Here at Glam Adelaide, we love a new coffee shop as much as the next person! But it’s not everyday that professional athletes take a turn at opening their own venue.
Professional runners Riley Cocks and Izzi Batt Doyle, alongside their business partner Bryn Nicholls, have opened The Run House – a new Norwood-based coffee shop for runners and non-runners alike.
The Run House provides a “special place for runners, and health and fitness-minded individuals”, as well as any person looking for a “homely feel” and a coffee fix. The new coffee shop comes as Riley, Izzi and Bryn’s running group needed a base.
“We started a running group during COVID less than two years ago and now it has got over 300 members,” says Riley.
“We had a couple of apparel sponsorships as pro athletes. Because we had all these connections with running brands, we thought about opening a shop.
“Since coffee has become such a big part of our social culture, we decided to make it into a coffee shop. With so many members, we usually flood into coffee shops and it’s overwhelming for the cafes!
“We were also looking for a meeting space too because we have a number of coaches now. The café has a few rooms in the back for us to catch up.”
Riley and Izzi first established coaching and running group, RunAsOne, back in 2020, when COVID halted their planned international travel and competitions.
“Both of us are professional athletes. Izzi competed in the Tokyo Olympics 5000m athletic event and made the 10km event for the Commonwealth Games,” says Riley. “Both of us are also state record holders – myself in the half marathon and Issy for the 3km and 5km events.”
Riley, a trained physiotherapist, began coaching his boss and Izzi’s mum. Through word of mouth, the running group grew quickly from two to 40.
“I though, if I’m out here at 6:30am for two people, I might as well invite more people,” he said.
“It was still kind of a hobby, but after 6 months I had to cut back my hours at the physio, and now I’m with RunAsOne fulltime.”
The Run House opened on Sunday 10 July, and acted as the starting point for the club’s Long Run. Over 100 people were in attendance, and The Run House poured 101 coffees.
With lots of help from the local community, Riley says they’re “very lucky” to have such a strong start.
“We will slowly start to attract locals and general public to visit, but we’ve already got such a captive audience after training Tuesday and Friday mornings,” says Riley.
Alongside coffee, breakfast treats such as almond croissants, banana bread and bliss balls will also be available, as well as a range of running apparel, compression garments, sports micronutrition products, and sports drinks.
The Run House is doing a soft opening throughout July and August, only opening 4 days a week from 7am – 12pm and will release full trading hours once Izzi returns from the 2022 Commonwealth Games, currently being hosted in Birmingham, England.
Find The Run House at 38 Charles Street, Norwood 5067.
Follow The Run House on Instagram or RunAsOne on Facebook and online.
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