If you have less than an hour to buy a new pair of running shoes, do not ask the guy in the Jogg’n Shoppe any questions about the photos on the wall, the shirts hanging in the windows, or the running paraphernalia scattered around the store, because that hour will be sacrificed to a long discussion about the characters and races that make up Humboldt’s distance running history. But it is an interesting history, full of tales of all-consuming rivalries and legendary training logs. The Jogg’n Shoppe has been around for all of it.

The Jogg’n Shoppe celebrated its 50th birthday last week. Founded in 1974 by Humboldt State cross-country coach Jim Hunt and Arcata High School coach Chuck Ehlers, it’s currently owned by Mike Williams, who ran for HSU back when Hunt was still a coach. The shop is old enough that some of the first shoes Hunt sold were made by Blue Ribbon Sports — the company Bill Bowerman founded that would later become Nike. 

Williams, 63, first worked at the Jogg’n Shoppe in the 1980s, when he ran for HSU. In 2002, he became a part-owner of the Eureka location, which closed in 2005. He’s been the sole operator of the store since. At its peak during the mid-1970s, the store had locations in Arcata, Eureka, Fortuna and Brookings, Ore., though that only lasted for a couple years. Now, only the Arcata location is still open.  

“It all happened at a perfect time,” Williams said. “The running boom was going on after the ’72 Olympics with Frank Shorter and [Steve] Prefontaine — that just kind of fueled that fire.”

Distance running exploded in popularity in the early 1970s nationally, but Humboldt was also home to a large pool of talented runners. HSU was second at the Division III national championships three times during the ’70s and won the Division II championships when they moved up in 1980. Williams has an encyclopedic knowledge of the dozens of personal records set and races run during this time period, and asking him about local legends like 2:15 marathoner Bill Scobey or 1992 Olympic Trials winner Mark Conover will elicit from him stories of the days when the Trinidad-Clam Beach run fielded 2,300 competitors from around California and even the smaller community races had sub-30 minute 10K talent. 

Races in Humboldt aren’t as fast as they once were, but the local running community has found a home in the Jogg’n Shoppe. Running clubs meet out front and Williams helps organize local races. For its 50th anniversary, Williams hosted over 100 people in the store last week. Nike representatives from Oakland came bearing gifts. Williams thinks the store provides services beyond simply selling running equipment.

“It’s getting people motivated whether they’re walkers or runners, just getting people outside and doing something, and when people get together for events, not only competition, it’s feeding off the good vibes, the community thing,” Williams said. “The club, everyone who shows up for that is so upbeat and into it…a lot of the old guys, they can’t run but they still meet and walk and they love it! They’re sitting there chitting and chatting. My dad dealt with depression, pretty severe sometimes, when he became a runner and got part of that group — man, it changed my dad’s life. It really did. He got a new group of buddies, like a new family.” 

Williams will likely retire within the next few years, but there are several different parties interested in buying the store. 

“I would love to keep going,” Williams said. “I think it can. The internet changed everything obviously, but it can make it. … It’ll keep going, there’s no doubt about it.” 

“Having a shop, it’s a place where people can meet. A lot of people come in and yak with me. It’s just fun talking to people. A lot of people, they come in and go, ‘I’m too slow for racing.’ Oh! Walkers, everybody’s welcome … Don’t worry about the times, just go out there and participate.”