It was certainly never boring. So in RAPID FIRE, CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER here’s my look back at 2024.
We spent the first part of the year scheming on how to best support our teammates competing in the Olympic Trials Marathon in Orlando. We landed on throwing a “NO I DIDN’T QUALIFY, THANKS FOR ASKING” party the night before the marathon, one that lasted into the early hours of race day. Courageously, we turned around a few hours later to set up a classically over-the-top cheer zone along the course. (Note to the reader, this is a young man’s game, but I was brave.) For our hard work, our new friends at Citius Mag named us one of the (non-running) winners of the trials.
The Mill City remodel NEARLY KILLED ME. If you ever see that look in my eye again, remind me to think twice about the structural remodel of a 100 year old building while trying to stay open for business. Okay, it turned out tiiiight, but I’m still traumatized. Take a virtual tour here and if you haven’t popped in yet, swing through, and take a look-see.
Fast forward to June, and we went a little crazy in Duluth over Grandma’s Weekend with TRACKSMITH & ON. Lessons learned: confetti cannons are both fun for the crowd and terrifying for the runners. Even in a steady downpour we found joy in running and celebrating with our teammates.
Sometime in July as I was on vacation when my phone started blowing up. I was being informed that Common (yeah, that Common) showed up on IG wearing our Diadora x Mill City collab jacket. Yeah, that was a trip and no I don’t have an explanation.
At the start of XC season we were able to expand our support of Twin Cities public school running programs with some help from our good friends at NIKE. Very few moments in my career will match dropping the surprise that this entire team was being given new training shoes. Thanks Jake, go Hawks!
More recently we witnessed the Twin Cities Marathon redemption tour with the weirdness you’ve come to expect from us. Cereal mascots (shoutout General Mills), Olympians (shoutout Clayton Young), and gongs (shoutout Stephanie). Near perfect weather and the rowdiest cheer zone on the course greeted the runners as they crested Summit. Drea wore a squirrel suit, my dogs were terrified by the noise, and we didn’t get sanctioned by the City/PD/TCM. A huge win for the program.
A few weeks ago we took our annual trip to Texas for THE RUNNING EVENT. For those not familiar, TRE is a scene. Every brand, store, race, and running influencer makes their way down to Austin for a week highlighted by the Running Industry awards show. We’re fortunate to say we were once again named a Best Running Store and this year were presented with the ON Impact Award for our work on sustainability, equity, and advocacy in running. The award is over at MCR now, it looks less like a tooth in person.
To wrap, I have two thank you’s. First to our customers, who continue to support this pirate ship and believe in our mission of growing running.
Secondly, to our staff (all 36 of you) thanks for showing up every day and leading with empathy, passion, and delivering authentic experiences. You guys are so fricken fun to work with.
TLDR: We’ve had a pretty charmed year.
— Jeff
