A Snail’s Pace Running Shop

On Saturday I visited the Mission Viejo store to get a new pair of shoes and Jacob helped me. He was very knowledgeable, patient and friendly. I have special foot conditions therefore I have a lot of questions to meet my needs. I can’t thank him enough for all that he did to make sure I was choosing the right shoe. I ended up buying 4 pairs, thank you Jacob.

Great Customer Service!
Michael was very knowledgeable and worked with me until I found the perfect running shoe. The experience was extremely personalized to ensure that I was purchasing a shoe that would work best with the way I run as well as where I place most of my body pressure. I appreciated his patience and providing me with a variety of shoes that he thought we would work for me.

Excellent and fast service! I was amazed at the staff being professional and friendly! They put me through a couple of tests to beat fit me for running shoes! I am preparing for 5K and run every other day. This place rocks!

I really like this place because the staff is extremely knowledgeable and helpful and they really work hard to get you in the right shoe for your feet & gait. I’ve bought several shoes here over the years, but unfortunately for me, they have stopped stocking 4E widths. Their customer service is so good that they were willing to make a phone call to a competitor to see if perhaps they had the shoe I wanted in a wide size. So if you have a standard size foot (even up to 2E), you should definitely try them out — I think you are going to like them. If you have Barney Rubble feet like me, you are going to be out of luck.

Honestly, hands down best company and best location for running shoes and service. Just recently had a hard time finding the right running shoe. And after 3 not so great runs on my newest pair, Liz and John at this store helped me get into the right pair of Asics. I’ve been buying shoes from Snails pace Fountain valley, Mission Viejo and Brea for the past 6 years and they have all been so helpful, professional and knowledgeable. I’m even part of the running club and everyone is so nice and ethusiastic about running. It’s always cool to get new shoes and am feeling excited to keep my training going. Thanks Snails Pace.

This place is the best! Personalized service with personnel who know their clientele and can really recommend the best shoe for them. I’d give more stars if possible! Shout out to Jacob!

Came here to get a gift card… took 25 min… one associate was helping me, but couldn’t load tbe value on the card while another associate was on tbe phone due to lack of broadband Internet. The first associate stopped helping when a customer walked in and demanded assistance, so he dumped me on another sales person who couldn’t figure out how to load the gift card, and she became frustrated and started cussing under her breath but clearly loud enough to be heard by me. The thing is, only me and two other customers were in the store, so what should have taken a couple minutes wasted far more time then I cared too.
¹⁰⁄₀₆ update
So, since I posted this review I went back into the store with my wife to help her find shoes… low and behold MY REVIEW is brought up on the store main computer screen which faces the customers… when asked why my review was on their screen, facing outward to the customers, the staff said, «I don’t know»…yea well I’m pretty sure this was a poor attempt at public shaming so now a 3 star review becomes 1 and I’ll be contacting the owner.

The best running shop I’ve been to. Each time I’ve been there, they take time to really understand my needs and give expert advice. LIZ helped me last time, and beyond the excellent customer service, she was a wealth of knowledge.
Honest people, Great shop. Great service.

I love running A Snail’s Pace’s Pub Runs!
Each year, from sometime at the dawn of Spring until the late sunset of Summer, A Snail’s Pace – not only Mission Viejo’s awesome location, but Monrovia’s, Brea’s, and Fountain Valley’s as well – promotes its highly-​anticipated Pub Runs. MV’s point-​to-​point is a simple 1.20 miles, beginning at ASP’s location and ending at Brü Grill & Market, a free beer served in an ASP personalized mason jar awaiting! You’ll keep the jar, by the way!
But it’s not just that…
What’s additionally super cool about ASP’s Pub Runs is that they are running shoe-​sponsored. NewBalance, for example, sponsored this run. Allowing, then, each runner an unique opportunity to «test drive» a pair of their newest running shoes, NewBalance invited us to give ‘em a spin, to try them out during the run. For this run, I wore the 870v4’s, supportive and well-​cushioned! NewBalance is definitely a contender in the running shoes world, and NB wants you to know it. Seriously, next time you’re looking for a new shoe, slip on a pair of NB’s. You’ll feel the difference right away!
Thanks, as always, to the entire ASP crew for welcoming everyone – such a positive group. But even more so, a super-​duper thanks to Victoria, ASP’s hot shot Marketing Director, who puts these Runs on the map and to NB’s awesome rep, Kiko, as well for making this run fun! And by the way, get on A Snail’s Pace’s email list. You’ll receive information on upcoming Pub Runs – limited to the first 50 who sign up on the evening of the run – and you might also consider joining one of ASP’s running clubs. Belonging to one of the running clubs allows for store discounts on all purchases. So get involved, run for beer, and try out a new pair of shoes. Maybe you’ve been needing them. ;)

They did give me full refund after my calls and emails and apologized for the way it was handled. Just to be fare I wanted to write a follow up. I thought this was great on their part.

Aaron was amazing! He was super helpful and kind. He made you feel at home. He really took his time. He had a smile the whole time. Ask for Aaron when you stop in.

Have been buying shoes from this location for about 10 years. Have always gotten great help, fittings, and tonight was no exception. After years of wearing New Balance, I switched to a pair of Brooks trail shoes after talking extensively with the store manager. She hauled out about 7 pairs of running and trail shoes while I asked questions, tried on shoes and walked the shop. The new shoes are stiffer than I’m used to, but that’ll be a huge help on the fire roads and single track trails my friends and I go on. Thanks, Snails Pace.

These guys are great, but could definitely use a weekend seminar on working with customers. The younger staff is peppy and conversational but the older staff members are lacking in that department. Love the store and I’ll keep coming back back but jesus people! Put a smile on your face!

We are visiting CA from MD where it has been snowing weekly and did not bring light enough layers to run comfortably. The sales associates were helpful and did not push products. It was like being back at our local running shop!

I JUST came back from Snail’s Pace and it was a GREAT experience.
Chris was super supportive and helped me find the perfect pair of shoes! He was really attentive and provided a lot of information about shoes and what kind of shoes I should look for. He was super patient with me as I was extremely indecisive and offered to find another pair of shoes at another branch without hesitation when I was unsure about different pairs of shoes.
The shoes were pricey but totally worth it! It really makes a HUGE difference when you run and it’s worth learning about your body and how you can support yourself.
Definitely recommend this place!
THANK YOU CHRIS!

I love A Snail’s Pace!
I popped in here a few months ago for a peek around (I go to the LA Fitness next door), and asked about their shoe fitting process, and about the store. It’s not until the last month that I actually made a purchase.
I hurt my hip running back in April, and attribute part of that to my trainers, so as I’m able to run again, I figured I needed some new shoes. You step on a heat-​map like device, they tell you about your feet, and then you run on a treadmill and are able to try on recommended shoes. You can run with each shoe on the treadmill, around the store, or even outside the front door.
I spend 30 minutes or so trying on shoes, and couldn’t decided, so I went home with two pairs (Asics and Brooks). I mentioned that I was still in physical therapy, so they invited me to shoe the shoes to my therapist, and even said that if they don’t work out, I can come back (so long as you keep them tidy and keep the box).
The Ascis ended up being too bulky and too different from what I was used to, so I went back yesterday (two weeks later), to get a different second pair. The woman who helped me yesterday was so efficient, and hooked me up with what I needed (Adidas).
I took my new trainers out for a brief jog this morning, and am so happy.
Once I’m able to run properly again, I’d like to look more into their running club.

I decided to get off my lazy butt to run in a charity event coming up in May. As a person completely new to the sport of running, I did not know where to start. After a google search, I found myself at A Snail’s Pace. The female manager assisted me with a great overview of the different types of running shoes. I indicated I had little time, as it was my lunch break, yet she managed to offer me a proper shoe fitting and found the ideal shoe for my feet. She was extremely knowledgeable, friendly, and efficient.
This was my first stop in shopping for shoes so I was reluctant to purchase anything at the time, until I had done more research on my own. She was kind enough to provide me her business card with the information for shoe that fit me best. After visiting a few more sporting good stores and looking up online reviews of the shoe she recommended, I returned to the shop where she assisted me again, in the purchase of the shoes. She also invited me to participate in a Pub Run, free to all participants.
After a few weeks of running, my oldest son and wife were also inspired to take up running, so our first stop was A Snail’s Pace again. The manager again assisted us, and was great in fitting my whole family. On top of the great customer service, and excellent product knowledge, the prices seem to be very comparable to the larger sporting good chains. My only complaint would be their inventory selection, however they seem to have a shoe that worked for each of my family members.

Knowledgeable, professional, helpful! I appreciated that I was size fitted and running style fitted before Rick graciously helped with a couple shoe selections. He listened to what was most important to me, provided appropriate options, yet didn’t overwhelm me. Thanks Rick and Snails Pace!

Now that the new Mission Viejo location is open on the other side of the freeway, this location is an outlet store that will be open through the end of December 2012.
Check out the new store in the same center as LA Fitness next to Subway.

I had been looking forward to buying new running shoes! Mike helped me measure the distribution of the weight in my foot and then recommended a couple pairs for me. He explained why I should go a size up. (running long distances cause the foot to swell up). And then I tried on a shoe on each foot and ran for him. He immediately noticed that one of the shoes were better for me because I had a softer landing. He also noticed that I can go half a size down because I was able to slip in and out of the shoe without untying the lace. Talk about attention to detail! I love the service they provide and the fact that they run as well. I know I am in good hands when they sell niche brands that only make running shoes.
P. S. They also have a runners club and marathon training!