Often Running, based in Bloomington-Normal, IL, is closing within weeks as the store’s manager Mitch Hobbs is set to retire. The store is located at 206 S. Linden Street.
Hobbs also told WGLT’s Sound Ideas that the closure “reflects an increasingly competitive environment as the pandemic accelerated the shift toward online buying.” He also cited staffing challenges, stating, “People’s expectations have changed and we knew this was coming 10, 15 years ago that people’s expectations of what we have and what we do is going to dramatically increase,”
Chris Koos, the owner of Often Running, is also the owner of Vitesse Cycle Shop, which is located in the same building and will remain open.
Often Running was established in 1992 and Hobbs has managed the location since 1995. The Often Running Racing Team, sponsored by Saucony, was established in 1996 by Hobbs. He has also helped manage several races in Bloomington-Normal and in the LaSalle-Peru area.
Image courtesy Often Running
