Running will always be part of Mark and Elizabeth Steen’s life together. Whenever time allows, the couple take to the roads and paths of Sammamish with their dog and rekindle the passion for fitness that helps define their relationship.

But when the couple looked around their community in Sammamish, they saw a glaring need with no running retail storefront on the Plateau dedicated to runners, walkers and joggers.

So they opened their own and tabbed it Plateau Runner.

“The community is diverse in its running,” Mark said. “We want to be able to provide what the community wants.”

Mark was an athlete throughout his prep and collegiate days, running on the track and cross country teams in high school and continuing his career in college at Western Washington University. When he met Liz, a former ballet dancer, she too was quickly bitten by the running bug.

“I think it was just his love for it,” Liz said of her start to running. “Now, a lot of it is exercising our dog.”

The Steens also have two children who are runners, one at Western and another still in high school at Eastlake.

Since opening in November of 2011, the Steens and partner Todd Starnes, also an owner at Preston-based Bicycle Adventures, have focused on providing the brands and product lines runners and walkers in the community already know and trust.

They have also made a concerted effort to sponsor local fitness events such as the upcoming Beaver Lake Triathlon, and also extend an offer to the prep cross country teams in the area to use the shop as a meeting spot. By extension, they hope Plateau Runner will become a recognizable and trusted name itself.

“Anything in the fitness arena in Sammamish, we want to be part of,” Mark said.

Liz added that adapting inventory to tailor to the diverse customer base in Sammamish has been important. She said Plateau Runner will continue on that path as the seasons change and people begin looking for materials that stand up to the wetter seasons on the way. Along with CW-X running apparel, which she said several patrons were adamant the store carry, the store recently welcomed Nike footwear, a notoriously difficult vendor to land.

With 1,900 feet of retail space, Plateau Runner has plenty of room for men’s and women’s running and walking apparel and also carries products geared more to yoga enthusiasts. The store has separate shoe walls for men and women, with several lines from Nike, New Balance, Asics, Brooks, Mizuno and Saucony. There is also a

But more than the jackets, dry-fit shirts and newest advances in running shoe technology, the Steens want Plateau Runner to be known for being a gathering place in the fitness community. With ever-popular fixtures Yo Plateau, Sammamish Cafe and Pacific Bicycle as neighbors, the opportunity is ripe to meld retail and community.

“The community has been very supportive,” Elizabeth said. “We’re a store people enjoy being in.”

Shoes hang from the rafters in the shop, paying homage to fitness and running. Josh Suman, Issaquah-Sammamish Reporter

A line of New Balance shoes on display at Plateau Runner. Josh Suman, Issaquah-Sammamish Reporter

A large sales floor gives Plateau Runner the option of expanding, something Mark Steen said the team is always looking at. Josh Suman, Issaquah-Sammamish Reporter

One of two shoe walls at Plateau Runner, displaying the wide variety of shoes for men, women and children. Josh Suman, Issaquah-Sammamish Reporter

Contact and submissions: jsuman@bellevuereporter.com