For the 5th consecutive year, Running Zone has been named one of The 50 Best Running Stores in America. The award was presented by Formula 4 Media, producers of The Running Event, the largest conference and trade show for running specialty stores in North America. The full list of winners is featured in a special published report that appeared in the January editions of Sports Insight and Footwear Insight, two leading trade magazines serving the sports specialty and footwear markets.

The 50 Best Stores list is the result of a year-long process that rates running stores based on their customer service, their relationship with the community they serve and a number of other key factors.

Starting in the spring of 2008, Formula 4 Media solicited nominations from consumers, members of the trade and even stores themselves. The nominations were edited and vetted and narrowed down to about 120 stores that underwent an intense evaluation process. The evaluation included a mystery shopping rating that evaluated the store on 20 different points. This was done by a secret shopper who spent  $100 in the store and rated it on points ranging from staff knowledge and attitude to "does the store offer clean try-on socks" to how simple was the check-out process and what was the quality of the shopping bag with which you walked out the door. The mystery shopping was done by Franklin Resource Group, the leading merchandising company in the sports retail business.

How a store supports its local community is another key factor in determining what stores make the list. The community support is evaluated based on sponsorship of local races, support of charities and essentially what the store does for its local community of runners.

"There are hundreds of great running stores in the country, but we believe this list represents The 50 Best," said Mark Sullivan, president of Formula 4 Media. "Every store on this list should be proud that they earned their way on to the list based on feedback from the toughest, most objective judges out there, their own customers."

Formula 4 Media is a B2B publishing and event company that produces The Running Event, The Soccer Event, The Green Event and The Footwear Event. The company publishes a range of leading trade magazines including Sports Insight, Footwear Insight, Textile Insight and Team Insight.

For more information on Formula 4 Media, visit www.formula4media.com

For more information on the 50 Best, please contact Mark Sullivan at 646-319-7878.