Natterjack Running

Did a bait analysis session a week ago. Initially the guy was very helpful and charged £15 which would have been refunded if I bought a set of trainers from them. However, the trainers he tried to sell me were a little on the steep side (£109). When I told him I’d take a few days to think about it, his entire attitude change and, because he wasn’t going to get a sale there and then, I was merely a burden and he became much less helpful. The gait analysis, whilst useful, was a pretty low tech assessment which you could probably manage to do yourself if a friend videod your running and the Nike store in liverppol one offer it for free, only reason I didn’t go there is they are getting their computer fixed. In short there are other much cheaper and probably more genuine shops out there which I wish I had gone to now. Agree with ClaireB and Qype, if you’re spending big bucks in there, they’ll be your best friend but don’t expect much if anything goes wrong.

Went into Natterjack Running today in search of a new, better fitting pair of running shoes (in preparation for my first ever half marathon) and was very impressed with the service. The guy who looked after me explained everything really clearly, was extremely friendly and was genuinely interested in which races I was doing etc.
This was the first time I’d ever done a ‘gait analysis’ on a running machine and I must say I found it fascinating and again the sales guy explained everything very well (even going as far as to show me footage of different runners to explain the difference between us). He brought me several pairs of running shoes after I’d done the analysis and was very patient whilst I took my time to get back on the treadmill with each pair.
When it was obvious that I was struggling to decide which ones were best for me he gave me his thoughts which I must say I appreciated and it helped me make my decision!
Running shoes are not cheap things but I was happy to shell out at Natterjack as I felt I was being given excellent advise. Now bring on the half marathon!

Do not go to this shop if you think you may need after sales customer care, as they have none. I bought Brooke trainers after having gait analysis and shoe fitting in this shop that cost £109 in late November, as they were a Christmas present I didn’t start wearing them till late December. The left toe area has already developed a hole. I returned today hoping for a replacement pair as these were obviously now not fit for purpose only to be told that that is normal wear and tear !!! 8 weeks normal wear and tear. I don’t think so .I am not a marathon runner believe me. The attitude of the manager is very poor I really would not recommend this shop and I am seeking further advice. I am now in a very difficult predicament as I have my first 10k next week and no suitable footwear due to this shops lack of customer care. AVOID.

Avoid this company. I have spent MANY hundreds of pounds at this shop over recent years. Last week I spent £142 on a new pair of running shoes and on the shops recommendation, a £20 Nike Lightweight Hydration Belt with 2 Bottles. This last item is not fit for purpose. The bottles shake around so much and are so uncomfortable I gave up after just just five paces and took the bottles off. The belt also contains a zip up compartment for keys, iPod, wallet etc. I kept the belt on with my house keys and £10 in the zip up compartment. I intended running from Southport to Formby and getting the train home. 11 km into the run I heard my house keys hit the ground, the zip up compartment had unzipped itself and the £10 note I’d put in there for my train fare home had gone. If the keys had dropped on sand I probably wouldn’t have heard them drop! I took the item back to the Southport branch today, explained what had happened and asked for a refund. as the item was not fit for purpose. They refused claiming they would need to establish themselves if there was a fault. They weren’t prepared to take my word for it. I suggested that since I had spent a LOT of money with them over the years that as a gesture of goodwill, they should refund the item. They refused. I then suggested that unless they did refund the item that I would never shop with them again. Again they refused. For the sake of the £10 or whatever the belt had cost them they were prepared to loose many hundreds of pounds worth of business over the coming years. Crazy!!! A thoroughly unpleasant shop to do business with.

Great new shop. Loads of nice gear and the staff were really helpful, even though I didn’t know what I wanted. They did all this gait analysis and found shoes for me that I love!

If you are keen fitness and athletics enthusiast like myself then Natterjack… hah, I’m sorry I couldn’t keep that up. I can barely run up the stairs without breaking sweat. However I do appreciate the importance of good training gear. In my experience if you can’t actually perform that well then looking like you can will hide a multitude of sins — of course nobody looks good in anything of the dayglo, spandex/​latex variety of sportswear made popular in the 80s!
Being quite a small store Natterjack’s is very focused on stocking the best essentials for training purposes so wont get a lot of faddy or trendy gear and equipment. This dedication and focus is reflected on their website which also gives handy updates of forthcoming races around the region.

Natterjack Running is situated on North John Street, next door to Music Notes. Natterjack Running is as the name suggests, a running shop that stocks running shoes and wear.
The shop is quite small and doesn’t stock as much as other running shops that I like to go too. I think the shop is about quality and not quantity as what it stocks is really good. I found a good set of ladies trainers on offer and I liked the selection of ladieswear. The menswear and trainers are also pretty good.
They didn’t stock saucony which was what I was looking for. But I did manage to check the style of trainer that I should be using by giving me a test and assessment on the running machines that they have in the shop.