LEXINGTON, Ky. — The owners of John’s Run Walk Shop want to help the local community get a head start on its fitness plans for 2023. Each year, the athletic shoe store hosts the Resolution Run, an event designed to encourage a more active lifestyle.
On the first day of the new year, participating individuals run into the new year with their resolutions in mind. “It’s open to all resolutions. We just set up our arch, and we set up a time clock.” said Riley Marshall, general store manager. Marshall’s family are also the current store owners.
The family-run store has been in operation for over forty years and has helped with the city’s tennis-shoe needs and much more. The Marshalls say they work to connect the Lexington community to tennis shoes by offering a unique experience. The Resolution Run is one example of this approach.
At the event, people got a chance to write down their intentions for the year ahead as well as run, walk or jog at their own pace.
“We have familiar faces, people who come back for their next pair of running shoes, over and over again. Because your feet change over time, we get to know a lot of our regular customers in a way that you don’t see in a lot of other businesses,” Marshall explained. And in two months, visitors can return to the shop and perhaps celebrate a goal well achieved.
“We do that because most people are likely to break their new year’s resolution within the first six weeks of the new year so having that kind of secondary goal to get to Feb. 11 is a powerful thing to help people keep that resolution and keep that through the rest of the year,” Marshall said.
The shop is currently collecting used tennis shoes at its entrance to help the national nonprofit sneaker impact.
To learn more about the store’s shoe deals and the recycled shoe initiative, go to Johnsrunwalkshop.