Ben Cooke Turned 18 Running Stores Into a Trail Running Movement with Marathon Sports

🎤 From All-American Runner to Running Retail’s Most Restless Builder: Ben Cooke at Marathon SportsBen Cooke, President of Marathon Sports, has spent 25 years building things inside companies he didn’t own — then lost everything trying to build something that was truly his. Along the way he helped create Fleet Feet’s corporate retail arm, launched their e-commerce platform, built an On Running program that became 8% of On’s global business, and is now turning a 30-location New England specialty retailer into a trail running brand with global ambitions.✨ Key Insights You’ll Learn:Competitive athletics as the foundation for a business career driven by daily PRsRunning Princeton Running Company as a de facto entrepreneur for 11 years under a Koch Industries executiveSelling to Finish Line and stepping into a national roll-up role without M&A experienceTransitioning from owned retail to franchising and why the cultures require entirely different instinctsBuilding Fleet Feet’s e-commerce, Amazon business, and distribution center from scratchThe On Running partnership that took them from zero to hundreds of thousands of pairsAcquiring Marathon Sports in 2022 and growing from 18 to 32 locations in four yearsTrail running as a flywheel — races, field trips, and dirt camps building the customer of tomorrowWhy win-win-win is the only deal structure worth pursuingLosing everything on two outdoor stores in Colorado and what the failure actually taught him🌟 Ben’s Key Mentors:Princeton Running Company founder: modeled entrepreneurial decision-making at the local level, inspired by Koch Industries’ market-based management philosophy — without ever naming itFleet Feet leadership: gave him room to innovate across every department and scale concepts from zeroPodcasts (Founders, Acquired): a daily MBA on the commute, replacing incidental mentorship with intentional learning from the best business minds in historyHis own failures: the Colorado outdoor stores taught him that systems and teams — not individual toughness — are what allow entrepreneurs to flourish👉 Don’t miss this conversation about building something from inside someone else’s company, the specific deal structure that turned On Running into a powerhouse, and what it feels like to lose everything you put in and still say you’d do it again.🔗 Connect with Ben Cooke:Website: marathonsports.com📤 Transcript Available: Ben Cooke Turned 18 Running Stores Into a Trail Running Movement with Marathon Sports📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast📤 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line Website: addbackbenefits.com