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New Running Shoe, Apparel Store Races Into Fairfield

FAIRFIELD, Conn. — When Preston Ranton came home for college, he started to work at his mother’s running store in Branford.

Preston Ranton, general manager of Soundrunner, poses outside of his new store. Soundrunner is scheduled to open its Fairfield location in August.

Preston Ranton, general manager of Soundrunner, poses outside of his new store. Soundrunner is scheduled to open its Fairfield location in August.

Photo Credit: Jay Polansky
Soundrunner is scheduled to open its Fairfield location in August in the former location of MediaWave.

Soundrunner is scheduled to open its Fairfield location in August in the former location of MediaWave.

Photo Credit: Jay Polansky
A banner announcing the arrival of Soundrunner hangs on the bulletin board of the Fairfield University Bookstore in downtown Fairfield.

A banner announcing the arrival of Soundrunner hangs on the bulletin board of the Fairfield University Bookstore in downtown Fairfield.

Photo Credit: Jay Polansky

His family has since sold that store — called Soundrunner — and their company to Marathon Sports, but he still manages the company's Connecticut stores. 

But this August, he plans to open a Soundrunner branded location in the old MediaWave video store in Fairfield. 

The 2,700-square-foot store will carry a wide range of running shoes, active apparel and sports accessories.

“Anything related to running, we plan to be the go-to store for it all,” Ranton told The Daily Voice from a park bench outside his soon-to-be-open location.

The store will also feature running clinics and group runs. Ranton said he has had success connecting runners with these events at his other stores.

“We have been able to build good communities in places we’ve touched down,” he said.

Compared with the big-box sporting goods stores, Ranton said his store offers employees with extensive training and personal experience with sports.

“We’ve been there and done that — we can relate,” he said.

Many of his staff members have been with the company from the beginning, staying on even after Marathon bought the company, Ranton said.

And the company is still expanding. He plans to open a new store in Glastonbury at about the same time as the Fairfield store. And while Ranton said there are always opportunities for new locations, he plans to focus on his existing stores for now.

Ranton attended the Fairfield Half-Marathon last week, where runners gave him positive feedback on his new store and the one that had previously occupied his storefront.

“They were all sad to see Media Wave go, but [they] were happy to see a running store go in,” he said.

Although he did not officially enter the half-marathon — though he casually ran part of the course with the elites — Ranton is a runner himself. He took up the sport since working at his mom’s store. 

Last year, he ran the Hartford Half Marathon. This year, he plans to run The New York City Marathon — his first race at the 26.2-mile distance.

Ranton hopes his store will help those who run those long races — as well as the many local races.

“[Fairfield] is such a vibrant running community,” he said, “We felt like we needed to be supportive of it.”

The store will be located in the heart of downtown at 1596 Post Road and is scheduled to be open seven days a week. 

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