MSRC History
Let's Go For A Run
For over 40-years, Movin’ Shoes the store, a family owned, privately held Madison institution, has been the home of the Movin’ Shoes Running Club. Back in 1983, under the leadership of Movin’ Shoes founder, Roger Eischens, and local high school and community running coach, Tom Kaufman, the Movin’ Shoes Running Club was born.
In early days, the club offered monthly meetings with community speakers, running workshops, a multi-page monthly newsletter (in those days, it was printed and mailed), twice weekly track workouts, coaching, Saturday and Sunday club runs, and local races nearly every month. There was an annual holiday party and an honor roll of members’ race results. In these early days, one of the most popular runs was the Summer, weekly, “Watermelon Run”. This 5-mile race boasted some speedy times, a kid’s race, and a great excuse to enjoy watermelon in a community setting.
As of today, the club now boasts 400-plus members, seasonal races (with awesome drawings), scholarships for college-bound high school runners, and multiple organized runs a week:
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Sunday Social Run
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Monday Recovery Run
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Tuesday Fast & Steady Run
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Wednesday Queer Run or Seasonal Water Workout
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Thursday Women’s Run or Monthly Pub Run
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Thursday Spring-Fall Track Workout
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Saturday Trail Run
Below is a chart that illustrates the club’s growth since 2018:
The club’s inflection point occurred during Covid. With the club’s roster at less than 100 members, the elected Board leaned into the goal of creating meaningful inclusion. Understanding that by creating a welcoming environment and by offering a choice of running paces ranging from 12 minutes-a-mile down to 7:30 minutes-a-mile, the club could cover the needs of most runners in our community. The Sunday morning run, the largest of the weekly runs, quickly grew as runners of all paces were able to find their people. This run will draw 70-100 runners each week: year-round, through rain, cold, heat and snow. It also doesn’t hurt that free coffee is served after every Sunday run (a fun communal nod to the days of the Watermelon Run).
For the next 40 years the Club will continue to adapt to the needs of the local community, though its statement of inclusion will be a constant:
We strive to connect runners across race, pace, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sex, gender identity, ability, age, religion, non-religion, and sexual orientation. We are on this journey together and recognize that there is work to be done regarding racism, social justice, and equality. We are dedicated to fostering a running community that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive. Anyone committed to treating others with dignity, respect, and fairness is welcome here; we encourage runners to bring their whole selves, knowing that they will be respected – because running is for all of us.
