News

Mar 28, 2024

You May Start Finding Pickleball Shoes in Running Stores

Running and pickleball may have more in common than you think. Unless you’ve been living under a boulder, you’ve surely heard about the pickleball craze that’s been sweeping the nation since the early

Running and pickleball may have more in common than you think.

Unless you’ve been living under a boulder, you’ve surely heard about the pickleball craze that’s been sweeping the nation since the early days of the pandemic. Everywhere you look, there are paddle-happy players wacking those little holey plastic balls around. Now, shrewd running store retailers are capitalizing on the sport’s popularity and are carrying pickleball shoes and equipment alongside running gear.

At first glance, it may not seem like there’s natural crossover between the sports, but as some running store owners have discovered, there’s a fair amount of overlap between running and pickleball, and there just aren’t many brick and mortar places to buy pickleball accouterments.

According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association, pickleball was America’s fastest-growing sport in 2022, and participation skyrocketed 158.6 percent in the three years prior. The 2022 Running Event trade show included an outdoor section for the first time, and the executive director of the industry event, Christina Henderson says, “Running stores are starting to diversify what they’re selling. The people who go run their local 5Ks and that type of thing are also doing yoga, they’re also hiking. Now, they’re also playing pickleball.”

At this year’s Running Event, guests will be greeted by a K-Swiss sponsored pickleball court on the tradeshow floor, where reps will be trying to get new retailers interested in selling their pickleball shoes in-store. In an interview with FootwearNews.com, Henderson said she first learned of the pickleball-running connection when 54 percent of the trade show’s audience responded to a survey saying that they currently or plan to carry pickleball products.

In Florida, Jeff Harris, the owner of Run With It Sports, went so far as to open a full-sized indoor pickleball court attached to a new location of his running store. Harris picked up a paddleboard himself early in the pandemic as a fun way to stay active and social, but he didn’t foresee his new hobby becoming a new part of his business model. He now rents out the pickleball court to players looking for a place to volley, and it drives customers into the retail space.

Harris has noticed that some runners are even converting to pickleball, opting to play a game on Tuesday nights rather than join the store’s standing group run.

“The runners start playing pickleball and they’re like, oh my god, I can do this. I’m in good shape,” Harris said. “[Pickleball] is just a lot more social than running. You don’t know you’re getting exercise.”

Other running retailers are getting in on the pickleball scene, too, using their expertise in athletic footwear to cater to picklers. Brands like K-Swiss, Fila, and Skechers have started making pickleball-specific shoes, and they seem to make perfect sense on the shelf next to road running and trail shoes. It’s always a risk to stock new inventory that could end up floundering, but as another running store owner and pickleball player interviewed by FootwearNews.com said, “Some shoe categories have been fads in and out, but I don’t think this is a fad. I don’t think it’s going away.”

Abby Carney is a writer and journalist in New York. A former D1 college runner and current amateur track athlete, she's written about culture and characters in running and outdoor sports for Runner's World, Like the Wind Magazine, The New York Times, and other outlets. She also writes about things that have nothing to do with running, and was previously the editor of a food magazine.

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