Meet Mark Cosmas of iRun in Arcadia

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mark Cosmas.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Mark. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I have been a long distance runner for a long time and always quietly dreamed of owning my own running store. 8 years ago our first daughter passed away at 5 months old, SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome). My wife Katie and I were obviously devastated. We learned the hard way that life is too short and I left my job of 18 years and a year to the day that she died- our store, iRun was open. And we have been open for almost 7 years. We also have a charity 5K run every year to raise money for SIDS research. In the 6 years of the run we have raised $650,000 for SIDS research.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Early struggles were just getting all the top vendors on board and getting the word out. But everything has been mostly good since we opened.

iRun – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We are a full service running, trail running and hiking shop. Our staff is very knowledgeable and experienced in running and racing of all kinds. We have group runs from the store and enter all sorts of events as a team. We do movie nights and teach core classes for runners. I am most proud of the fact that we give away more to charity and the needy than most other stores combined. Our experience and service is really what separates us from the rest.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
First I would say that the people we have helped to reach their goals is our proudest accomplishment. It has also really been the amount of money we have raised for SIDS research and other charities as this is what our store is all about, giving back.

Contact Info:

• Address: 6715 N 3rd st
  Phoenix AZ 85018
• Website: irunshop.com
• Phone: 602-368-5330
• Email: mark@irunshop.com
• Instagram: irunshop
• Facebook: I-Run
• Twitter: irunshop
• Yelp: irunshop

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.