Partnership

Lehigh Valley Running Scene is excited to announce a new partnership with The Finish Line Running Store. Chris Schmidt, owner of The Finish Line, stated that he has appreciated the support and efforts of LVRS and was happy to form a partnership and work together to promote a greater sense of community among area runners.

The Finish Line Running Store was established in 1981 and served it’s customers for 26 years from its Allentown location on 12th Street before relocating to it’s current location in Emmaus three years ago. The store is now located on the Triangle in Emmaus at 10 South 4th Street. Chris Schmidt has a background in pedorthic foot management and has been in the shoe business for over 25 years. Pedorthics is the design, manufacture, fitting and modification of shoes and related foot products for the amelioration of painful or disabling conditions of the foot and leg. It makes sense that expertise in this field would be beneficial to being a running store owner and you can be sure to get great advice on which shoe works best for you.

The store carries a variety of walking and running shoes as well as this year’s hot item, Vibram Five Fingers. You can also find other products such as apparel, socks, compression sock, arm sleeves, watches, water bottles and running books. If you can’t find it, ask. Chris and his crew are happy to help find you the right solution for your needs.

The Finish Line sponsors the Ironton Rail Trail 10k, Pig in the Park 5k and the Emmaus Halloween 5k each year as well as supporting various other running events throughout the Lehigh Valley. This past Spring, The Finish Line re-introduced its group runs on Tuesday evenings. All runners are welcome to join and all pace ranges participate. On the last Tuesday of each month runners meet up after the run at a local restaurant for food and drinks.

Chris is dedicated to the community and gives back by serving as a collection station for Souls4Soles, an organization which collects gently used footwear and donates them to people in need. Since its inception following the Asian tsunami, Soles4Souls has distributed over 10 million pairs to people in 125 countries. Instead of throwing away your unused running shoes, or shoes of any kind, bring them by The Finish Line.

Another program which Chris helps to support is Medals4Mettle, an organization which collects unused marathon medals and recycles them by passing them on to people who have shown courage in dealing with handicaps, disease and other such challenges. Our local Medals4Mette contact is Maia Geiger who has a collection box at The Finish Line for your unused medals.

Lehigh Valley Running Scene looks forward to this new partnership with The Finish Line. Stay tuned for more exciting social events in the works and a chance to get to know your fellow local runners through this new partnership.