In June 2019, Heartbreak Hill Running Company expands our 4th store from the hills of Boston to the wind-swept streets of Chicago, right on course with our 10 year anniversary. We were in love and incredibly proud of the community we'd built in our Boston neighborhoods and nationally. We saw that we were making strides unique to brick-and-mortar run specialty shops; making training accessible, curating impactful events with top athletes and leaders within our communities, and connecting to the greater community through what we do, like when we released our "We The People Run The Democracy" hats to encourage voting during the 2016 elections.
Our mission statement at the entry-way of Heartbreak Hill Chicago.
After considering a few different cities, we knew Chicago was It. This is a city made of grit and grid, Lakefront and 606, and hard-core Marathoners. In some ways, it felt just like Boston - but much cooler, windier and flatter. We did some research on those who had been in this community long enough to know what the Chicago running community needed. We found Luc Larson, former Nike Run Club Coach and friend of nearly every Chicago run (and cycling) team. From there, things moved quickly. We scoured locations and found a gorgeous storefront 1 mile from the lake. Luc designed his dream store - bright, open, inviting and energizing with an industrial feel. My father and I drove down with tools and supplies to build the wooden fixtures, product displays and shoe wall by hand. We hired a full crew. On June 3rd, within a month of signing the lease, we opened our doors. We are so proud to now call Chicago home.
