Kelley s Pace

JUST OUTSIDE THE entrance to Kelley’s Pace in Mystic, CT, stands a statue of John Kelley and one of his many training partners, a Golden Retriever mix named Brutus. Kelley was a New England running legend: a prep phenom who set the national record in the mile, a two-time Olympian (1956 and 1960), the 1957 Boston Marathon champ, a coach to accomplished runners like Amby Burfoot and, later in life, a pioneer in run specialty retail when he opened Kelley’s Pace in 1978.

While Kelley passed in 2011, his namesake shop endures under the ownership of Jeff Anderson. A former advertising executive, Anderson purchased the store in 2014, expanded and remodeled in 2020 and earned a Best Running Store in America nod in 2022.