Kanayo Anekwe

Kanayo is our Special Event Coordinator, Race Sponsorship Coordinator, and our Director of Operations (yes, he does alot!).  Kanayo has been an active runner since high school. Kanayo Graduated from Quince Orchard High School in June of 2001. He ran Cross Country, indoor, and outdoor track during his sophomore, junior, and senior years. From there, Kanayo attended Mount Aloysius College in Cresson, PA. Kanayo graduated from Mount Aloysius in May of 2005 where he received his Associates’s degree in Accounting and his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.

Kanayo also ran Cross Country during his junior and senior years at Mount Aloysius. Kanayo joined the Fleet Feet team in November of 2005 and has loved every minute of it. He enjoys meeting new and exciting people who love to run. Kanayo knows that running takes a lot of determination and wishes all runners in the local area the best of luck in their athletics.  Kanayo hopes to see all of you visit Fleet Feet Sports very soon.

Flor Alvarez

Flor is our Co-Director of Sales and Merchandising.  She brought her creativity and passion for retail to Fleet Feet in February 2011.  13 years ago, she accidentally fell in to retail management at high-volume stores in the DC area and we're so glad she's ours now!  Flor got into running like lots of our customers did, to lose weight.  She has lost over 40 pounds and feels great, maintained it for 18 months, and is now trying to lose more!  She says, "Running is a great escape and has changed my life for the better!"  Please come in and talk to Flor about her experience and let her inspire you!

Outside of work, Flor really likes spending time with friends and family, and volunteering for important causes.  After high school, she was an Americorps volunteeer and learned that one person really can make a difference in the community.  We're proud that she's making a difference for our customers every day!

Peter Goetsch

Pete is a Wisconsin native who has lived and been active with running communities in Chicago and western Canada. He recently moved to Gaithersburg from Victoria, BC. A former high school teacher and pastor, Pete spent the last 7 years working closely with race directors and running stores, before he joined our store as our Co-Director of Sales.  

A lifelong love for running fuels Pete's desire to share the sport with others and to help them reach their goals. Pacing others to fulfilling first-time marathons and half marathons is a passion that he has pursued through charities like Team in Training.

Pete has enjoyed participating in many marathons from Vancouver to Boston. After taking part in archealogical digs in the Middle East, he has added the Dead Sea Marathon to his list of goal races. When he isn't at Fleet Feet you can find Pete hiking, shooting pictures, or taking the dogs for a walk with his partner Robin.

Rhonda Leib

As our Director of Purchasing and Inventory Control, Rhonda brings 15+ years of retail purchasing experience to Fleet Feet Sports, and is a certified personal trainer and certified running coach through RRCA (Road Runners Club of America).

She is one of our FIT experts in footwear and sports bras,  and will be very happy to help you get into the right equipment.

Rhonda is an avid runner, hiker, and camper.  She can be seen running 5K and other races in the area.  She has completed several half marathons, and may do a duathlon this year!

Paula Ross

Paula came to Fleet Feet Sports in September 2011 as our Director of Marketing.  As a Communications and Marketing consultant to large companies, Paula was looking for a change from that corporate, traveling lifestyle.  Paula's husband owns a small business also, and so she values the small, family-owned business environment where she can really make a difference and interact with the customers.  Fleet Feet has been the perfect "fit" for her!  Living in Lakelands with her husband and two children, she is able to walk to work and see many of her neighbors at the store.  She ran cross country and track and high school, but not too much since then! She now enjoys running 5Ks around the area and hopes to build up to a half-marathon by the end of 2012.  Paula has a BA from Allegheny College and several certifications in public relations and public participation.  She is on the Board of the Kentlands Downtown Partnership, where she is very active in the community and an advocate for small businesses in Gaithersburg.  You can also find her volunteering monthly at Whole Foods teaching cooking classes for kids. 

Karen Craney

Karen joined our team as Director of Training Programs just in time for the Fall 2011 programs, upon retirement in July 2011 from Montgomery County Public Schools after 33 years in education.  She came to running late in life but has made up for "lost time" by running 13 half-marathons, numerous 10 mile, 10K and 5K races and even ran a marathon for her 50th birthday.  She has coached with many local running programs, is an active member of the running community and considers her position at Fleet Feet a dream job for her next phase of life.  Outside of running, Karen volunteers with a number of charity organizations.  Her first passion is long distance road cycling, and she travels to Italy every year for a bike tour riding through a different part of the country as well as doing rollerblading vacation tours.  

Melissa Barber

Melissa attends Montgomery College, where she majors in Exercise Science. Her goal is to become a personal trainer.

Melissa has been running since kindergarten. She has participated in various sports, such as basketball, tennis, softball, and soccer.

Melissa is always smiling in the store and even though she looks very young, she knows the FIT process for both footwear and sports bras as well as anyone.

Amy Allnut

Amy graduated from the University of South Carolina with a Master's degree in Exercise physiology.  Prior to getting married and having kids, she was the Director of Corporate Wellness Centers in the Maryland area. In addition to Fleet Feet,  she currently is an Adjunct Professor at Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia teaching classes in Wellness/Health and Developing Physical Training Programs.  She calls herself a " gym rat" but also enjoys outside road riding and competed in a century ride to celebrate her 40 birthday!

Tish Halle

Tish, originally from North Carolina, moved to Gaithersburg in 2003 with her husband and 2 children. After many years in the corporate world, Tish finally decided to pursue her love of running and fitness and joined Fleet Feet in May 2009.  She is certified through RRCA (Road Runners Club of America) as a certified running coach.

Tish is one of our FIT experts and can help you get into the proper shoes or sports bra.

Tish is an avid runner and enjoys running marathons and triathlons (including Irongirl!) and hopes to complete her first ultra half Ironman 70.3 triathlon early next year.

Greg Pallett

Greg brings enthusiasm to running!

Although his first love is bicycling, Greg began running after making a new years resolution in 2007 to be more active. Although he started running on a treadmill, Greg now loves the great outdoors, and enjoys running 5Ks, 10Ks, half marathons and trail running.  The wackier the race, the better for Greg!  He says his favorite part of racing is carb-loading in the days before (and the days in between)!  A Montgomery county native, he is ready to share his favorite running and cycling spots along the C&O towpath.  In his spare time, he plays mechanic to his collection of aged Volkswagens.

Greg loves talking with anyone about running, and says that working at Fleet Feet doesn't feel like work because he gets to help so many people enjoy his love of the sport!

Seann Pelkey

Seann (shown with two of his student/athletes) is the coach of the Cross Country and Track teams at Quince Orchard High School as well as the teacher for AP World History.

His teams have won numerous state championships.

 He is an avid runner and can be seen at many local races. 

  Heather DeLand

Heather is a Montgomery County native and enjoys running and being outdoors .  Her parents owned a sports store in the mall where she worked in high school and college.  After graduating from Clemson University (Go Tigers!) she was the Director of Training for a National Franchise Company.  Heather recently completed her first half marathon and comes from a family of athletes - her dad was a marathoner in his early life and now is a cyclist, her mom encouraged her love of field hockey, basketball and soccer, her brothers played football and her husband played for the Tigers as a walk-on and is currently training for a triathlon.  Heather can't wait to until her kids are old enough to play sports - she is looking forward to cheering them on!

Chris Leach

Chris grew up in the Gaithersburg area, and graduated from Gaithersburg High School, where he played lacrosse for four years.  He continued playing lacrosse for awhile at Salisbury University, and graduated in 2007.  Having just moved back from 4 years in Southern California, where he was a Deputy Sheriff, he has joined our team as a FIT expert.  He has been competing in Triathlons for 5 years, racing every major distance including an Ironman (Ironman Coeur d' Alene) and several half-Ironmans.  He is now focused on running and trail running, and looks forward to getting to know the Fleet Feet Sports, Gaithersburg community!

Joel Lara

Joel recently joined the Fleet Feet Sports, Gaithersburg family as a FIT expert!  Joel grew up in Prince George's County and graduated from DeMatha Catholic High School (the best high school in the country if you ask him).  With a limited vertical leap and a suspect jump shot, he received a varsity letter in tennis instead.  To help manage the daily grind of being chained to a desk over the years, he turned to running.  It also helps him keep up with his active 8 year old daughter and 5 year old son.  With a Marine Corps Marathon and National Half Marathon finish under his belt, he's looking forward to more challenges in the future. 

Loni Borst

While Loni has been with our Fleet Feet Family for only a short while, we've known her for years because she's been coming to our thursday night Fun Runs for a long time!  She graduated from Sherwood High School in 2011 and is currently taking classes at Montgomery College, but running has been an integral part of her life.  Loni began running 5Ks at a young age, before running several half marathons around the country - including in Kentucky, Massassachusetts, Ohio, California and Florida - all before she turned 18.   She looks forward to getting to know our customers both in the store and on the half marathon courses!

Maggie Smith

Maggie attended Quince Orchard High School where she ran cross country for Seann Pelkey (a fellow Fleet Feet employee).  Though perhaps not the most impressive runner among the Fleet Feet Gaithersburg staff, she does have a handful of half marathons under her belt.  She graduated Indiana Univerity in 2010 with a B.A. in Literature and hopes to pursue an M.F.A. in fiction writing.  She loves trail running, Liverpool FC and the occasional trashy vampire paperback.