ADRIAN — Rachel (Ham) Miller was a middle school runner at Hudson when she started coming into Running with E’s, the store at 146 N. Main St. in downtown Adrian that supplies many area runners with shoes, apparel, accessories, nutritional supplements, and more.

And as the Clayton native progressed into becoming a star runner at Hudson High School and then at Siena Heights University, Running with E’s owners, Eric and Kerri Clarke, saw something special about her. 

That’s why, when the Clarkes started thinking about retiring and turning their store over to a new owner, Miller was the one they wanted to carry on their legacy.

“You get to know your people,” Eric Clarke said. “Watching her, and watching how she’s grown up, it wasn’t a question. … She has great character. She’s everything you want.”

The Clarkes approached Miller with the idea and she talked it over with her husband, James. There was some hesitation at first, she admits, because the couple already owns a business and they have three young children.

“So I didn’t know how this would work,” she said. But she and James ultimately decided to say yes. She began working with the Clarkes last August and officially became the store’s new owner in December, just as the business was embarking on its 25th year of operation.

The Clarkes, both lifelong Lenawee County residents, opened Running with E’s in December 2000 because “we saw a need for it,” Eric said.

They had a running club in the mid-1990s — Eric is actually the runner of the two of them, although Kerri loves to walk — and knew the strength of the local running community, whether it’s school and college programs or individual runners.

It was that community that banded together to help the Clarkes get their new business off the ground, even coming in to do the physical labor needed to transform the building into its new life.

The couple quickly developed a store that serves as a hub for runners from all over the area. Customers come from not only throughout Lenawee County, but from Jackson, Hillsdale, and Monroe counties as well as Ohio, and the Clarkes began and sponsored many area races as well as serving as race directors both locally and elsewhere.

Running with E’s outfits not just runners and walkers of all ages and abilities, from weekend joggers to professional racers, but also those who simply want to wear better shoes for everyday use.

“A big portion of our business is everyday people,” Kerri Clarke said. “Lots of people come in and say, ‘I don’t run.’ ”

What separates the store from many others, such as big-box stores, is the quality of the shoes and the customer service involved. People buying shoes will have their foot structure and gait evaluated, get a professional fit of just the right shoe for their needs, and have a chance to test the shoes out.

Miller said the biggest mistake people make at other stores is buying shoes that are wrong for what they want to do, or are even the wrong shoes for their feet. 

In fact, Kerri added, “most of the people who come in turn out to be wearing the wrong size.”

Shoe technology has definitely progressed over the years since the Clarkes opened their store. And while that sort of change will continue, none of what made Running with E’s the store that the Clarkes built over the course of 24 years will be different under its new ownership.

“I actually didn’t want anything to change,” Miller said, “and that’s what most of the customers who’ve come in for years would think too. … It’s what works for this community. What’s the saying? ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’”

Miller’s first experience as a runner came in sixth grade when she had friends in school who participated in cross-country. “I wanted to run,” she said, “and I was the fastest in the class by far.”

That’s even how she met her future husband. She beat him in the school’s President’s Physical Fitness competition. James, for his part, went home and told his family, “There’s this red-haired girl at school …”

When she went on to high school, her coach asked her which records she wanted to break, and her answer was simple: “All of them.” She finished her high school career with all but two, and still holds seven of them.

Her running success continued at SHU, where she was coached by Tim Bauer. Bauer, who retired from the university in 2023, continues to be a fan both of hers and of the store.

“This is one of the friendliest places,” he said. “They’ve been wonderful people.” And, he said, he knows what the Clarkes do: that Miller was the right person to take over the business.

Why does Miller like to run?

“You’ve heard of the runner’s high?” she asked. “I try to get that every time I run.”

Besides, she said, the sport has both physical and mental benefits, with research showing that running “is the best thing you can do for your mental health.” And, Eric chimed in, “it’s also the only sport you can do anywhere,” because all people need are their running clothes and shoes.

For the Clarkes, selling the store gives them a chance to do some of the things that have been hard to impossible for them as business owners.

“It was time to sell,” Eric said. “We have things we want to do and grandkids we want to spend time with.”

“We’ve missed a lot of family time,” Kerri added. Still, she said, “we wouldn’t have sold if it wasn’t to the right person. If it meant working another three or four years, we would have.”

That was why they were both so pleased when Miller took them up on their offer to sell the store to her. And as the ownership transition took place, “it’s just confirmed our decision,” Eric said.

Not that the Clarkes might not still be around every now and then. “I’m not kicking them out,” Miller said, laughing. “They’re welcome here anytime.”

Running with E’s is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. For more information, call 517-266-6344 or go to runningwithes.com.