Local retailer steps into new role for annual race

Matthew Day

Staff

April 21, 2025

APPLETON – John Hanc, “Runner’s World” magazine contributing editor/writer, once remarked: “The real marathon is never the race, but the preparation leading up to it.” 

Julie Johnson said for her, marathon preparation has taken on a whole new meaning. 

Where she formerly ran in the Fox Cities Marathon as a participant, she now “runs” it as race director – a role Johnson said she’s relished for three years and counting. 

“It’s really a dream come true, and it’s a great passion of mine,” she said of the position. 

Johnson said the race has continually evolved since its 1991 inception. 

“The marathon has grown so much,” she said. “I mean, the distance in a full marathon doesn’t change… but the environment changes, and the number of people changes – the whole event in general changes year after year.” 

Part of this evolution, Johnson said, has entailed adding other races to the weekend of the marathon, spanning a range of distances and participants. 

The year’s events (set for Sept. 19-21) now include: 

• The 26.2-mile marathon 
• The 13.1-mile half marathon 
• A half-marathon competitive walk 
• Relay events 
• A 10K run/walk 
• A 5K run/walk 
• Quarter- or half-mile Kids Fun Runs 
• The Diaper Dash 
• The Toddler Trot 

As the annual race weekend draws ever larger crowds – with last year seeing more than 4,500 registered participants, up 18% from 2023 – Johnson said in order to offer a safe, organized and amenable experience for all, each of the individual races/events is sponsored by a regional company. 

For 2025, she said the 10K run/walk has a new presenting sponsor: Fleet Feet Fox Valley. 

Johnson and Fleet Feet Fox Valley Co-owner Leah Schapiro said the local retailer has long been involved with the Fox Cities Marathon, and they’re excited by the new sponsorship. 

Schapiro said the store specializes in high-quality goods for runners, while also seeking to foster a sense of community for those who partake in the sport. 

After opening the store with her husband in late 2009, she said Fleet Feet Fox Valley has been eagerly engaged with the race weekend by coordinating trainings and parties, staffing the races’ fueling and recovery stations, securing additional sponsorships, t-shirt design and much more. 

“We’ve (worn) nearly every hat that we could have up until now, to help move the event forward,” she said. “In any way we can, (we ask) where is the pain point, and how can we help eliminate or bridge the gap when there’s a need?” 

When the need arose this year for a new presenting sponsor for the 10K run/walk – one of the weekend’s more recently added races – Schapiro said she recognized how special it could be. 

“There’s never been an opportunity to step into a position like this,” she said. “Julie reached out and let me know they were looking for someone (to sponsor the 10K), and I said, ‘Well, we might be that someone.’ It was that simple. And then obviously, (it meant) going back and looking at our budget and saying, ‘How do we make this fit?’” 

Schapiro said the decision to take on the sponsorship was all the more appealing due to the nature of the run/walk, with its distance representing an important step in development. 

“To me, the 10K is the biggest opportunity to grow,” she said. “A lot of people still have a challenge in completing a 5K, but a 5K is a relatively common run/walk distance.”

There’s a huge gap, Schapiro said, between a 5K – which is 3.1 miles – and a half marathon at 13.1.

“It’s a very different commitment level,” she said. “I’ve always felt like there was a gap, and that there was a lot of potential for the 10K distance, so to be involved in helping to spread the word that it is a relatively new distance that the marathon offers, I love that… It enables more people, whether they want to climb to the next distance, or they need to bridge the gap and they have a goal of someday doing a half a full marathon, this is the perfect sort of catalyst for that.” 

That consideration and desire to elevate others, Johnson said, is why she reached out to Fleet Feet Fox Valley for the sponsorship. 

“It’s a great fit – it just made sense,” she said. “I am so happy they are on board at this level, and the great things they’re going to do with their sponsorship… They have such an engagement with the area (and) with the community here, and as a national brand as well. That is their philosophy, and I couldn’t ask for a better sponsor that has that like-mindedness.” 

Fleet Feet Fox Valley 

Since opening Fleet Feet Fox Valley more than 15 years ago, Schapiro said, similar to the Fox Cities Marathon, her work is “ever evolving.” 

“There’s no finish line to learning about running,” she said, “and sharing (that) with other people.” 

Schapiro said Fleet Feet Fox Valley is “definitely more than just a store,” becoming a place for runners of all experience to pool wisdom, trade tips and encourage one another. 

“Nearly everything we sell is available in other places, so we always remind our staff that people don’t necessarily come to us for the products,” she said. “They come to us for our knowledge and expertise, (and) for the fact that we’re going to make a recommendation and guide them.” 

Schapiro said she likens the interaction with customers to that of “a hairdresser or a bartender – you get stories from people.” 

“We believe in the relationships that we build, and when we tell customers ‘come back and tell us how it went,’ we mean it,” she said. 

As a result of this level of service, Schapiro said Fleet Feet Fox Valley was recognized in 2021 and 2024 by The Running Event  – per therunningevent.com, “North America’s premier run and outdoor specialty retail conference and trade show” – as one of the country’s 50 Best Running Stores. 

A less formal, yet no less cherished recognition, Schapiro said, comes from the common endorsement the store receives from rehabilitating/injury-concerned runners and their care providers. 

“(Runners) come (to the store) because of the technology we use,” she said. “We have a lot of medical providers in the community that trust we’re going to get their clients’ needs met. And it feels really good, honestly – I love it every day.” 

With the new Fox Cities Marathon 10K Run/Walk sponsorship, Schapiro said the rewards of her work are further magnified, with its economic impact on the Fox Valley, the positive race weekend experience for the thousands of participants and potential to draw more. 

“I don‘t think it will ever become the Chicago Marathon, but also, why not?” she said. “Why not figure out how we can continue to spread the word about the event, and bring more people in? The (Fox Cities) Marathon does such a great job bringing (in) people from all over the country and even outside of the country. We just want to continue to make that happen.” 

By sponsoring the 10K run/walk, Schapiro said it helps to make it a more inclusive weekend for family members of marathon runners. 

“It’s kind of a ‘something for everyone’ (event),” she said. 

More than a marathon 

Both Schapiro and Johnson said a strong sense of community flourishes amongst runners. 

“Running is not a solo sport,” Schapiro said. 

The marathon and its associated races, they said, represent the running community contributing to the broader Fox Valley. 

“A lot of people don’t realize that Fox Cities Marathon is a nonprofit,” Johnson said. “We take our race proceeds and we donate back, and we have been doing that since 2006. Before then, we were providing purse prizes for the top male and female finishers, and someone said, ‘Well, why are we sending money out when we can keep the money in and make a bigger impact in our community?’” 

In total, she said the race weekend has amounted to nearly $1.2 million in funds raised and given back. 

Per the website, past charity partners have included: 

• Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin 
• City of Neenah Fun Run Program 
• Appleton Fun Run Program 
• YMCA of the Fox Cities 
• Riverview Gardens 
• UW Oshkosh Nursing Program 
• MyTEAM TRIUMPH 

“I think the biggest surprise to a lot of people is… how many dollars are generated for organizations in the community,” Schapiro said. “This marathon is so unique in so many details that it focuses on, and the way that it is primed to just give back.” 

With parent company Fleet Feet being a national company with nearly 300 retail locations, Schapiro said Fleet Feet Fox Valley can “use a lot of our brand power in the industry to move not only the industry forward, but to bring resources into the community to leverage what we’re doing.” 

Sponsoring the 10K run/walk, Schapiro said, offers a larger opportunity for the store to give back. 

“My husband and I met at the American Red Cross, so we were living and breathing nonprofits (before co-owning the store),” she said. “So, that’s kind of always been an underlying priority to us – not just what we do in the four walls of the business, but what we do for the community outside of the store.” 

Johnson said she works with the marathon’s board of directors to suggest a list of apt recipients for each year’s funding. 

“In 2023, (with) our race proceeds, we were able to give back $43,000 to (about) 25 local nonprofits,” she said. 

Just as important as financial donations, Johnson said, are organizations’ efforts to recruit volunteers to work the event, as well as companies’ in-kind donations – such as water throughout the courses, pickles at the finish line and other goodies and coupons for participants. 

Another way she said she encourages companies to get involved is to participate in the event’s Healthy Business Challenge. 

The challenge, she said, awards the greatest percentage of company-wide participation, with categories for all sizes of businesses. 

Last year, Johnson said approximately 240 people participated in the Healthy Business Challenge. 

“It brings out the camaraderie,” she said, “but it (also) really brings out the healthy lifestyle.” 

However people participate and contribute, Johnson said it’s only through this collective effort that the Fox Cities Marathon succeeds. 

“It takes support from not just the Fox Cities, but from our counties, from our state and everyone involved,” she said. “If it weren’t for everyone, we wouldn’t be here, and we wouldn’t be coming back every year, if we didn’t see the positivity that comes with it. I’m just happy to be part of it.” 

Registrations open, sponsorships available 

Race registration has been available since mid-January, and Johnson said runners from more than 25 states have already signed up. 

She said she encourages early registration for the financial discount, to establish a healthy and reasonable training regimen for the year and to ensure a spot for the events. 

“We sold out on some of our events (last year), where we couldn’t take any more registrations – especially our kids’ events and our Saturday events, and a couple of our Sunday events were sold out,” Johnson said. “So, if you want to secure your spot, do it now at a great rate.” 

The community also benefits from early registration, she said, as the event’s donations are determined based on anticipated proceeds. 

Sponsorships and volunteering opportunities are still available for the 34th annual race weekend, Johnson said, with more information available on the website (foxcitiesmarathon.org). 

For local hobbyists and families, runners hoping to qualify for the Boston Marathon, the regional companies and volunteers involved and the sponsorships like Fleet Feet Fox Valley’s, Johnson said she’s “really excited” for what looks to be another fun and impactful event. 

“We always have some great things up our sleeves – you don’t want to miss out on that,” she said. “We always want to make it fresh and exciting.”