Business partners Steve Brammer, Sarah Priest, Nick Waak and Andrea Witte work hard to ensure their shop supplies Katy-area residents with a good pair of running shoes, apparel and nutritional supplements as well as friendship, mentorship and a place to hang out.
“When we opened the store, we made a conscious decision to help the fitness community,” Waak said.
The store hosts a weekly Thursday morning bagel run, puts out 16-18 water coolers on Saturday mornings for Katy-area running groups and is involved in local racing events held throughout the year, the partners said.
“Katy’s a pretty dynamic area,” Priest said. “It’s very athletic with different types of runners, and we wanted to support them.”
The four partners said they opened GTRC at Villagio Town Center in October 2017.
Waak, Priest and Witte manage the store’s day-to-day needs with three other employees, they said.
Brammer is a longtime Katy-area businessman and runs, assists with events, and assembles snow cones and made-to-order pancakes for hungry runners on the weekends.
The name of the store embodies the business’s purpose, Priest said.
“Runners are always striving to get a good time—a good race time—and we help them do that,” she said. “But also we want people to have a good time with us.”
And the Katy-area running community has returned GTOC’s support by nominating and voting for the business among the 2019 50 Best Running Stores in America, a national award that recognizes running stores for their customer service, community involvement and operations, the partners said.
“We run alongside, and we train alongside our customers,” Witte said. “But we don’t just deal with athletes. We want everyone to feel welcome at our store. ... You don’t have to be a runner; everyone is going to be included here.”
Good Times Running Co.
22764 Westheimer Parkway, Ste. 650, Katy
832-437-7745
www.goodtimesrunningco.com
Hours: Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sun. noon-5 p.m.
