Running retailer Morris Medved dies at 83

For three decades, Morris Medved lived his dream.

“It was to be able to open a retail store, which was his passion, and combine it with running,” his son Dan said Sunday. “He really felt that he could bring something special to running retail. Back then there was no industry. He didn’t have a blueprint to follow. He followed his gut, what made sense to him.”

Mr. Medved, who in 1984 started Medved Running & Walking Outfitters in Pittsford, died Friday. He was 83.

“It’s a great loss for the running community,” said Scott Bagley, who won the Rochester Marathon multiple times and was a longtime competitor in area road races.

Condolences from customers and former employees filled the store’s Facebook page when Mr. Medved’s death was posted on the social media site.

Dan Medved described his father as an avid runner who, in the 1970s and early ’80s when he worked as executive vice president for Hickey Freeman, would start his days running the track at the downtown YMCA.

“He wasn’t fast,” his son said. “He wasn’t going to win any races.”

His son said Mr. Medved had a long career in retail before coming to Rochester and put that experience to work as recreational running began to boom.

“He felt that he could bring something special to running retail,” said Dan Medved, who has owned the store for the past four years. “The store was his life passion. It’s amazing how he could step back and let me find my way. If I wanted to try something different, he was supportive.”

Ellen Brenner, owner of Fleet Feet Sports, called Mr. Medved “an incredible businessman. He had a vision and he went with it.”

Mr. Medved believed in customer service and in building relationships, said his son.

“In our store, it’s never been about trying to sell merchandise to a customer,” Dan Medved said. “We’re a business. We need to make sales. When you come into our store, our goal isn’t to have you go out with as many items as possible. It’s to understand the customer.”

Bagley, who worked for Mr. Medved for a few years in the early 2000s when he was between other jobs, said he was adamant about how to greet and treat customers.

“Within one minute of them entering the store, you had to be talking to them,” said Bagley, who owns several Abbott’s Frozen Custard franchises.

He remembered Mr. Medved as tough but fair, with a surprising humorous streak. “He seemed so stern, but out of nowhere he’d come up with something to make me smile.”

To counteract the trend in self-service, one of the first things Mr. Medved stressed was measuring the customer’s feet to find the correct size shoe.

“We still surprise our customers with that,” said general manager Mort Nace. “Morris believed that was the right thing to do. You had to do it right, or you’d hear from Morris.”

When Mr. Medved started the store, runners could buy shoes from catalogs. Now there are Internet retailers.

“You can worry about competition, you can worry about price,” Nace said. “It comes down to worrying most about what happens in your own four walls. If you’re taking care of every person as best you can, they’ll value the service. That’s the legacy Morris has left behind that will not be forgotten.”

Nace described Mr. Medved as being like a favorite teacher, someone who pushed you to be better.

“His dedication to his customers and his staff was always evident,” said Nace, who was hired in 1990 and like many of the approximately 20 current employees, has had a long tenure.

“I’m honored to have been chosen to be part of the extended family,” he said.

Mr. Medved is survived by his wife, Delores; sons, Barry, Louis (Jill), Robert and Daniel (Naomi); grandchildren, Matthew, Robyn, Jordan and Max; many nieces, nephews and dear friends.

Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Brighton Memorial Chapel, 3325 S. Winton Road. Interment is at Mt. Hope Cemetery. The family will be sitting shiva from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at The Summit, 2000 Summit Circle Drive, Brighton. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to ARC of Monroe County or Jewish Senior Life Foundation.

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