Capra is the only specialty trail and mountain running store in Squamish British Columbia. Founded from a passion for trail running and established to serve the unique needs of running in the Sea to Sky corridor. We’re a store by runners, for runners. We carry a curated selection of shoes, gear, and apparel from unique brands founded and tested on the trails and mountains. Whether you’re an experienced athlete or just beginning, we’re here to serve you.
The run community is important to us, and we’re set on creating and supporting the local culture of like-minded runners and mountain athletes. We offer three run groups weekly, always free, starting and finishing at the shop. We’re on the trails running nearly every day, exploring, training, and testing gear. Dedicated to those who like to move light and efficiently through the mountains, you can trust we know what we’re talking about. Come run with us!
Question: How are you supporting other local businesses?
Answer: We do all we can to support local businesses. Unfortunately, most running products aren’t made in Canada, but we do use almost exclusively Canadian distributors when we purchase inventory products. Whenever possible, we do buy locally made. For example, chamois cream One20percent, is made in BC and owned by five women who live in the Sea to Sky Corridor, and Strike Mvmnt is a Vancouver based athletic footwear and clothing brand that we carry.
The majority of our business services are provided by B.C. businesses. We bank with BlueShore Financial, our insurance is with Westland, Black Tusk does our Fire Inspections, Inbiz for our printing, and our Accountant is Hedden Chong in Burnaby. We do our own web management internally, but when we needed someone to create a registration portal for our 30 x 30 event, we hired a local Squamish contractor, ABC Designs.
Question: What social and environmental practices are you proud of?
Answer: We try to be a good local employer. All of our employees are from Squamish. There are two of us full-time who own the business, and we’ve been in the community for 5 and 6 years. And we have 4 part-time staff. We offer super flexible hours and all of our employees are paid a living wage – much higher than retail wages in Squamish ($21/hour). We hire for more for customer service and personality than running skills, as we want to provide great service to all levels of runners. Want also aim to hire diverse staff with body types, and people who might be underemployed and benefit most from a good work environment.
We love to support our local Squamish community! Every November we coordinate the Capra 30 x 30 challenge to get people outside running and walking during the dreariest month of winter. We started with 60 people in 2016, and in 2020 we had 2315 participants (95% of them are B.C. residents from Squamish, the Sea to Sky and the Lower Mainland). Our goal is to grow the event to 5000 people. The challenge gets people moving and increases people’s health, gets people out in nature, especially in a month like November. We work with local businesses to gather great prizes for the event. We’ve worked with Tall Tree Bakery, local artist Coastaleo, Alice & Brohm, Nesters Market, Sunny Chibas, Fox & Oak, Wild Life Gym, Counterpart Coffee, Ninja Gym Squamish, RideHub, Altus Mountain Guides, BeWildHer, Treeline Collective, Fir & Bark Pet Services, and other local businesses to bring a focus to what’s special and local in Squamish. In 2019 we added a dog category in the challenge and we teamed up with O’Brien Pet Foods & Supplies. In 2020 we raised $11,600 for Squamish Off-road Cycling Association (SORCA) and Squamish Search and Rescue.
In March 2021 we hosted a movement challenge to raise money for the Howe Sound Women’s Centre; and we were able to raise another $4200 for them directly. We’ve also done fundraisers for the Squamish Food Bank in the past and plan to have a Thanksgiving Family Friendly event this year, the Capra Turkey & Trails.
Capra’s main focus is to not just to be a place to buy running shoes but to also be a place for runners and walkers to learn and grow, to provide education and insight, for the community to connect with like minded individuals, and to give back to that community. We’re coming up on our 5th Birthday this August and very excited to be able to share that huge milestone with the Capra family both in Squamish and beyond.
Follow on Instagram:
View this post on Instagram