A Q&A with Christi Beth Adams

A crowd of people listening to a concert in a park

NASHVILLE FLEET FEET OWNER SHARES HER STORY

A woman standing inside a Fleet Feet store
A runner wearing a hydration pack posing for a photo on a mountain
A woman posing for a photo with two kids


Christi Beth Adams has lived in Nashville for 20 years. She went from briefly working in corporate advertising to wearing running clothes most days to work. But her entrepreneurial drive never waned. Today, the talented runner and mother of two owns three Fleet Feet Sports stores in the Nashville area.


She is, without doubt, a central figure in the running community there. So, after filming Run This Town Nashville, we asked her a few more questions about her history, running, her stores, and what it means to run and play in Nashville, Tenn.


How did you get into running?

I am the youngest of three kids. My oldest brother—who’s 10 years older than me—is a runner. Growing up, I went out for just about every sport but running. And I wasn’t good at any of them. So, in middle school, I tried running. I wrote a letter to the high school cross country and track coach and told him I wanted to run.

He let me on the team and arranged for a school bus to pick me up 20 minutes before school let out every day and take me to the high school for cross country practice. This was before there were any rules about age and competition and distance. I was a 4th grader competing in the same races as high-school seniors. And, I loved it.

It just so happened that I had talent, especially in the small town where I grew up. I went to state my first year, in the two-mile. And then I qualified for state every year after that and won my first state track championship in the 7th grade. Then, my freshman year of high school, I won the cross country state title.

Running quickly became a big part of my identity. I went to college (Belmont University) on a running scholarship and ran all four years (1998 - 2002).

While I wasn’t the top runner there, I was definitely the most motivational runner. I loved helping everyone reach their goals (I was the team captain because of it). That carries over to today. Supporting and motivating my staff, my training program participants, and my customers to reach for and achieve their goals, is a big part of being a Fleet Feet Sports owner.

You were on a professional track in the corporate world. What changed?

I graduated first in my class with a double major in marketing and psychology. To me, being a part of the corporate world was the pinnacle of success. At the time, I dreamed of going to an office and working long hours. I thought that’s what it meant ‘arrive.’

I did a little bit of advertising work, and I hated it. The corporate world wasn’t what I expected. I loved school, and I loved working hard, but when I entered the corporate work world, it just felt too specific. When you work in a massive organization, you only have ownership over a small piece, and I wanted the ability to do a lot of different things.

Before that, I had a very narrow view of what success meant and what business looked like. I never imagined that what I’m doing today would even a possibility for a job. It’s incredibly rewarding. And I get paid to talk about running!

Nashville is a booming music industry and, at the same time, is a robust running community. Why do you think runners love it here?

In Nashville, you can experience—and run through—four seasons. And we have beautiful scenery. Plus, in many ways, running developed the identity of a lot of Nashville neighborhoods. Even though it’s a big city, it’s not a metropolis. We have a small-town feel that you don’t get in most big cities.

But what about the heat? It’s OPPRESSIVE in the summer. How do you manage running through such intense weather?

For those of us who run year-round, running in the summer is physically hard. We often joke that running in the summer in Nashville is as close as you’ll ever get to blood doping. In fact, if you can survive a Tennessee summer, then your body will be changed.

And we all go around all summer long feeling like we’re not fit. But we all band together and suffer, and we know that when fall comes around it will all be worth it. And every year it is. As soon as cooler weather settles in, it’s like we’re supercharged!

Some people have altitude training; we have humidity training. ... It’s at least what we tell ourselves.

It's commonplace to see music industry celebrities in Nashville. Do you have any fun stories of celebrities in your stores?

We’ve had a lot of celebrities shop with us, and we don’t make a big deal of it. I’ve never asked a celebrity to take a picture with me, and we’ve never put a celebrity's picture up on the wall. We want them to have a normal experience when they come in just like everyone else. It’s the Nashville way. Perhaps that’s the reason a lot of celebrities like to live here.

I remember the first time Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban came into the store, though. I had a young employee, who was getting super excited ... like groupie excited. So, I sent her to the back room and told her she couldn’t come out until they left. She didn’t know the Nashville way yet; she had to learn.


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