, HOKA, Mount to Coast, Mizuno, and On, giving the team a wide range of options to compare and, most importantly, allowing every customer to find the shoe that fits their life.
That is the YOUFit difference.
To learn more about Grounded Running and the YOUFit process, visit groundedrunning.com, call (843) 379-3200, or visit them in the Beaufort Town Center.
