Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/869063
14 runninginsight.com © 2017 Formula4media LLC. J .D. and Chris Denton, married co-owners of the Fleet Feet Sports location in Davis, CA since 1993, will retire at the end of the month. With their retirement, the Dentons will sell ownership of the Davis store to Dusty and Staci Robinson, husband and wife, and the current co-owners of the Fleet Feet Sports location in Sacramento, CA. The official transaction will take place on or around Sept. 1. "People overuse the word legend, but really in this case, I can't think of a more appropriate word to describe J.D. and Chris," says Joey Pointer, CEO of Fleet Feet Sports. "Their impact on our brand and the running industry in general is beyond compare. While J.D. and Chris weren't the original owners of the Davis location, they certainly embraced it as their own from the get-go and built it into the store we all know and love today. We will miss them dearly." Originally from Texas, J.D. Denton earned a B.A. in Communications from Wichita State in Kansas in 1973. While pursuing his degree, he met Chris Denton, and the pair married and moved to North Carolina. In North Carolina, Chris Denton served as a registered dietician in cardiac rehabilitation while J.D. Denton began his career in retail and sporting goods, where among other jobs, he served as buyer for Omega Sports. In 1993, the Dentons moved to California to begin operating the Davis location, becoming full co-owners of the business in 1996. With the move to California, J.D. Denton also began writing a monthly column for Running Times under the persona "Shoe Guy," sharing observations, insights, and musings on the culture of running shoes, and the subsequent adventures runners encountered in the right pair of shoes. In 2008, he was inducted into the Specialty Running Hall of Fame by members of the Running Industry Association. His last "Shoe Guy" column, his 150th, ran in 2010. "To be able to look back on a life and know that I spent it doing the things I loved with the people I loved leaves me feeling nothing but gratitude, " says J.D. Denton. "Running specialty may now be more in a state of flux then when I first came into this business, but I know what hasn't changed, and that is you will find no group more passionate or more invested in the success of their customers than specialty running store owners. Fleet Feet Sports has been an extended family for us for over 20 years, and while it's on to the next chapter with my Shoe Chick, this Shoe Guy remains the biggest believer in what a locally owned and operated running store can do for a community. I know the next generation of Shoe Chicks and Shoe Guys like Dusty and Staci will continue to create magic in running communities across the country." " We've h a d qu it e a n unbelievable year in terms of the opportunity to carry on t he lega cy of som e amazing owners, " says Dusty Robinson. "First with Pat and Jan Sweeney retiring from Sacramento in 2016, and now with the Dentons, Staci and I feel fortunate to have learned from the best. We are fully prepared and ready to continue to support the robust running community Chris and J.D. have created in Davis, and to build upon the initiatives and programs they have planned for the fall." The Dentons plan on staying in the Davis area, traveling and spending time with their son, his wife, and their two children. n Long Time Fleet Feet Sports Owners Announce Retirement Top photo: Chris and J.D. Denton. Bottom photo: Staci and Dusty Robinson with sons Caleb, Travis, and Bode. Top: Wayne Tilcock / Davis Enterprise; Bottom: Staci Robinson.