The Balanced Athlete

Why a 5 star review? Maybe it’s because I grew up in a small town and I remember what true service was like. People have gotten so used to cheap, discount stores they may not even think to look for those rare places where it exists.
If you are not an athlete (which I am not) then all the more reason you should visit this place and start your fitness journey off on the right foot… in the right footwear with an experienced, caring staff that will not only make you feel great about your purchase that day but long after it, too!
Pardon me if my writing seems a little too eloquent but I do write a bit and get genuinely excited when I see local businesses that are this good!

Asked you 4 questions about shoes and got irrelevant answers. Will not return and would not recommend. I felt as if though I was being condescended on. Glad you guys have such a one way of doing things attitude.

I purchased the brooks adrenaline 16s that came out not that long ago and after a month of wear the bottom sole was coming unglued from the shoe, they replaced with a different pair but same shoe and acted as if I was the first one to come about with this issue. Than I go in about a couple months later with the same exact same thing happening to the shoe! Obviously brooks needs to fix this but I did really love this shoe! They fit me into mizuno which I’m not quite sure about yet but I can say the feel totally different than the brooks. By the way I really didn’t want to exchange for anything other shoe other than the brooks I had on but they wouldn’t refund me. And they also sized me a size bigger to accommodate my wide foot
Might I add, it shows that their customer service isn’t great at all and that all they care about is their loss because the fact that they didn’t want to refund me my money after I had not 1 but 2 shoes that had a design malfunction to them! I won’t be returning here to purchase they should’ve satisfied my consumer affairs! And they still have brook 16s on their shelves after the owner did tell me that I’m not the only one and that they’ve had about 9 pairs brought back due to this issue

I’ve been in here three times and have been disappointed with the customer service every time. There is attention but genuine care is harder to find. I’d drive to Jock and Jill which is much farther from me to feel I am getting attention AND from people who are fully committed to me have a great running experience.

I’ve been in the store several times and have always been pleased and the local owner is extremely helpful. Last year I bought a pair of O N Cloudsurfers which were are most comfortable shoes I’ve ever worn! This week I’m going back to The Balanced Athlete for my 2^nd pair.

I need a good pair of walking shoes. I have always had a hard time getting shoes that fit well thought I would give this place a try I am so happy that I did and now have a pair of shoes that fit great. thanks to the awesome help from Sheila who was knowledgeable, friendly, and up beat! Thank you Sheila for helping me out I will defiantly be back for the next pair.

The Balanced Athlete is really as good as it gets! I had been into this store a few times before to look at clothing and had even picked up a jacket, but I was never fitted for shoes. That was a huge mistake.
My girlfriend wanted to pick up some new running shoes because hers were old and were hurting her feet. So I suggested we check this place out. April was really friendly and got her on the treadmill in order to analyze her gait. After doing this April was able to judge which shoes would give my girlfriend the best support for her stride, and right away she said she noticed a difference.
During this entire process April asked me, «Are you interested in shoes?» to which I responded, «Yea I want to find out what my feet do!».
The information April relayed just after watching our running form was really awesome and informative. After I tried on about 5 or 6 pairs of shoes (All while the store was minutes from close, April was still completely engaged in what she was doing, and didn’t make us feel like we were keeping her late or anything). I found my fit!
I will be returning a happy customer. Absolutely the best service I have ever received from a retail store.

Definitely the right place to go buy running shoes! The employees are super friendly and are very helpful. They put you on a treadmill to look at how you run specifically. According to how you run, the staff will find the perfect shoes for you. I tried on two pairs, both were awesome, but the one was a bit more comfortable. You get to test run in them as well outside the store. The employees will give you their opinion on which shoe they like better (if you can’t decide), which was helpful since I’m bad at making decisions! I even got a free pair of socks with my purchase. This shoe shopping experience was the most efficient and fastest I’ve ever spent buying shoes. And I love my shoes! Definitely will go back!

Just stopped by for some new running shoes because the Nikes had a blow out toe hole on the side. Eric, I believe the owner, was great. He got us on a treadmill and analyzed the curve of our ankle to foot. Then measured our width and length and low and behold showed up with two great feeling suggestions. I really liked the attention they gave and the information they provided. I also like how they allow you to take the shoe outside for a run. I will recommend this place to my friends, and plan to be a return customer. All around great experience. They also have group runs during the week which we plan on attending being new to the area.

I have never seen such great customer service and knowledgable staff. My new favorite store.

The store managed to lose my race bib. I decided not to run the race because I didn’t want to drive 40 minutes to Isaquaah only to realize I still didn’t have a race bib. Very disappointing.

I wear a 10.5 EEE in New Balance shoes. I came here to get properly fitted and the salesperson sold me a size way too big in order to accommodate my foot width. I ran with these shoes for about 4 months when I was forced to stop running due to foot ailments. I went to return/​exchange the shoes and the sales person told me its my own fault and that I need to wear super feet in my shoes while I’m in my house. He told me that as soon as he wakes up he puts on his running shoes to prevent the injuries I currently have. Not properly fitting a customer and criticizing someone’s lifestyle is uncool. I will be taking my lifestyle elsewhere.

This is the best running store! The staff are very knowledgeable and know how to assess your feet for proper sizing and do a video analysis to recommend appropriate shoes for your walking or running style (trail, track, road). I hated running and always had blisters despite other store «fittings». These guys opened the door and I haven’t turned back! (And that was probably 9 years ago!)
The store offers free group runs that attract a variety of great people for walks or runs that are long or short, fast or not so fast, so there’s no need to be intimidated. The store offers a variety of training and race nutrition so you should be able to find what works for you. Also the accessories and apparel offered are high quality and the staff can tell you what you need for any weather or your next distance goal. It’s not a huge space so the options may seem limited but if you really want something specific I am confident they can order it.
Ladies — this is the place for sport bra fitting. What a difference! The mostly male staff are professional and able to instruct and measure if you need, or ask when a female staff is going to be around if you prefer. If you can follow the instructions you can do it yourself with the measuring tape and guides in the change room but an expert’s rationale was needed for me or I would have opted for the wrong size.
Finally, give them your info and you’ll earn a loyalty reward with purchases! Love that! Vendors are featured at times so there are shoe and nutrition demo nights and often giveaways so you can’t go wrong checking them out and making them your go-​to store!

Eric is the man. Great place to get your running gear and to meet some like-​minded runners. Come on Tuesdays and Sunday for a group run. Enjoy some delicious TopPot afterwards (yum yum)!

Janna helped me soooo much. She educated me about the shoes I was looking at and why my doctor had recommend them.
She gave me stretches that helped alot. she cared and shared her knowledge
i will not go anywhere else

The staff took the time to analyze my running gait, properly measure my feet, and suggest several pairs of running shoes. They explained everything about what they were doing and why, and let me take three pairs out for a jog around the block before deciding on one. Not cheap, but worth the investment if you need help finding the right pair of shoes.

This store has pretty good gear and I was able to get my gait analyzed for a good shoe fit. However, the service received from the employee who helped us was not great. My friend and I were scoffed at for asking what the return policy was, just in case, which to me doesn’t make sense when having a good fitting running shoe is extremely important. Sometimes a trot around the building doesn’t feel the same as a 10 miler. We bought the shoes recommended and then ended up returning not because of bad fit, but because of bad service.
I might give them another shot eventually, but I was hoping for a little more from a local running store I wanted to support.

So I fell victim to an infomercial — I ordered P90×3 (side note: I’m loving it!) I needed some shoes for it. I stopped here for some shoes because I was having trouble finding non-​running shoes and I got some amazing shoes for P90×3 workouts!
I love this place.

Ready to buy my ($ 110) shoes but the pair I tried on was dirty. I asked the sales guy if he had clean shoes and he replied that they allow customers to walk outside with their shoes. I’m sorry but I am not paying over a $ 100 for dirty shoes. I thought they had 1 pair they let people try on AND walk outside but no! He didn’t offer any suggestions if they could order it or ship it. None! Terrible customer service on that issue and he looked like he could care less if I bought them or not.

A very awesome running store. A lot of variety of gear you typically don’t find in your normal athletic stores. More importantly the staff isn’t trying to hard to sell you on what’s in right now in terms of running shoes (at this current stage minimal shoes), but of course they still do have them available.
I actually got the exact opposite and picked myself up a pair of Hoka shoes, I’ve never seen anywhere else. But it’s pretty cool being about twice the padding of traditional running shoes. I will say as a heavy runner, they feel great, and even more importantly they don’t feel heavy like traditional motion control shoes.
Lastly, they fit my shoes properly. Turns out I’ve been fitting shoes to my toes and not my toe arch, so I’ve been wearing shoes about 2 sizes too small for me for the longest time. It’s made a tremendous difference in comfort.
I will say the only thing I’m sad about in regards to this store is they don’t have a lot of apparel on stock, and the ones they do have in stock are for fit runners. Sorry no size XL available :(.
Other than that, great store, heavily recommend if you’re in the need for some running gear and want something a little more suited towards running and not just shoes that look cool (i.e. champs, etc.)