COEUR d'ALENE - There it was, parked on Sherman Avenue outside Fleet Feet Sports, packed with running shoes, treadmills and quirky museum displays.

The whimsically-named Brooks Run Happy Cavalcade of Curiosities had come to the Lake City on Sunday, and the odd double-decker bus was drawing quite a crowd.

"Everyone wishes we would stay longer than one day," said Angie Corbett, Brooks event promotions manager. "Everyone thinks it's smart, and wondering how we thought of this."

Up on the top deck, Al Mayer of Coeur d'Alene, an avid runner, received a free "gait analysis." He jogged barefoot on a specialized treadmill for about 30 seconds. Overhead, a television monitor showed a close-up view of his moving feet.

When the jog was finished, Blaize McIntyre, a Brooks tour manager, looked over Mayer's running stride. In a brief analysis, he used words like "angulation," "flexion" and "pronation," then suggested the right kind of shoe for Mayer's particular gait.

"I've never had anything done like this before," Mayer said. "I think I'm going to look at what he suggested."

The shoe company's big bus was outside Fleet Feet from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. It is traveling in conjunction with the Brooks-sponsored Rock & Roll

Marathon series, and will soon be rolling through Montana.

Hidden inside the bus, a bunch of quirky displays - such as ridiculous shoe prototypes - offered some additional entertainment. Other promotional deals took place inside Fleet Feet, and there was even a bean-bag toss set up on the sidewalk.

Most visitors, though, wanted to hop on the treadmills and learn about their gaits.

"I think it was interesting," said Michelle Haustein of Post Falls, a triathlete who has participated in three Ironman competitions. "Learned that my pronation (the foot angling inward) wasn't as bad as I thought it was."

After a jaunt on the treadmill, Matt Pierson of Hayden discovered a pleasant fact: He was already wearing the perfect pair of running shoes.

"It was good to know I purchased the right shoe on accident," Pierson said. "Pretty cool thing to do here for free."

A few hours after the bus opened for business, Corbett estimated 75 people would participate in the gait analysis throughout the day. Altogether, about 200 folks were expected to stop by the Cavalcade of Curiosities.

"It's great," she said of the Coeur d'Alene location. "Great spot."