The History of Phidippides
The history of Phidippides Running Centers mimics the history of the running boom of the 1970's. In 1972 Jeff Galloway realized his life's dream of participating in the Munich Olympics and also held the American 10mile record. He spent his summers traveling and competing on the racing circuit while completing college degrees in history and social studies. After a year of teaching he missed running and came up with a plan to open a running store stocked with the best gear, staffed by runners trained in the science of fitting shoes. The idea seemed timely. Jeff scraped together enough money to open a small store in Tallahassee calling it Phidipppides after the Greek messenger that was credited with running the distance that is now known as the modern day marathon. One of the few running companies that would sell product to Jeff was a new unknown company called Nike. After a year and a half, Jeff moved the store back to his native Atlanta. By 1978 the running boom was in full stride and Jeff had established over 35 Phidippides franchise stores nationwide. After this great success he decided to focus on writing and teaching the benefits of running through his clinics, fitness vacations and his nationally recognized Galloway Training Programs. Jeff continues to oversee the two Atlanta stores and has several store employees with over 20 years of experience, boasting the most experienced running specialty store staff in the country.
