Just Opened: Fairmount Running Company

Philadelphia runners, revise your routes and get over to Fairmount Avenue to check out the area’s latest running specialty store.

Fairmount Running Company, which opened August 3, is owned by former St. Joe’s track teammates Joe Lanci and Karl Savage. Also the owners of Jenkintown Running Company, the Philadelphia area’s first (and one of the most well-known) running store, the pair offers personalized, hands-on service.

“A lot of times people will go to a big box store and grab the cheapest pair of running shoes or talk to someone who really doesn’t know what they’re talking about,” says Lanci. “Then those people wind up getting shin splints or stress fractures based on the shoes they get. We’re a full-service running specialty store, so we do foot gait analysis. We look at their arch height and the width of their foot and we guide them through the shoe selection.”

Though the store mainly carries Nike, Asics, Saucony, Brooks, and New Balance shoes (both running and casual sneakers), the owners are always willing to special order another brand or product. Other merchandise includes everything from running attire to energy gels as well as the newly popular Vibram FiveFinger shoes, designed for barefoot running.

Additionally, customers can feel comfortable asking questions about training and other running issues. Savage, still a presence in Philadelphia’s running community, represented the U.S. the U.S. team in the World Cross Country Championships and took third place in the 2009 Philadelphia Marathon.

Savage and Lanci offer discounts to high school and college track team members as well as club runners. “We’ve been down the same path as a lot of high school and college runners,” Lanci says. “Shoes can be expensive, especially when you’re blowing through a pair every three months.”

Already a strong presence in their new community, Lanci and Savage have teamed up with the Fairmount Running Club, who will begin their Wednesday night runs from the store. They also hope to expand to do other group runs throughout the week.

Fairmount Running Company, 2023 Fairmount Avenue, 267-639-6047.