It is something that the large chains cannot emulate. The team environment, great service and advice based on having ‘done it’, are all examples of what specialist running sores give to the community and the sport. Team racing is a lot of fun when older runners, like me, can rub shoulders with elite athletes and enjoy the camaraderie unique to our sport. This friendly rivalry adds spice to races and even allows older runners (like myself) the opportunity to ‘represent’ in races. In keeping with local tradition, Wennerstrom sponsors a running team which competes with teams from Runner’s Depot and Runner’s Edge at local races year in and year out. Wennerstrom even met his wife, Beth, at one of the many fun runs and training sessions held at the store weekly. Since then, Running Wild has gone from strength to strength. Hard work, long hours and passion for the sport carried Wennerstrom forward to the point where he bought out Vladimir and Virga and became the sole owner in 2011. He had managed the Runner’s Edge store since 1999 and with this solid grounding felt it was time to have a 100% stake in a business. The road from runner to businessman started in 2007 when he teamed up with Tom Vladimir and Carol Verga- current owners of Runner’s Edge in Boca Raton – to buy Running Wild which had been in business since 1986. It is testament to the store and its stewardship that two staff members have worked there for over 20 years. The new store premises in Fort Lauderdale are modern and welcoming with an excellent core of staff including the peerless Robert Hendrick, indefatigable Lauren Fuchs and frighteningly fast Mike Stone among others. He loves what he does and takes pride in serving local runners with great products, advice and support throughout Running Wild. Wennerstrom is as much a passionate entrepreneur as he is a runner. He has races at the major marathons of Boston, Chicago, and New York. On one occasion, he entered a marathon with practically no training for the event and ran a 3:30 – a time many runners only dream of reaching.Ī naturally gifted runner, Wennerstrom has an impressive list of PR times in SK’s, 10Ks, half marathons and full marathons. He can often be seen to jump into a race at the lsat minute and usually places very high. He rarely trumpets his achievements and does not currently race a regular calendar season. It’s part of our culture and varies in expression from hard core endeavor and pride, to pleasant surprise at race times depending on our ability. Runners love to talk about PR’s in races. He never looked back and now running is his life and livelihood. He recalls attending a Junior Striders track meet when he was eight years old and falling in love, no doubt aided by considerable ability. As with so many runners, the lifelong passion that is running was well established before getting to the more organized environment of a a high school. Indeed, he was so good in the latter discipline that he gained a cross country scholarship to Flagler College in St. Born in Fort Lauderdale in 1973, he was raised in Boca Raton.Wennerstrom attended Spanish River High School where he was a standout on the track team and more particularly, the cross country team. Wennerstrom is a rare example of a genuine “local” from South Florida rather than somewhere else! He is a proud Dolphins and Miami Heat fan and truly represents the area he comes from. Wennerstrom has been a leader in the local running scene since 1999 when he started his career in the retail trade as what was, for him, a natural adjunct to his self-evident ability as a talented runner. One of the these, Running Wild, located on Sunrise Blvd in Fort Lauderdale, is owned and run by Don Wennerstrom. Broward County is fortunate to be home to a couple of major independent running stores that serve the needs of the local running community in unique and personal ways.
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