Outdoor Insight

By Cara Griffin K nown as "Wyoming's Jewel," Sheridan, population approxi- mately 20,000, boasts a quaint downtown and the scenic Bighorn Mountains. For runners, the area is also well-known for hosting the Bighorn Trail Run ultra run. Mother-daughter duo Michele Maneval and Karen Powers know a thing or two about Sheridan's charming retail scene and ultra running history. They not only own four store- fronts downtown, but also are the founders and race directors of the Bighorn Trail Run, now in its 27th year. On the retail side, it all began back in 1977 when Powers and her Sport Stop co-founder Donna Wilson, both active athletes, opened a small shop offering sporting goods and footwear. They later expanded into more categories, with the outdoor market becoming paramount to the store's success. Powers has since bought out her partner and brought her daughter Michelle Maneval on as her partner and GM. Both women are highly involved in community outdoor event planning and are race directors for multiple events, including the Bighorn Trail Run. Today the family owns two downtown Sheridan buildings, with four storefronts, employing 20 people. The Sheridan Sport Stop is the "mothership," with Foot of the Big Horns being a footwear-specific door. They also own the Sugar Boot, a sweet shop and novelty store, and an outlet store where they sell discounted merchandise. "My mom opened the store when I was 7 years old," says Maneval of Powers, recalling that her mom was always active and was an avid racquetball player as well as a cyclist, and that Powers "started running 100 mile races when she was in her forties." The genesis of the Bighorn Trail Race came about back when the Bighorn Mountains were threatened by a West Coast power develop- ment strategy called the "Dry Fork Project." Attention to the potential fate of the mountains became a local concern. Ultimately, the "Dry Fork Project" was tabled and Bighorn Trail Run was born during this process to increase public awareness of the natural beauty, rugged terrain, and unique geology of the Bighorn Mountains and the Dry Fork and Little Bighorn River drainages. For The Sport Stop owners, the race's launch also helped spur interest in the store and its offerings. The events and retail businesses are similar at their core, Maneval believes. "It is just part of being an outdoor retailer," she says. "It's about introducing new people to the outdoors and connecting with athletes. That's just part of being in retail. When we started the race, we knew it would bring business into our store and that we could educate people about what you need in order to run these longer races and go long distances. To this day that still happens." The Bighorn Trail Run now includes not only 100 mile distances, but 50, 32 and 18-mile races as well. The 18-miler is very popular with people who "want to get their feet wet," says Maneval. Participants travel from around the world to compete in The Bighorn. The store, as you'd expect, carries a variety of footwear and packs and everything else a runner might need. "Footwear is constantly evolving and chang- ing, so we feel that in running it is important you purchase from brands built by runners," says Maneval, highlighting Altra and Hoka as two standout brands for the store. In addition to The Sport Stop, Maneval notes that running three other doors in the city, while challenging, is in part about investing in downtown retail. "We have a cool, quaint T H E G R E A T E I G H T I N O U T D O O R S / O U T S I D E T H E B O X The team behind The Sport Stop in Sheridan, Wyoming has both race directing and retail covered. An Ultra Family Affair T H E S P O R T S T O P outdoorinsightmag.com 28 • Outdoor Insight • May 2019

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