Women Who Rock: Former Olympian Jenny Simpson on Making the Leap into Footwear at Fleet Feet

[ASFN Admin]

Jenny Simpson’s home is in Boulder, Colo., but you wouldn’t know it based on where she’s spent the last year-and-a-half since retiring as a professional runner. The World Champion and Olympic bronze medalist in the 1500m set off on a year-long road trip late in 2024 to run in all 50 states. And she’s now spending six months in Carrboro, N.C., to acquaint herself with Fleet Feet and her new role as chief running officer. There are essentially two sides to the role, according to Simpson and chief executive officer Joey Pointer. One sees her as an ambassador for Fleet Feet and the other is advising all sides of the business to make sure the company is authentically meeting runners’ needs. Throughout her running career, Simpson depended on coaches and personal heroes for guidance. Mark Wetmore and Heather Burroughs coached her through college and much of her professional career, while her heroes include Joan Benoit Samuelson and Deena Kastor, two pioneers of women’s running. Coming into the footwear industry, Simpson is now looking for those coach and hero equivalents — and said Women Who Rock gives her many examples. “Instead of me imagining what kind of woman I want to be in this industry,

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