The calendar’s turn from summer to fall tends to bring out a flurry of energized activity from run specialty shops. It was no different this year and Running Insight senior writer Danny Smith highlights some spirited acts, accomplishments and noteworthy news from the nation’s run specialty retailers.
The need for speed – and a shop for it
With the fall racing season on the horizon, Philadelphia Runner debuted The Speed Shop pop-up at its Center City store (photo above). Sitting in the store’s mezzanine level – a flexible space Philadelphia Runner adapts to different needs throughout the year – the Speed Shop features a dedicated, curated selection of racing shoes and performance trainers from Altra, Brooks, Nike, Mizuno, Diadora and others alongside other race-day essentials.
“We wanted to make it easier for runners to explore performance footwear in one place, whether they’re choosing a race-day shoe or a faster training option,” Philadelphia Runner chief marketing officer Liz Pagonis says. “It brings a curated selection together with the fitting expertise our team offers every day.”
To celebrate the launch of the Speed Shop on August 9, Philadelphia Runner hosted a two-hour demo event allowing runners to trial some of the collection’s sprightly models on a run.
The Speed Shop will remain open through Philadelphia Marathon weekend (November 21-22) while Philadelphia Runner also created a dedicated Speed Shop collection on its website.
Pacers Running Names Dalby President and CEO; Farley Joins Redo as Senior VP
Dalby, who has served as CEO since 2015, will now be responsible for driving the growth and oversight of the entire business, including its retail stores, its e-commerce and marketplace channels, and its portfolio of owned and operated races.
As part of the transition, Relay Goods, the certified pre-owned performance footwear platform Farley co-founded, will also become part of Redo. Farley brings more than two decades of specialty retail experience to Redo's work with brands and retailers across the industry.
Farley will remain connected to Pacers as a board member, where he will serve as an advisor to Dalby and focus on supporting the company's long-term strategic vision. The two have worked together for more than 20 years and are committed to a smooth transition. In her expanded role, Dalby will take on a larger presence in Pacers' vendor relationships and will continue to lead a Pacers leadership team with more than 100 years of collective experience at the brand.
Dalby joined Pacers in 2002 and was named CEO in March 2015. In 2006 she founded Pacers Events with Farley, which has since welcomed more than one million finishers across its portfolio of nationally regarded events, including the DC Half. As CEO she has led the expansion of Pacers' retail and events footprint, overhauled its financial and operational systems, defined the company's strategy, and delivered sustained annual growth. She is a past president of the Running Industry Association, serves on the board of the Running Industry Diversity Coalition, and is a co-founder of empowerun.
“Pacers Running has spent the last several years defining a strategy and building the foundation this moment requires: maturing our systems, strengthening our vendor relationships, investing in our communities, sharpening our brand position and developing a team that delivers the absolute best service to our customers and athletes,” says Dalby. “Chris's enthusiasm for the runner and his commitment to the DC area have always been a north star in how we serve and operate, and they are part of our DNA. I am excited for this next era of run specialty and for how we can serve the runner of today and tomorrow.
“Kathy is one of the most respected leaders in run specialty and for good reason. She is as sharp a strategist as this industry has and her impact on the channel goes well beyond Pacers,” adds Farley. “I am stepping aside to join the team at Redo, an exciting organization that is solving real problems for our vendor partners and fellow retailers. Bringing solutions to the run specialty channel I love, and to the brands and stores that make it what it is, is the kind of work I have wanted to do for a long time."
Redo is an all-in-one e-commerce platform that helps brands turn every post-purchase moment into revenue. Its products span returns and exchanges, claims and warranties, order tracking and editing, shipping and fulfillment, returns warehousing and recommerce, and AI-powered SMS marketing. Redo is used by more than 4500 brands and is among the highest-rated apps on the Shopify App Store. With the addition of Relay Goods, Redo extends its post-purchase platform into certified pre-owned footwear, giving brands and authorized retailers a way to recover value from fit-based returns and surplus inventory while making performance running shoes more accessible.
A more-than-miles summer XC challenge
Cross-country runners know summer months are vital to autumn success. With that in mind, Virginia-based =PR= Run & Walk teamed with Nike to create the Run the Summer Challenge.
Recognizing that summer base building is about more than logging miles, the initiative focused on building the complete athlete. Its challenges sought to foster the daily micro-habits that develop well-rounded runners, supportive teammates, great friends and, ultimately, the next generation of leaders within the sport, =PR= Run & Walk-RVA general manager Bronson Lee says.
A challenge card featured multiple categories, such as recover, fuel, fun and community, and various activities within each. The recover category, for instance, tasked harriers to lock in eight-plus hours of sleep, stretch/foam roll and minimize screen time, while the community category challenged participants to volunteer their time, help a young athlete or organize a group run. Those who completed the card by August 15 and returned it to =PR=’s Midlothian, VA, store, received a finisher prize and were entered into a raffle for additional goodies.
“By hosting this challenge, we stepped in to help young athletes establish healthy, positive, lifelong habits right now,” Lee says. “It is all about showing them how to train smart, take care of their bodies and invest in their community while having fun in the process.”
That’s a recipe for success on the XC course and in life.
Championing movement and literacy
Alongside local libraries, Oshkosh, WI-based Fusion Footwear launched a summer program called “Read & Run” to encourage area residents to read and move their bodies with intention throughout the summer months. The Read & Run challenge urged participants to walk or run 26.2 miles and read 26 books by August 31. Those who turned in a completed tracker to Fusion by the end of summer were eligible to win a free pair of shoes from Fusion.
However, Fusion took another step to champion literacy and physical fitness among the local populace by installing the Fusion Footwear Learning Library outside its retail shop. Modeled after the free little libraries that pepper neighborhoods across America, Fusion’s “little library” features books themed around wellness.
It’s worth noting, The Running Hub recently installed a little library at its Santa Fe, NM, storefront, too.
A partnership to promote speed
On September 12, Charm City Run Columbia teamed with Without Limits Physical Therapy & Performance to host the Performance Shoe Lab. For $10, a fee later credited toward any shoe purchase, participants could test their biomechanics, running economy and aerobic efficiency in four different race-day super shoes.
“With fall race season approaching and runners choosing their race-day shoes, we thought it would be valuable to give them objective data to inform that decision,” Charm City Run Columbia business lead Matt Milner says.
Milner says hosting an event like the Performance Shoe Lab signals Charm City Run’s product expertise and credibility. It also allowed Charm City Run to cultivate deeper ties with a valued community partner in Without Limits while connecting with customers in a unique way.
“My hope is that it was genuinely helpful to customers looking for the shoe that will maximize their performance and enjoyment,” Milner says.
Crowdsourcing a logo
To celebrate its one-year anniversary, Neighbor Running in Hudson, NY, turned to the crowd for a compelling logo to put on store merchandise. With a $100 prize at stake, multiple entries poured in before Neighbor Running owner Kevin Meehan selected a playful caricature of a runner zipping away with the shop’s primary “N” logo tucked under his arm.
Of her winning submission, designer Shannon Li said: “It evokes a sense of joy, delight and fun – the type of space that Neighbor Running creates.”
Meehan agreed, saying Li’s logo “does well making things approachable and fun,” which is central to the vision Meehan holds for his upstart running store. He has plans to use the logo on Neighbor Running stickers and shirts.
Saying ‘yes’ to stickers
Speaking of stickers, Fleet Feet Montclair (NJ) recently installed a sticker vending machine on its showroom floor.
Fleet Feet Montclair marketing director Maddie Fabbro says the unexpected attraction marries two ideas: giving customers the stickers they’ve been asking for while making obtaining the sticker part of the experience.
Fabbro acquired an old-school sticker machine, set it on the floor near the shop’s original neon sign and stocked the machine with more than a dozen sticker designs related to running or Montclair. Fabbro has watched kids freak out over the sticker machine, Gen Z customers stare mysteriously at the analog technology and grown men dig through their pockets looking for quarters.
“People love it,” says Fabbro, adding that the shop has already learned to keep rolls of quarters on hand. “It’s such a simple thing, but that’s what I love about it. It creates this tiny moment of surprise and joy inside the store.”
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New run specialty shops debut across America
A flurry of new run shops opened across the U.S. map.
Up in New England, Kelley’s Pace, a staple in the Mystic, CT, community for nearly 50 years, collaborated with Ashley Reichelt to open Run Manchester by Kelley’s Pace in Manchester, CT (photo above).
Marathon Sports, meanwhile, welcomed customers into its latest store in August, an outpost in North Conway, NH.
Down in the Southeast, Fleet Feet Auburn celebrated the grand opening of its outlet in Opelika, AL, on August 29, while Runner’s Depot added to its store count – now at eight – with its newest location in Doral, FL, earlier this month. While Nashville Running Company didn’t open a new store, the 16-year-old business did move its flagship location to a new spot five blocks away in East Nashville.
In the Midwest, Fitness Sports launched its seventh store in Iowa, a storefront just south of Drake University in Des Moines, IA.
And out West, Fleet Feet Treasure Valley added a location in Boise to complement its existing Idaho outlets in Nampa and Meridian.
Have a compelling event, project or initiative to propose for a future Running Spirit column? Contact Running Insight senior writer Danny Smith at [email protected] with details. You can also follow Danny on Instagram @runspecialtyinsider.
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