After 20 years operating out of Rozelle, Running Science has become an institution like no other in its field.
How it all began
Running Science was founded in 2003 by two amazing human beings that continue to leave their own mark in their respective fields of expertise: Brett Reynish, a Flying Doctors pilot, podiatrist and health clinic owner, and Richard Windybank, one of Sydneys leading sports podiatrists.
When I took over in August 2014, the stage was set for the next phase of growth. As I began entering into the dreamworld of business ownership, I slowly realised I’d hit the jackpot.
Owning a specialist shoe business with almost no knowledge on human biomechanics or anatomy, I was in for a wild ride. Except for an illustrious record of trying out various running and triathlon pursuits with gusto, all I had was my ambition, passion and drive towards passing on the positive power that exercise had on the mind, body and soul to others.
With my eyes closed, I climbed straight onto the steepest and most important learning curve of my career. Learning about the deep and complex relationship people had with running shoes, the importance of shoes for overall health and wellbeing and what running can bring to various communities showed me we had an amazing recipe to shape the running and movement store of the future.
In 2015, I became the director of The Run Beyond Project and, almost overnight, the marriage between truly purposeful work and our for-profit machine was sealed. By providing shoes and services to one of the most meaningful and relevant charities of our time, the complete fabric of Running Science was established. We were now actually helping the disadvantaged while continuing to grow and expand the human-centric service offerings we were becoming known for.
Westconnex, wildfires and Wuhan
Then we hit a bump in the road when Sydney’s major road project shut our street down for a year. This was followed by a bushfire season and a global pandemic, rattling the window bars of a shop that’d had nearly 100,000 people pass through it.
We were frightened and we nearly succumbed.
But thanks to a very solid support network, our running group and some very special champions of the store, we kept pushing forward and pivoting. During this period, our new list of abilities leapt like a Swan Lake ballet dancer.
Resilience is one of the main things we teach our pupils in the Run Beyond project, so it was clear that resilience in the face of much adversity was required. We lifted our chins up and kept our posture strong while we brought ourselves out the other side with a smile on our faces.
Now here we are in 2023, with the best team we have ever had, in the best location we could think of. And we are ready to build out the best movement health hub Sydney has ever seen. Celebrating 20 years with our community, customers and charity is a significant milestone for us and we are proud as punch to bring ourselves back out in full swing for 2023 and beyond.
Jonathan Fletcher
Owner – Running Science