Caroline Bermel

Caroline lives in Boynton Beach, Florida. She’s strictly a road runner who trains through the hot, miserable Florida summers and the beautiful Florida winters.

She prefers soft shoes with loads of cushioning underfoot and some bounciness to help her keep up the pace. Her favorite running shoes are currently the Saucony Endorphin Pro 4 and the HOKA Cielo X1 2.0.

Caroline started running to get in shape for the varsity soccer mile time trial, where she struggled to break 7 minutes. Her proudest running accomplishments are breaking 20 minutes in the 5K and qualifying for the Boston Marathon.

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Kate Schwartz

Kate lives in Asheville, North Carolina. She runs through hilly roads, greenways, and gravel and dirt trails through the Pisgah National Forest. She trains through humid, muggy summers, mild winters and gorgeous springs and falls.

She loves her shoes to be lightweight and responsive. While she appreciates a nice, thick slab of cushioning underfoot, she doesn’t like anything that’s too soft. Her favorite shoes are the HOKA Cielo X1 2.0 and the On Cloudeclipse.

Kate knew she had potential as a runner after beating all the boys in the Presidential Physical Fitness Test in elementary school. She signed up for track and cross country and continued to compete through college and beyond. She considers her half marathon PR of 1:17:01 to be her proudest running accomplishment, along with her ability to pursue new running goals as a mom approaching the master’s category.

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Mandy Wahl

Mandy lives in Greensboro, North Carolina where she trains on single-track trails and greenways. She runs through hot, muggy summers and mild winters.

Mandy loves bouncy shoes that add some spring to her step. While she doesn’t like overly cushioned shoes, she enjoys a moderate amount of midsole foam underfoot. Her current roundup includes the Mizuno Wave Inspire 21 and the On Cloudsurfer 2.

Mandy began running in college after her then-boyfriend told her he liked girls who ran. She ditched the boyfriend but kept the running routine, and has found joy and tranquility on the trails. Her proudest running accomplishment is finishing the challenging Pilot Mountain to Hanging Rock 50K while 20 months pregnant.

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Max Coatney

Max resides in Chicago, a city he describes as the best–and windiest–city for running. He mostly runs on city sidewalks and the paved Lakefront Trail, unless he can make a trek to the single-track trails in the suburbs. A true Midwesterner, he loves running through all four seasons.

Max enjoys a balanced blend of firm-to-soft in his running shoes and, as someone with self-described weak ankles, appreciates a wide, stable base. His current line-up includes the Brooks Glycerin Max for easy runs, the ASICS Novablast 5 for tempo days, and the HOKA Mafate Speed 4 for trails.

Max started running when he joined the Fleet Feet Chicago team. He soon completed his first half marathon, a major victory after landing in the hospital for a collapsed lung just six months prior. His proudest accomplishment is earning third place on the .37-mile Strava segment outside the Fleet Feet corporate headquarters in North Carolina, surpassing other speedy coworkers who won’t be named.

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Travis Myers-Arrigoni

Travis lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where the winters are harsh and the summers are warm and humid. He spends his time on both roads and trails–depending on the terrain of his next race, of course.

Travis prefers neutral running shoes that are lightweight with a wide base for support. The more bounce, the better! His favorite shoes right now are the ASICS Novablast 5 and the On Cloudeclipse.

He started running cross-country in eighth grade to get in shape for basketball season, and soon realized he was much better at running fast than shooting hoops.

His proudest running accomplishment is pushing past the dreaded wall to run a blazing 2:29:19 at the 2022 Boston Marathon. As if that wasn’t enough, he turned around and earned an 11th place at the Pittsburgh Marathon just two weeks later. He hopes to run a 100-mile race and qualify for Western States someday.

Heather Fencik

Heather lives in Cincinnati, Ohio. She mostly sticks to the roads, but she appreciates a good trail run when time allows. Living in the Midwest, she experiences all four seasons as she trains.

Heather loves soft yet responsive shoes. Her latest favorites are the ASICS Superblast 2 and ASICS Novablast 5.

She started running in her late twenties out of curiosity. After hating running as a kid, she was surprised to find herself training for her first half marathon. Once she conquered the half, she was hooked. Her proudest running accomplishment is showing her two children that their mom can do hard things, from a 5K all the way to a 50K.

Brandon Rossi

Brandon is a recent Seattle transplant who's just getting used to the rainy weather after living in California.

He enjoys neutral shoes with soft, squishy cushioning and a high stack height. On race days, you can find him in a responsive shoe to help shave off those precious seconds. His favorite shoes at the moment are the the Saucony Endorphin Speed 5, the ASICS Superblast 2 and the ASICS Novablast 5.

Brandon started running on his middle school cross country team at the age of 12. The challenge of the sport and the community of the team kept him going all the way to his first marathon–his proudest running accomplishment. He is currently on the market for a running coach to help him get back on track for another marathon training cycle.

Tom Rivett

Tom lives in Syracuse, NY, and runs on a mix of single-track, gravel and paved paths around his local trails or along the historic Erie Canal just outside his doorstep. He enjoys the variety of running through all four seasons in Upstate NY and loves to hit the trails in the winter after a fresh snowfall.

He typically prefers neutral running shoes with wide toe boxes, lower stack heights and plenty of “ground feel.” His current quiver of shoes includes the Altra Lone Peak 9, Altra Experience Wild 2 and ASICS Cumulus 27.

Tom quit the lacrosse team in high school because there was “too much running involved,” only to rediscover his love for the sport after signing up to run the Philadelphia Half Marathon with a family member. His proudest running accomplishments are finishing top ten in a technical, 15K trail race appropriately named the Morgan Hill Meat Grinder, and holding first place on a Strava segment at his favorite trail—a title he mentions sparingly in fear that someone will dethrone him.

Mason Stafford

Mason lives in Durham, North Carolina. He enjoys running on all surfaces, from roads to tracks, trails, and crushed-gravel greenways, such as the famous American Tobacco Trail. He runs all year round, regardless of the weather, but he wishes it could always be the crisp fall of North Carolina.

Mason enjoys just about any shoe that will keep him moving forward but has a soft spot for those bouncy, responsive options. His favorite shoes right now are the ASICS Superblast, adidas Evo SL, and Nike Alphafly 3.

Mason began running after he started working at Fleet Feet Charlotte. He has a background in biking and a bit of rugby, where running was often used as a punishment if things went off the rails during practice. Nevertheless, he decided to give running a try by joining his store's local training program, and he has stuck with it ever since!

His proudest running accomplishments have been to support and encourage his friends as they crush their training/racing goals.