Like many run specialty retailers around the country, Boston-based Tracksmith found a solution to keeping in touch with its Trackhouse HQ customers while also adhering to social distancing procedures mandated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Its solution can serve as an example for other retailers facing the same challenges. 

Tracksmith made the difficult – but inevitable -- decision last week to move its signature community events to virtual amidst the health crisis to keep community, stoke and training going for fans and the Tracksmith community. 

As part of this decision, Tracksmith made the decision to halt its run clubs and meet-ups at the Trackhouse HQ in Boston for the foreseeable future to keep everyone healthy and safe. But it is not standing still or abandoning its community and it plans to continue sending its weekly Boston newsletter, which in this different and social-distancing environment will have thoughtful and descriptive workouts for fans to do on their own around the city.

The retailer is going to include links to long run maps so that its community of runners can continue following along with their own programming. To connect even futther, these workouts and long runs will be shared to its Facebook page and Strava as well.

In addition, as Tracksmith tells Running insight, "We also know that taking common sense precautions doesn’t have to mean training in isolation," and so it created a Slack Group called Tracksmith Run Club that is free and open to all members of the Boston running community to join. Its hope is that this will be a useful communication resource for people and a way to sync up with others in the community for advice and route sharing, workouts, easy runs, and long runs away from the Trackhouse.