Partnership with Aardvark Sports Shop

Lehigh Valley Running Scene is thrilled to announce a new partnership with Aardvark Sports Shop. Bruce Haines, owner of Aardvark, agreed to come on board and support the overall endeavor of LV Running Scene, saying “it’s a natural fit.” Aardvark Sports Shop, located in Bethlehem, is one of two local running stores in the area where runners go to find great running gear and expert advice. The reason why this is such a great place to shop is because everyone who works there are runners themselves and are involved in the local running scene  in some way, shape or form whether that be in the form of volunteering, race timing, racing or simply heading out for a fun run around the area’s roads and scenic trails. You can trust the advice you receive and always find someone to talk to about running.

I had a chance to sit down with Bruce and talk about the history of Aardvark Sports Shop and how Bruce became involved with the running store business. Bruce began running as a teenager, took a break and returned to running after his children were born. I’m sure many of us can relate to how important running can be once we have kids. He began working at Aardvark in 1995 when his father owned the store, which he had purchased from the original owner, Chuck Kovacs who owns Ripper’s Pub in Bethlehem. Aardvark Sports Shop has been around since 1984 and currently sits in it’s fourth location, all of which were about ¼ mile of each other. Bruce bought the store from his father in 1998 and later, moved shop to it’s current location at Main Street Commons. A second store was opened in Stroudsburg in 2005 which filled a void for the large community of Pocono runners whose only options were to either do their shopping online or in larger chain stores that just don’t offer the same personalization of expertise that the sport-specific local running stores do.

I spoke with Bruce about his customer base and trends in the running community. He recalls that years ago, back in the ’80′s and ’90′s, running was much more male dominated and that approximately 60% of his customers were men. These days that number has flipped and about 60% of his customers are women. This seems to echo the same trend seen around the country as more women have become involved in the sport of running. If Lehigh Valley Running Scene’s Facebook fanpage is any indication of this trend, the numbers speak for themselves: 64% of our fans are women and 34% of our fans are men. Bruce credits part of the rise in the number of women running in the Lehigh Valley to First Strides, a beginner walking and running program for women in the area.

So, I’ve always been curious about one thing: Why the aardvark? As it turns out, the mascot was Chuck Kovacs’ idea. He wanted to come up a name that would show up first in the listings, something that started with the letter ‘A’. The double-A word, aardvark, was a perfect fit. And so, we have Aardvark Sports Shop. This funny mascot has actually worked out quite well for branding purposes since it is unique and fun. You may even spot the Aardvark mascot at different local events such as at the Kids Race the day before the St. Luke’s Lehigh Valley Half Marathon this past April.

Photo courtesy of John Hofmann

The aardvark mascot is also a very good reflection of the store’s attitude in general – running is fun. Aardvark Sports Shop tries not to portray the exclusive or serious side of running, they believe that running is for everyone and want to make everyone feel welcome to shop in their store. It doesn’t matter if you are a run-walker, a slow jogger, a once-in-a-while runner, a fitness nut or a speedster – they offer something for everyone.

I would formally like to thank Aardvark Sports Shop and Bruce Haines for his support of Lehigh Valley Running Scene and my endeavor to keep all of you runners up-to-date with local running news and information.