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Footworks, South Miami’s oldest running shoe store and the longtime unofficial headquarters for South Florida runners, celebrated its 50th anniversary on Sunday, May 14, 2023.
The milestone was commemorated in a most appropriate way…with a Mother’s Day Twilight five-kilometer (5K) race/walk presided over by owner Laurie Huseby and her son J.P. Huseby, manager of the iconic landmark located at 5724 Sunset Drive.
“Footworks got its start in 1973, when my dad moved to Miami and opened an Earth Shoes store,” explains Laurie. “Soon afterward, my husband Hans Huseby and I moved down from Minneapolis to manage the store and when my father died in 1976, we bought it from my mother. Earth Shoes filed for bankruptcy and Hans came up with the idea of opening a running shoe store. The rest is history.”
The athletic Hans instinctively sensed that Miami was on the cusp of a running boom, which proved correct. In 1977 he and Laurie began organizing “fun runs” in Matheson Hammock Park and one evening they formed the Miami Runners Club in their living room. Before long, Footworks became the go-to location for running shoes, clothing, advice and camaraderie. It remains so to this day.
Footworks began sponsoring races in Miami in 1978 and a year later, Hans ran the Orange Bowl Marathon in the extremely competitive time of 2:52. Laurie ran her first marathon in 1980 at a very respectable 3:43. Five years later, Hans and Laurie directed the inaugural Miami Corporate Challenge, now known as the wildly successful Corporate Run, which Footworks still directs every year.
Hans passed away in 2014 and more than 1,000 people turned out for a celebration of his remarkable life. The City of South Miami proclaimed S.W. 57th Court, which intersects with Sunset Drive near Footworks, to be known as Hans Huseby Way.
Today, under the direction of Assistant Store Manager and accomplished runner Josh Liebman, Footworks offers Fitness 101, half-marathon and full marathon training programs several times each year. The store also hosts free fun runs each Tuesday and Thursday at 6:30 p.m. for everyone from beginners to advanced runners.
Fitness 101 is a beginner’s training program encompassing seven weeks of training tips and low-mileage running for beginners, while the half and full marathon training programs are 16 weeks and 21 weeks long, respectively.
Footworks also directs three popular family-oriented 5K races and block parties each year called the Twilight Trilogy, sponsored Baptist Health’s South Miami Hospital and Mercedes Benz of Coral Gables and Cutler Bay. The next event, known as the Dusk 5K, will take place on September 24, 2023. Walkers as well as runners are welcome.
“The wonderful thing about our 50th anniversary is that we get to celebrate Footworks’ 50th anniversary all year long,” says Laurie.
Footworks is located at 5724 Sunset Drive in South Miami. For more information, please visit www.footworksmiami.com.
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