Damper for the anniversary: ​​run through the Severinsviertel in front of an uncertain future

Cologne -

Georg Herkenrath (71) fights. The businessman has until the end of February to find a new title sponsor for his "Severinsviertel endurance run". The contract with Netcologne has expired and a new investor has not yet been found. "But it doesn't work without a main sponsor," regrets Herkenrath, initiator of the fun run. And this year, the event is particularly close to his heart because he is celebrating an anniversary. 40 years ago he founded the sports shoe shop “Dauerlauf” on Severinstraße.

In the beginning, 400 runners took part

Giving up is not in Herkenrath's nature, last year's run through the Vringsveedel was one of the few runs that took place at all. "Back then I said: We'll pull it off, no matter how," he recalls. Around 400 runners started. "I was never concerned with the pure competitive character, but with a feel-good atmosphere," says Herkenrath. There is hardly a fun run where the starters are served pea soup and Kölsch beer afterwards. The effort is also great otherwise, around 100 marshals are needed for the run.

Networking, door-to-door, asking for financial support for the run in the Severinsviertel was never his thing. "I don't like that," he admits frankly. For this part of the job, he found Jochen Scheler as a partner. Scheler was a furniture dealer himself; he had made it to general in the Prince Guard. Whoever was important in Cologne had their number in Scheler's mobile phone contacts. But last November he died at the age of 75. "He's missing," says Herkenrath.

Georg Herkenrath knows the Cologne running scene

Georg Herkenrath comes from a family with its own shoe shop on Minoritenstrasse. In the early 1980s, he decided to focus entirely on sports shoes. “In the beginning, in addition to running shoes, we also had shoes for tennis and basketball. But when it came to running, we immediately had a good reputation,” the owner recalls. Which, in addition to the pure advice, was also due to his shoemaking skills, because if necessary, Herkenrath made the right insoles himself.

Anyone who knows the Cologne running scene also knows Georg Herkenrath. And that doesn't just have something to do with his shop - in the good times there were even six shops. Back then, together with the runner Erich Tomzig, he developed the idea of ​​running his own marathon in Cologne.

40th anniversary under corona restrictions

Georg Herkenrath would like to celebrate his business anniversary in the second half of the year. He doesn't yet know exactly what that will look like. The development of the corona pandemic will play a decisive role. In general, it was the external influences that influenced the business life of the passionate shoe expert. After the city archives collapsed not far from his shop in 2007, a crisis began that ended in bankruptcy. "For four weeks, no customer came into the shop, it couldn't go well," he recalls.

He would be only too happy to activate the registration for the run through the Severinsviertel in the coming weeks. He doesn't want to give up his belief in a new main sponsor just yet. In the good years, 2,500 runners started at the Severinstorburg, "that was gigantic," enthuses Herkenrath. Children with kidney disease were always among the participants, and a foundation took care of their care.

New running shoes are tested on the street

When Herkenrath opened his "Dauerlauf" shop 40 years ago with his brother and father, it was the first specialty store in Germany to offer shoes of all popular brands. Before he sells shoes, he has his customers walk up and down the street. "I don't think much of a treadmill analysis because the posture is different than with normal running," he says. And does he always find the right shoe for the customer? “We are not infallible. But we have a high hit rate,” he states.

When the lockdown was declared over last year, there was a real rush on his business. “People were drawn outside. They wanted to move,” he says. But in the meantime it has “become much quieter”. But Georg Herkenrath is not yet thinking about retiring. "As long as I'm having fun, I'll keep going," he says. He doesn't have to think long about a wish for an anniversary. A sponsor for his run.