Building a Running Store Brand in Hawaii with Melissa Braswell of Big Island Running Company
Melissa Braswell is the owner of Big Island Running Company in Kona, Hawaii, which she and her husband Jason have owned since 2009. She is the first guest on Run Commerce, the Friday series on Talk Commerce for the people building the specialty running industry. These days she runs the ordering, buying and accounting from the mainland. For the Ironman World Championship in Kona she was back behind the counter, about a hundred hours in the store over two weeks.
From Chicago Attorneys to a Running Store in Kona
Melissa and Jason were both attorneys in Chicago and looking for something different. Running was the healthiest of the options they considered, and they had always loved visiting Hawaii. When Melissa found the store for sale, she emailed Jason.
“I sent my husband an email with it and he sent a two-word response back saying buy it and that was it,” she says.
A week later they were on a plane to look at it, and a month later Jason had quit his job and moved out. The store is still in its original location on Ali’i Drive, in the main tourist area of Kona. Over the years they opened in Hilo and a second Kona location, and both of those have since closed.
Run Big Started on an Airplane Napkin
The store had island and runner logos when they bought it, which still show up on some products, but nothing as catchy as the Run Big mark Jason sketched on a napkin on the flight home from their first trip. Run Aloha came later, along with other designs that help locals identify with their running store and give visitors a way to take some aloha home.
The Run Aloha hat traveled further than they expected. After a run along the Seine in Paris, Melissa walked into a coffee shop and heard people whispering. On her way out, a couple asked, “You’re from Kona, aren’t you?” The couple were from Italy, had run the Wobble Gobble, the store’s Thanksgiving Day race, six months earlier, and they recognized Melissa and the hat.
Why a Local Running Store Beats the Big Box
I hear the question a lot, whether to go to the local running store or buy running shoes at Target.
“Well, I think the personal time and expertise that you get from going into a local running store is really invaluable,” Melissa says.
Her staff are trained in fitting shoes and in the issues runners run into, plantar fasciitis among them. Hawaii has a lot of runners with wide, flat feet, which changes which shoes fit. The store added a Volumental foot scanner that maps length, width and arch height, and the staff pair that with questions about surfaces, weekly miles and whether this is a first 5K or a tenth marathon.
What Surprises Visitors About Running in Kona
Melissa named two things. The first is the heat and humidity, where visitors run a minute or more per mile slower than at home or cramp for the first time. The second is how little retail there is. The Sports Authority in town closed about ten years ago, and besides the running store and the local bike shop there are few options.
“Amazon does not deliver next day or even three days later,” she says.
Forget your running shoes or your hydration belt, and the running store is where you go.
Community Built the Brand
“You can’t just do that without building the community behind it,” Melissa says about the apparel.
From the day they moved out, Melissa and Jason went to every race that popped up on the island. The group run started with one runner for a couple of weeks, and about four or five months in, a Kona Marathon training group made it take off. Locals treat it as their running store, and visitors from around the world join the group runs. As Melissa put it, a student, a doctor and a retiree can run the same miles and share the same conversation.
Marketing a Small Running Store
The store does little traditional advertising. The early marketing was showing up at events, which cost race entry fees and little else. Engaged employees are doing that outreach again, with races and with other run clubs in town. An employee has stepped up on social media, and engagement has grown with it.
Jason runs the online side, and he has been using AI integrations in the store’s online commerce platform, which works more like a pay-per-sale model than the marketing they tried before.
“And that has really been eye-opening for what kind of products we’ve been able to sell and engagement we’ve gotten through that,” Melissa says.
Why The Running Event Matters From Hawaii
Melissa will be at The Running Event in December. A store in Hawaii gets little rep support, and reps do not come through on a regular cycle.
“So being able to come to an event like The Running Event and meet with our reps and feel the product and try on the product and get a sense of what’s coming up is invaluable for us,” she says.
Trends take a few years to reach Hawaii, so the show is how the store looks down the road. Her store manager is meeting her there to plan the coming year.
Her plug was for aloha. “Well, certainly everyone needs a little more aloha in their life,” she says. Find Run Big gear, including cold weather gear for mainland winters, at runbig.co.
Questions and Answers
Who owns Big Island Running Company?
Melissa Braswell and her husband Jason, former Chicago attorneys who bought the store in Kona, Hawaii, in 2009.
Where is Big Island Running Company?
On Ali’i Drive in Kona, on the Big Island of Hawaii, and online at runbig.co.
Why buy running shoes at a local running store instead of a big box store?
Melissa says the personal time and expertise are what a runner gets. Her staff are trained in shoe fitting, the store uses a Volumental foot scanner, and the fit conversation covers surfaces, mileage and running history.
Why does a running store in Hawaii go to The Running Event?
Stores in Hawaii get little rep support, so The Running Event is where Melissa meets reps, tries on product and sees what is coming before trends reach the islands.
Be a Guest on Run Commerce
Run Commerce talks with running brands, running stores, race directors, coaches, pro athletes and running tech. I will be at The Running Event in San Antonio, December 1 to 3, 2026. If you are there, let’s record your episode in person, and if not, we can record remotely. Book your Run Commerce episode.