by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
The start of the Gate River Run expo kicked off at 11 a.m. Thursday at the MPS Group Runner’s Expo at the Fairgrounds.
Vendors filled about 100 booths Thursday afternoon to show off goods and services available to participants of Saturday’s Gate River Run and the general public. Attracting enough vendors to fill 100 booths may sound like a daunting task, but the history of the Gate River Run has helped smooth out the process.
“This event is fairly easy because the vendors that have been coming for years keep coming back,” said Jane Alred, organizer of the expo and an owner of First Place Sports. “The biggest problem is dealing with the vendors we don’t have space for.”
There are different reasons why vendors and runners enjoy the expo, but two stood out for Alred.
“We always have good bargains on shoes and clothes,” she said. “It is also a good chance to meet different reps from different companies and learn about the products.”
Representatives, or reps, from athletic footwear companies including adidas, Nike, Reebok, Brooks, Asics, New Balance and Mizuno will be on hand to answer questions and show off the latest gear.
Bicycle booths may seem out of place at a runner’s expo, but the dealers enjoy interacting with different markets.
“It’s a great opportunity to get in front of 25,000 active adults and kids,” said Scott Summey of Open Road Bicycles. “We have reps here from national brands that help us introduce people to the latest gear.”
The economy may have most people worried, but the bike business appears to be coasting along.
“Bicycles are inexpensive forms of transportation and people are really considering that now when money is so tight,” said Summey. “They are also an inexpensive form of recreation. People may not be taking those long trips because of the uncertainty of the economy, but they still take a cruise down the beach or along some of the trails throughout Jacksonville.”
Charitable organizations also participate in the expo and Carey and Brian Hepler were hard at work setting up their tent to provide them with a little shade while they collect donated running shoes for the homeless. The brothers created SolePurpose to benefit the people served by St. Francis Soup Kitchen and Clothes Closet and they have been coming to the expo for seven years. During that time they have collected about 3,000 pairs of shoes and are now collecting T-Shirts as well.
“I’ll wear these shoes for about four months and then they won’t be good for running any more,” said Carey Hepler. “A lot of runners are like that, but they are still good for walking around in.”
The expo is open today from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. and Saturday from 8:30 a.m.-noon.
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