Running with the bigs

Retired Olympic distance runner Bob Kennedy is still moving as fast as ever.

Riding the wave of the post-1990s running boom, Kennedy - along with his business partner Ashley Johnson - have grown The Running Co. from a single boutique store tucked along the Monon Trail in Broad Ripple into the

Kennedy and Johnson - himself a former collegiate All-American runner - now have four stores, and the most recent expansion is their boldest yet, pitting them against mall giants Dick's Sporting Goods, The Finish Line and Foot Locker for supremacy among south-side runners and walkers. The pair opened a store at Greenwood Park Mall in December.

"There's a huge potential market currentlybeing served by store's like Dick's, Kohl's and DSW. We think our Greenwood Park Mall store allows us to speak to that market," Kennedy said.

Specialty running stores rarely locate at malls, which charge about 20-percent more in rent than smaller strip malls.