About Runners' Retreat
Expert advice and personalised service from people passionate about your sport, from our shops in Marlow Bagshot and Farnham Common
Runners' Retreat started from a desire to provide everything for runners in Marlow and the surrounding area. We pride ourselves on having a big selection of brands, to offer genuine choice for everybody. Runners' Retreat has links with all the running clubs in the area. We are actively involved and support many of the local races. We offer advice to runners of all ability and age. The serious club runner. The long distance ultra runner. Those who run for fitness, to lose weight and for our mental well being. We're all runners.
10 years after the Marlow Shop opened, we spread our wings and we now also have Runners' Retreat Farnham Common. Apex Sports was one of the first proper specialist running shops in the country and gained a great reputation over the years. Mike Baldock established a great shop and introduced Matt and Brian into the trade. With his retirement in 2021, we are incredibly pleased to take on a second shop.
The Surrey village of Bagshot, is home to our latest shop. Within a mile of Swinley Forrest and Lightwater Country Park, Bagshot is a perfect place to run!
We aim to be the leading hub for all things running between Reading and London.
Marlow
Bagshot
Farnham Common
Meet the team
Our shops are run by experienced runners, for runners
Matt
A lifelong passion for running led to Matt setting up Runners' Retreat in 2011.
Matt ran competitively in middle distance and cross country events for Wycombe Phoenix, Windsor, Slough Eton and Hounslow and Belgrave Harriers. He then focused on coaching and has helped a large number of club, master and international athletes over the last two decades.
Matt now tries his best to run a few times a week for fitness. When not working, Matt loves to travel. Croatia is his favourite place. Look out for a Runners' Retreat there one day!
Tom
Tom is an endurance athlete and Retail & Marketing Manager at Runners’ Retreat, with a passion for helping runners of all abilities perform at their best. With a marathon personal best of 2:46 and a half marathon best of 1:14, he combines real racing experience with in-store expertise to support customers in finding the right gear for their goals.
He was also awarded Senior Endurance Athlete of the Year at Wycombe Phoenix Harriers, reflecting his commitment to both performance and the local running community.
Tom regularly leads group runs and works closely with leading brands to deliver in-store events, shoe trials, and community experiences.
Liam
Liam is a competitive distance runner who has been racing since the age of 10. Although he competes on road and track, he prefers the challenge of trail and cross country, with 10km+ cross country and 5km on the road or track being his favourite distances. He represented England over 5km in Cardiff in 2024 and has won two National Cross Country team titles with WSEH and AFD, as well as being part of the Men’s South of England Road Relay winning team in 2025. His current personal bests are 8:22 (3000m), 14:30 (5km) and 30:07 (10km).
Outside of running, Liam is a big Formula One fan and supports his home team, McLaren.
Lucy
Lucy is a competitive middle-distance runner who’s been running since she was 9. She has represented England over 5km and 3000m, with a 16:31 5km PB. Among many outstanding performances, Lucy enjoyed a very tough cross country course and delivered a winning performance at the U17 English cross country Nationals in 2025.
In the future, Lucy is looking forward to experiencing NCAAs for the University of New Mexico.
Brian
After running the most successful Woolworths store in the country, Brian teamed up with Matt to start Runners' Retreat. Brian has a vast knowledge of running and triathlon. He competed in the first London marathon in 1981 and has also completed the Lanzarote Ironman.
He still runs most days of the week and has helped lead a number of highly successful couch to 5km programs with Marlow Striders. Brian loves the outdoors, so if not running, loves to be out walking in the countryside.
Sharon
Running has always been Sharon’s biggest passion and a constant throughout her life. Initially she competed as a 100m/200m sprinter at primary school and went on to discover a love for cross country at secondary level which then led her to achieve success with longer distances on the track. Since moving to Wycombe over 30 years ago she has been a regular entrant at most of the local fun run/10k/1/2 marathon events. More recently she has also developed a love of destination marathon experiences, and has ticked Florence, Athens and Barcelona off her ever expanding bucket list. Sharon supplements her running habit with regular Pilates, Spinning and Bodypump classes and she also enjoys swimming and cycling.
Pete
As a runner, Pete was a late starter, only taking up running at the age of 38. Having started with a ‘couch to 5k’ he has gone on to find his passion is in marathons (PB 2:42) and ultramarathons, completing over 100 of these longer format races, including the UTMB, Spartathlon, Spine Races, Arctic Ultras, Lakeland 100s, Thames Ring 250, and many more.
Pete and his training partner Max, a German Wirehaired Pointer, are often to be found out on local trails and at Canicross events.
Henry
Henry is a high level distance runner. He runs on the road, track and the cross country. He was south of England champion for the road 5k in 2023. He has acquired PBs of 3:55 for 1500, 8:29 for 3000m, and 14:39 for 5k. He studied for a year at Wingate University in North Carolina and now studies at the renowned sports university at Loughborough. Outside of running he’s a massive Chelsea fan as well as a season ticket holder at Reading FC.
-
PASSIONATE ABOUT RUNNING
We are all experienced runners and love to talk all things running with our customers.
-
EXPERT ADVICE FROM RUNNERS
Free gait analysis and extensive experience in fitting shoes. Whether its advice on starting running or the challenge of the marathon; we can help.
-
EXTENSIVE RANGE OF PRODUCTS
We stock a wide range of running footwear and clothing and pride ourselves on having lots of options, whatever your requirements.
