A Growing Footprint

As owner of two Wilmington Fleet Feet stores and locations now in Jacksonville and Myrtle Beach, MICHELLE FOGLE runs part of the nation’s largest franchisor of specialty running stores.

With more than 260 locally operated locations across the country, Fleet Feet provides tailored footwear, apparel, and gear for runners, walkers, and anyone seeking comfort and performance in their daily lives. “Anyone looking for footwear for athletics, or is recovering from injury, needs inserts for shoes, or needs advice about being outfitted for life, can benefit from a visit to Fleet Feet,” Fogle says.

Eleven years ago, Fogle opened her first store on Military Cutoff Road, a decision sparked by another Fleet Feet store owner and a side trip to Wilmington during a visit with her brother in Greensboro.

“I kept asking myself what I could bring to Wilmington that would both benefit the community and establish me here in Wilmington,” she says. “I loved the vibe of the growing town that still felt community-focused.”

When Fogle learned that Fleet Feet was not just about owning a retail outlet – something she said she would never do after working for a major athletic retailer during high school – she was all in.

Fleet Feet was much more than selling shoes. “I would be helping runners find ways to enjoy running even more. I would be supporting someone in rehab after a knee replacement and helping people select the correct footwear for long shifts in hospitals. And I would spend time outdoors supporting races for nonprofit organizations. I was sold,” she says.

Fogle’s spot on Military Cutoff was the perfect start but quickly became small and tight. “During COVID, business boomed as people picked up running and walking. I was quickly bursting at the seams, stocking inventory in my basement,” she says.

Two years ago, Fogle opened her second location on Carolina Beach Road.

A year later, she was approached by Fleet Feet about expanding into Jacksonville. “It’s been a rewarding experience,” she says. “It’s a great market with a wonderful staff and team. We service a lot of military here.”

And in December, Fogle expanded again, this time into Myrtle Beach, taking over a struggling Fleet Feet store. She opened in mid-January with the original Myrtle Beach staff.

“I came in when the team was facing unemployment. I paid them in between closing and reopening, and we now have a store up and running in the community they all love. That was a very cool experience,” she says.

Fogle brings a wealth of sports-related experience to her job.

“I was short, just five-foot-two in high school, so I didn’t play any sport year-round. But I wanted to play sports in the fall season to connect and make friends,” she says.

Fogle played basketball and field hockey but focused solely on field hockey in her senior year, a pivot that earned her a college scholarship. Fogle attended Central Michigan University, earning a degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing and a sports studies minor. During college, she interned with the Columbus Blue Jackets ice hockey team.

After graduation, she attended Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, a top program for sports administration, where she earned both an MBA and a master’s in sports administration. Staying in touch with the Blue Jackets paid off.

When she contacted the vice president of corporate development for guidance on resume prep, she got more than she expected. “Instead of advice, he told me to come in for an interview,” she says. Fogle became the rep for the hockey team’s marketing strategies, assets, and corporate partners, a job she describes as a lot of fun.

Fogle held a similar role for the NFL’s Houston Texans, leading the management of sponsorship activation. Long days and weekends were the impetus to look for a new opportunity. For the next ten months, she took a job as the vice president of corporate and community development for a company that trained athletes before embarking on her Fleet Feet journey.

Every Fleet Feet store is a high-energy, welcoming environment. Customers are assisted by an outfitter who has completed eighty to one hundred hours of in-store and online education. Each shoe purchase begins with a 3D scan of both feet for length, arch, width, and volume of the foot, plus a discussion on goals.

“We are not just about the shoes, but the whole system,” Fogle says. “We want to get every person to their personal finish line.”

To view more of photographer Aris Harding’s work, go to arisharding.com.

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