our story

  • Carolyn

    Treads President, Footwear & Apparel Specialist & has the Imagination to Someday be a Jeopardy Finalist!

  • BROCK

    Footwear & Apparel Specialist, Aspiring Sous Chef (breakfast only), a Shoe GEEK, and moderately afraid of Bears (but not Chicago Bears because… Come On)!

  • Kadence

    Aspiring Footwear & Apparel Specialist & the Swiftiest of Swiftie’s in all the land!

  • RIVER

    In-Training Footwear & Apparel Specialist and next Messi hopeful… that often cautions his parents that it simply ain’t happening. 😀

  • Whitley

    The Next Footwear & Apparel Specialist, Aspiring Screen Actors Guild Host, and the Humor of a Ferociously Playful Kitten.

In 2012, Brooks Running created a national grassroots marketing contest. "Submit your idea for an amazing community grassroots event, and you have a chance to win the grand prize for you and your staff."
Well, we had an idea. We created a $5 5K for charity. All proceeds for that week's $5 5K would go to a local charity.

By strengthening those in need in our community, we're strengthening our whole community.
Brooks loved the idea, and we won the Grand Prize. Brooks was prepared to give us thousands of dollars for staff to have an amazing trip/party/adventure, whatever we would choose. The problem was... we only had Carolyn, Jeremy and Brock on staff, we had just opened the store in Rochester, and we didn't feel like we deserved such a generous gift. So, we requested all of the money we had won to be in the form of shoe gift certificates, and we gave over 100 certificates (2 certificates per charity), to 50 Rochester charities. Our request: Give 1 pair of shoes to someone working for the organization that continues to go above and beyond, and another pair to someone outside of the organization that is passionate about contributing to the overall success and longevity of the organization.

The same people that created the Grassroots Marketing idea in 2012 are working very hard to make Minnesota Treads a space that’s inviting to everyone! This time, there are a few kids that are intimately involved in the process.


We're excited to be consulting with the next generation of community strengtheners, and we hope to inspire young entrepreneurs to lead with passion, inclusivity and positivity.