Store History
In summer 2003, Lance Carter, Len Fedore, and Wade Praeger met for an early dinner at Joe's Bar and Grill in North Seattle. In a booth by the window they hatched a plan for opening a new running store.
By October the three amigos had found a great neighborhood in Kirkland, registered the name Everyday Athlete, and were negotiating a lease at Juanita Village, a new mixed-use development near the shores of Lake Washington.
Good friends Colin Brandt and Jamie Howard designed the space with a homey feel, high ceilings, lots of light, and a modest price, since Len, Lance, and Wade were financing this thing themselves.
Construction went fairly smoothly. They assembled their own shelving and put up the display walls. Wade built storage space under the window displays, and they found a cool 100 year old pine sales counter at an antique shop in Seattle. Some other friends donated a claw-foot table and a big comfy chair for the shoe fitting area to complete the living room look.
After a few delays, shoes and other merchandise started arriving June 1st. Though the shelves were still a little bare, they turned the lights on, fired up the point-of-sale computer, and were open for business on June 25, 2004.
Wade, Len, and Lance were grateful for all their friends and family those first few months. Soon however, word of a new athletic store in Juanita started spreading fast through groups like the Eastside Runners, Team in Training, Seattle Fit, Nina's Running Group, Columbia Athletic Club, Kiva, and 24 Hour Fitness in Kirkland.
Just before the store's first anniversary the folks at Promotion Events contacted Everyday Athlete about an idea they had to start a new Half Marathon in Kirkland on Mother's Day. That inaugural event beat all expectations for attendance and it was then that the boys knew things would be OK. Their Kirkland-area neighbors are an active, energetic, and diverse group eager for new challenges and willing to support local retailers.
The Kirkland Half is now one of the largest half marathons in the state, and Everyday Athlete continues to lead the way with a unique blend of service, selection, experience, and community involvement.
