PULSE adds Boise store

The PULSE Running and Fitness Shop, which has been in Meridian for 10 years, is expanding to a second location in Boise, opening on Black Friday. “A lot of our customer base is from Boise,” owner Holly Finch said. “Our passion really is trail running, our new location is three minutes away from trails.” It’s also right across the street from the Boise greenbelt, she said.

The PULSE is involved in local runners groups — which often meet at Kleiner Park in Meridian — and sponsors races in the Idaho Trail Ultra Series, Finch said. Ultra races are those longer than a marathon, with the shortest in the series being 50K (32 miles), she said.

The expansion will double PULSE’s staff from five employees to 10 employees. The new store will have much of the same inventory while allowing the company to have more items in stock, Finch said.

Finch, like many of her employees, is an avid runner. She’s completed 11 marathons and has discovered a passion for trail running, which she said is easier on the body. Finch ran her first 100K (62.1 miles) last year.

Finch said The PULSE Running is the only specialty store in the Treasure Valley that offers video gait analysis, in which staff records a person’s stride on a treadmill and reviews it with him or her in slow motion to help the customer find a good running shoe match.

The company is also looking to release a new website, Finch said, that will offer online purchasing.