MANCHESTER, CT — As a crowd gathered in front of Manchester's newest Main Street business Tuesday, Mayor Jay Moran, in his ever-eloquent style, perhaps summed it all up in two sentences.
"I've said. for years, Manchester needs a running store at the start-finish line of the road race," he said. "And we are, what 300 yards away from it?"
Welcome to Run Manchester by Kelley's Pace. It is an expansion of the famed Mystic running store that honors the legacy of Olympian and six-time Manchester Road Race champion John Kelley with a local twist.
A grand opening was staged Tuesday at 785 and 789 Main St. Longtime owner Jeff Anderson has teamed up with Manchester native Ashley Reichelt to operate the new store.
The location is perfect, they said.
"It's definitely road race territory," Anderson said.
"I run up and down Main Street all the time, so when I saw the vacancy, it was meant to be," Reichelt said. "It fits in nicely with the area."
Like the original Mystic store, the Manchester location has a focus on running shoes (most major brands) and apparel, fitness accessories and specialty shoe-fitting.
A map of all major Manchester running routes sits by one entrance. Road race posters also add to the atmosphere.
Here's a peek at the store:
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