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FEATURE｜ . about en route vol.8 What it means for a select store to organize a group run.

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ABOUT EN ROUTE

Etcetera about Unrouted. vol.8 What it means for a select store to do a group run.

."With the concept of "Wearable Tokyo," "Unroute" proposes a unique style that combines original apparel with a hint of mode and sportswear. In this issue, we take an in-depth look at the label, which is expected to make great strides in the future in response to the growing sports mood, from every angle. In this final installment, we focus on the "Unroute Running Club" group run. Why would a boutique that deals in clothing organize a group run in which people can freely participate?

  • Photo_Masataka Nakada(STUH)
  • Text_Issey Enomoto
  • Edit_Hiroshi Yamamoto

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Anyone can participate! This is a group run organized by "Unrouted".

“The "Unroute Running Club," organized by Unroute, is a free group run event. Held mainly on Saturday mornings, participants run 5 to 7 km around Futakotamagawa, where the store is located.

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. There were more than 30 participants in total that day. After receiving an explanation of the course from Mr. Nakagawa and Ms. Yoshida, staff members acting as pacemakers, the participants stretched and relaxed their bodies , and then started running.

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The course changes depending on the day, but on this day, the course started from "Unroute Futakotamagawa" and headed to Kinuta Park, then went around the park, out to the Tama River, and back along the bank.

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Starting from "Unroute Futakotamagawa," the group will walk through a residential area to Kinuta Park. The speed is slow. The pace is comfortable enough to have a conversation while running.

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About 20 minutes after the start, we arrived at Kinuta Park. . This is a familiar running spot for runners in the area. Runners will feel good as they run through the lush greenery of the park.

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After circling Kinuta Park, we went to the bank of the Tama River. With the early summer sun shining brightly, we will return to "Unroute Futakotamagawa" while enjoying the clear view along the river.

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And the finish. Finally, we snapped a commemorative photo in front of a store. Everyone finished the run, which lasted about an hour, or about 7 km, with smiles on their faces.

By running together, we share the joy of physical exercise.

“Why does "Unroute" hold this type of free-participation group run, even though it is a select store? After the group run, we spoke with Ryo Nakagawa, a staff member of "Unroute Futakotamagawa" who acts as a pacemaker, and Maiko Hoshino, the store manager of the same store, to find out.

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Left: Ryo Nakagawa / Staff, Anroute Futakotamagawa , Right: Maiko Hoshino / Manager, Anroute Futakotamagawa

In the course of your free group runs, what has been the response so far from your clients?

middle courseMany people who know about UnRoute because they like fashion, but have little interest in physical activity, find running interesting through participating in the group runs.

star fieldIn many cases, people who run on a regular basis come to know about UnRoute through participation in our group runs. The Futakotamagawa area is home to the Tama River and Kinuta Park, which are ideal places for running, and there are many runners in the area.

So doing a group run is a way to attract customers to your store.

middle courseThis has been the case in some cases, and in many cases, customers who participate in the group run go on to shop after the run. However, we do not do group runs with business in mind. The purpose of the group run is to communicate with our customers. We also want our customers to know how fun it is to exercise their bodies. It is part of our brand concept as "Unroute" to provide not only goods, but also experiences.

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star fieldAll of us at UnRoute are involved in some form of sports, to varying degrees. Group runs provide an opportunity for our clients and staff to share the joy of physical activity, and play a very important role in building trust with our clients.

We would like to lower the threshold for running to a much lower level.

How will participants know when the group run will be held?

middle courseMany customers get information from social networking sites such as Facebook and Instagram, but there are also many who learn about us from the blackboards in our stores or from conversations with our staff. I think this is because of the location of Futakotamagawa, where many of our customers live nearby and visit the store frequently.

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star fieldRecently, we have seen a huge increase in the number of people using our running stations, and many of them learn about our group runs in the store.

What do you see as the future direction of the UnRouted Running Club?

middle courseWe are not looking to speed up our running pace or to train at a high intensity to shorten our marathon time at all. Again, the only reason we do group runs is to communicate with our clients. . We hope that many people will feel free to join us. We welcome beginners as well, since it is a "no-hard work" run at a relaxed pace.

star fieldI hope that our group runs will serve as a gateway to the fun of this activity. I know that some of our customers feel uncomfortable about running, and I hope that we can lower the barriers to running even more than before.

EN ROUTE FUTAKOTAMAGAWA
Address: 1-14-1 Tamagawa, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo
Futako Tamagawa Rise S.C. Terrace Market 1F
Phone: 03-5797-318
enroute.tokyo
www.instagram.com/enroute_runningclub/

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