I went in today because my current athletic shoes are not comfortable and often hurt my feet. I've usually selected shoes off the rack based on price, and purchased if the shoe felt ok in the store, but often would be uncomfortable when I wore them. When I arrived there was the perfect amount of staff on the floor. A few customers were being helped, and I was able to look for a few minutes and get comfortable. (I hate shopping when the sales staff lurk over you). Instead, I looked around & at the perfect time someone came up to help me- I think her name was Colby. I told her that I've never been fitted & didn't really know what I was doing. She was very helpful. I had my feet scanned and I learned about my feet and what shoes would be best for me. I did a quick walk/run on the treadmill where she saw the type of shoes that would be best for me, and then she pulled several shoes for me to try. The service today was great! She was knowledgeable, helpful, not pushy, and I felt like she was sincerely trying to help without any agenda for selling. She explained things very well & I now understand why most other shoes have hurt my feet. She also entered my info into their system so I can go in to any location & won't need to go through any process again- which was really nice. The whole process today was quick but not rushed, and I will definitely go back and refer others. read more

I have been in desperate need of sports bras - I run a few times a week and do races as well but seriously, my sports bra collection dated to high school, maybe college if I was lucky. It was awful. I feel ashamed to admit this fact. The store has a great selection with super knowledgeable staff. They know so much and were incredibly helpful. How the manager knew more about sports bras, and how to keep my boobs from sagging to my knees because of running, than me was humbling, and reassuring. I had tons of stuff to choose from and I only went in with the intention to buy two max but walked away with three great bras, two from a company I had never even heard of. I looked up one of the sports bras I got afterwards from the unknown company (Moving Comfort) and it turned out to be the highest rated one on Women's Health magazine, or one of those fitness magazine sites. I was fairly excited. With the crappy weather I haven't run as often as I'd like but now with three new sports bras, I was psyched to get going again and I may or may not have run three of the last four days just to test out my new merchandise. OK, I did. I could not have been happier with the level of knowledge and customer service from PR. No more high school sports bras (or crappy department store fitness sections) for me. read more

Stopped by here to grab a new pair of shoes and had a fantastic experience. Lindsay was friendly and greeted as soon as entered and helped me do a gait analysis since it has been a while since last having new shoes and found a couple pairs to fit for variety. No pressure to buy and was informative on my running stride and tips to improve and the subtle differences between brands of running shoes and how they would fit my needs. highly recommend read more

I've been buying my running shoes online the past couple of years. I am now only going to a local running store like Potomac River Running Stores. The sales associate was super helpful...even for a more experienced runner like me. I thought I knew a lot, but he helped me find a pair of great fitting shoes by allowing me to try on several pair and select the one that felt the best. read more

What a difference a knowledgeable shoe salesman makes! Chris Quinn, a manager at Potomac River Running/Tysons, fitted my husband with a pair of Hoka shoes today. These shoes ARE THE BEST HE HAS EVER WORN. Thank you Chris Quinn, and Potomac River Running for transforming buying shores from a dreaded errand to something that results in a husband with happy feet. Yay! read more

PR's location on Maple Avenue has a great selection of running wear and gear in general, along with friendly and knowledgeable staff. I've bought three pairs of shoes from here so far, and intend to continue to come here in the future. Prices are fair as well. read more

Came in late one evening for a quick re-up on shoes that were well past their lifespan. Graham was fantastic about snagging me a few new brands that I hadn't considered before and even stayed past closing to help. It ended up that they didn't have my preferred pick in my size, but helpfully called up the Reston store and had them set it aside for me. read more

Pros: Hassle free exchanges; held a pair of Vibram Bikilas for 3 weeks. Free monthly workshops. Cons: Off the beaten track so don't expect to use public transportation to get there. read more

I went in today to pick up a few things and overall I really enjoy this place, the staff is very friendly and they make you feel comfortable. read more

Had a great experience here. Came here originally to find running shoes for a workout class. After a month or two my feet were hurting and basically every workout was painful. Came back last week (2 months later) and the sales associate (Graham) spent over an hour with me trying to identify the root cause of my problem. I then came back a few days later and spent another hour with him. We went through several shoes and talked through how my feet felt and what could be done. The experience was great and I hope every person looking for good shoes and good customer service goes to this store. Thanks Graham and Bronson! read more

They were extremely helpful in finding me a new pair of shoes that would accommodate my orthodics. The shoes fit great and they were very reasonably priced. I could have gone to a different store and paid the same price for half of the service but that didn't seem to make sense to me. read more

I've never been too impressed with this place, but I guess it gets the job done. Shoe selection is limited, but for a small store this is expected. They at least had all of the main models/styles for the main brands. Accessories like socks and nutrition again hit all the essentials.. I've never walked out of PR thinking "why don't they carry X?" Staff is not the most engaging. Helpful if you ask, friendly enough, but kind of detached. Warm, genuine service should be the bread-and-butter of a small shop like this, but you'll get more interest from the average bartender than from the staff here in my experience. All nice people, but just not what they could be. The vibe is just too... serious? I did have a poor experience with the former manager of the place (who I'm told manages a different PR now) over a return of a (still brand new) pair of shoes. He wouldn't allow a return without my receipt, even though they had a record of the purchase in their computer (they keep personal info for this). This seems like an arbitrary distinction... if you have a digital record of the purchase (they acknowledged seeing my purchase in the computer) because I gave you my customer information, why demand the physical paper? Such a silly "line in the sand" to risk losing a customer over, but the Manager wasn't budging on the policy. I had the receipt at home, so was still able to eventually conduct the return. read more

I just left this store with a pair of Brooks Glycerins. I was not an easy customer because I'm coming back to running after a decade absence, I'm 67 years old and I wear orthotics. The young man first asked about my history, measured my feet and then brought out multiple shoe options. He told me to take my time and his evaluation of my gate was consistent with what I've heard in the past. They have 2 treadmills in the store for use at will and would have allowed me to run outside had it not been raining. I was torn between the Brooks Ghost and Glycerin. In the end I chose the Glycerin as its .0000002 ounces lighter and seemed to put a bit more spring in my push-off. I received a 10% discount on my purchase off of the retail price. They have their own parking lot which was icing on the cake. In today's urban sprawl its a real pain to have to go to a garage, pay for parking, and then walk several blocks to a store when you have a whole list of things to accomplish. read more

If you're looking for knowledgeable staff, you can't get much better than the folks at PRR. They're passionate about running, to put it mildly. After spending some time listening to my biomechanical issues, they pulled a number of shoes to let me try. I hopped on a treadmill and watched my form on a flatscreen as instant feedback. i LOVE my new shoes. Huge thanks for the folks at PRR for helping me out. Sure, I could order the shoes online for a few bucks cheaper, but I'd gladly pay an extra $10-15 per pair to keep these guys employed! The only drawback is the parking. Trader Joes keeps the lot extra busy, and you have a number of grocery-getting moms in minivans that are likely to hit someone with their distracted behavior. I suggest parking on the side lot by the post office and walking around to avoid the crazy Trader Joe goers. read more

Great customer service.Knowledgable sales people and good selection. I was buying some orthotics and mentioned that a pair of shoes I had purchased over 6 months ago were sitting in my closet bec they were too tight. To my surprise ,I was able to return the shoes ,without a receipt,and apply the cost towards a new pair of better fitting shoes. read more

Loved the hospitality-yeah you'd think. It's a freakin runnin store! Yeah, well I went in for running spikes. Couldn't find any. Approached the owner who was running the register. He was marvelously helpful. He went to the back of the store, and pulled out a couple cross country spikes, just to show me the differences between sprint and cross country spikes. When the shoes were too snug, he even looked for a diff pair of socks. While I was really looking for sprint spikes, I still think the attitude of the owner was what struck me as extraordinary. Thank you man! read more

Stopped in for a pair of new running shoes on 4/29/17 and was quickly waited on by a knowledgeable young man, who was extremely helpful in addressing my needs and finding the right fit for my difficult foot. Settled on a pair of Asics Nimbus 19s that felt great. Definitely recommend for their friendly and attentive service something that you don't find in a lot of retail stores today. The friendly manner and attention by the guys working there made for an enjoyable buying experience. Look forward to buying from them again! read more

Bryan was a jerk and very rude. Even the store didn't have the shoes what I wanted to buy, I am pretty open to buy other shoes or other gears I need, if he wasn't a jerk. He made me apologize for not knowing my needs. In face, I shared with him up front what I wanted (exact model and size), but Bryan refused to listen I guess because the store doesn't have it, which is fine with me. But that's nobody's fault. I wouldn't recommend anyone to come here and get abused by this sales assistant. read more

Plenty of staff no one in the store the top one lady seem to be the one who could help everybody the most the other two were just sort of walking around. They were nice just not able to help me. I was trying to get fitted for some inserts. Apparently the manager did not leave any passcode for them to use the machines so they missed sale. Just seems sort of odd that they would have such a nice store with three help no customers and nobody to help me. read more

Excellent experience. Lindsay Harris was professional and willing to hear me out (about the shoe feeling heavy) until she found the perfect shoe with an amazing fit. Thanks Lindsay!!! read more

Been wanting to get into running for awhile. I've never had shoes tailored for me or made for running. I always got whatever looked good at Payless. I figured I'd give some good running shoes a try so after driving by this place several times I finally went in. I was greeted by several friendly employees and quickly asked if I needed help. Two guys tended to me and asked me my needs. They had me hop on the treadmill. They watched me run and pointed out my feet's tendancies. Then they recommended shoes based on those tendancies. I appreciated the attention and service. Only downside is that the items are a bit pricey. Also they have a runner's points program. I wish I'd known about it before hand so I could've applied all the money I spent that day to that program and gotten the points. Other than that, I was thoroughly impressed with the store and most of all the employees. read more

so, i made it back. woo, what a difference a week makes. !! i was approached worn a warm hello immediately as i walked in from a friendly faced guy. soon after, as i was looking at the shoes, an upbeat young lady asked if she could help. i already had in mind what i wanted, but saw something similar and decided to try those. the sales person gave me some helpful information about both and offered to bring others of similar qualities. cool. i tried on both and lived the ones i had in mind. sold. Thanx for your help meghann! read more

I haven't gotten this type of service in a shoe store since I was a kid buying my shoes at Stride Rite. Their shoes are more expensive than what you'd typically find at a mall or sporting goods store, but the quality also seems higher. read more

I generally not a big fan of specialty running shoe stores. Mostly overpriced stuff and haughty staff that are too cool for school. I am not a marathoner. Just a person trying to get back into shape after not exercising regularly for 7 years. The employees (they had two that helped) were super patient, nice and down to earth with me and didn't lose that patience after I tried on probably 15 pairs of shoes and ran on the treadmill with each pair. Found a great pair of shoes and they definitely earned their pay. They also gave a lot of great advice about blisters. Another shop down the road's advice was to buy $20 pairs of socks, use this product or that product. These guys gave a lot of practical advice that didn't involve buying more junk. read more

I had a great experience at this store. I usually don't go to specialty running stores, but I am glad I took the chance. The employees were upbeat and knowledgable, but not overpowering. The merchandise selection was good and they even had a previous model of my shoe so it was 20% off. The sales rack was also great :) read more

Great service, they take the time to find out what your running style and goals are--then put you on a treadmill to watch you run. I appreciated their taking the time to fit me well rather than pressure me into buying the first pair that felt ok. I will be going back to them for repeat business. read more

I've shopped at the running store that's been at this location often over the years. I shopped there because it was truly a runner's store. With the change over to Potomac River Running, it has devolved into a simple merchandiser of running gear. Their stock of running accessories has gotten significantly smaller and I found the staff to be unhelpful and disinterested. read more

Very impressed with the thorough evaluation/good advice given for new walking shoes!!

I came to Potomac River Running yesterday looking to get back into running after taking some time off. I was greeted and helped by Jorge. I told him I was looking for some running shoes. He did the analysis with the tread mill and infrared scan thing and WOW I was amazed! I didn't realized how different shoes could be from one another. It seemed like Jorge knew the answer to every question I had about the shoes. I ended up getting the Saucony, which I know realize I've been pronouncing wrong for years! My jaw dropped when Jorge told me that the company was named after the Saucon River. I knew that coming to a running speciality store would be the right thing to do to find knowledgeable people but I didn't expect them to know so much! read more