The Runners’ Lounge in Bowling Green is promoting a healthier way of life for its community.

Started by Patrick and Crystal Folker, the Runners’ Lounge offers a variety of athletic footwear including running shoes and sandals, healthy snacks and even videos with tips for running on their Facebook. 

“All of this is offered, at a moderate price, to make citizens of the Commonwealth more active and healthier,” Patrick said.

Patrick said Kentucky is not doing the best in the obesity rating. According to KentuckyHealthFacts, Kentucky is the 8th highest obesity rate, and the average of obese individuals is 36%.

“Kentucky has one of the highest obesity rates,” Patrick said. “Our main thing is to promote a healthy lifestyle.”

They also provide what they call a Gait Analysis. Gait Analysis seeks to make one’s exercise efficient. They determine things such as a proper running shoe size and find any “bio-mechanical imbalances” a person may have.  

A bio-mechanical weakness is “a small but correctable weakness or imbalance” of the body that would be revealed during the analysis, according to Folker. For example, a runner’s knee may buckle during exercise or one shoulder may be lower than the other etc. 

They would correct these imbalances with such things as new shoes, corrective inserts for the shoes, strength exercises, or a combination of all those things.

As of this week the Runners’ Lounge is in a room of the Bike Rack Bistro, also owned by the couple and located at 855 Broadway Ave., but they are in the process of moving out of the Bistro to a bigger space located at 730 Fairview in business space A2.

Their focus, as a business, is on running/walking, but once they move, they plan to offer such amenities as physical therapy, training plans, as well as have a personal trainer on staff to work by appointment. 

These faculty will be able to serve customers with chronic pain as well as help set up training regimens for runners who are serious about running, say preparing to run a 5k.  

The Runners’ Lounge is open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Reporter Michael Crimmins can be reached at [email protected].