8 — Thursday, April 18, 2019
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
From Fleet Feet to Michigan: The Fenty family and a culture of exercise
Phil
Fenty
runs.
He
bikes. He swims. Fenty runs
ultramarathons
—
100-mile
races that can take nearly 24
hours to compete.
“What’s even more crazy is
that he did them twice,” said
Andrew Fenty, his grandson.
“And to qualify for that event
you have to run numerous 50
mile events.”
Phil Fenty runs Ironman
races,
even
the
Ironman
World Championship — the
most
grueling
of
triathlon
competitions.
He
races
in
all these competitions as a
septuagenarian.
“He
does
everything,”
Andrew said.
Adrian Fenty, Phil’s son and
Andrew’s father, runs every
morning often at 5 a.m.
Shawn
Fenty,
Adrian’s
brother and Phil’s son owns
Fleet Feet in Washington D.C.,
arguably the nation’s premier
running
store.
He
outfits
hundreds of runners who travel
to his store in search of the ideal
fit for a long run, much like the
ultramarathons Phil competes
in.
And Andrew?
Andrew plays tennis. The
freshman anchors the Michigan
men’s tennis team, finishing
with 22 singles and 18 doubles
wins — both the highest totals
on the Wolverines this season.
Fenty and his twin brother
Matthew had a lot of energy
as young children. Adrian, the
boys’ father and the mayor of
Washington D.C., decided to
introduce sports as a way to
channel this enthusiasm into
something constructive. Then,
from a friend who went to high
school with Adrian and lived
nearby, Adrian found tennis
and signed the boys up. When
they were three or four years
old, he took his children to a
tennis academy owned by his
friend.
“He would let them hit even
when they weren’t ready for
it,” Adrian said via a phone
interview. “So by the time they
were four, they actually could
hit pretty well and do practices.
“They played a lot of other
sports for a while, but tennis
was always the sport and by the
time they were 12, it was the
only sport.”
And
as
Andrew
would
eventually learn, tennis became
his sport. Just like track for
his father, marathoning for his
grandfather and cycling for his
uncle.
The passion for athletics and
fitness began with Phil, when he
was in his thirties and wanted
to keep up with his sons and lose
weight, according to Adrian. So,
Phil decided to take up running.
It was inexpensive and required
minimal equipment, just a pair
of running shoes. But as he
continued to pursue it, running
became more than just a means
to lose weight. Running slowly
became Phil’s passion, a method
of solace.
“I just enjoyed running,”
Phil said. “It was something
that appealed to me and came
naturally to me. I had an affinity
to it. It quieted my mind. When
you’re running you’re just with
yourself, a meditative type of
adventure.”
Though it certainly provided
benefits for his health, Phil also
greatly appreciated the familial
attitude
that
came
from
running. It was a sport that Phil,
his wife and two sons could do
together and separately. And,
Phil believes that it led Shawn
to pursue cycling and Adrian to
pursue soccer.
But rather than just maintain
this affinity as a casual hobby,
or a way to keep his family
connected,
Phil
turned
his
passion into a business.
Phil had experience working
in retail and had received
significant experience as an
employee for Sears Roebuck.
Opening his own store was
something he envisioned doing,
and
combining
his
passion
for exercise with his retail
experience made it an easy
decision.
Then, he met the founder of
Fleet Feet.
“She lived in California, and
had 18 stores in California,” Phil
remembers.
“Coincidentally,
at the same time she was
interested in opening stores
outside
of
California,
and
Washington D.C. was a good
spot because we had a great base
of runners and things going
on in D.C. And so she granted
my wife (Jeannette) and I a
franchise, and we opened it and
so my dream came true and it
worked out very well.”
Phil is being modest.
35 years later, Fleet Feet is
the premier running shop in
the Washington D.C. area and
remains a family business. What
began as a store owned by Phil
and his wife is now currently
managed by Phil’s son, Shawn
with many members of the
family working there.
It began as a store focused on
triathletes but now, it focuses
on a specific niche — intense
runners.
When Andrew was asked
about his experiences with
Fleet
Feet,
he
smiled
and
remembers working at a store
with his cousins and uncles. As
a young child, he would be with
the employees at a nearby park,
spending time with them on
their breaks.
“I remember as a young kid,
my father would just leave me
(at the store),” Andrew said.
“Recently, I worked there as
a salesman, which was weird,
because I grew up there my
whole life.
“It’s
a
rite
of
passage,
everyone goes through there.”
Added Phil: “Andrew and his
brother Matthew, they’re twins,
they spent days in the store
when they were still in baby
carriers. They’ve been at the
store since they were born, as
have all the children. It’s been a
great family environment.”
Working at Fleet Feet is
seemingly only one of many
“rites of passage” for the Fenty
family. Another is finding your
sport.
But, it was up to each member
of the family to find their own
athletic
niche.
Phil
never
sought to steer his children
or his grandchildren to any
specific sport.
“Shawn and (Adrian) are
both athletes in their own
disciplines,” Phil Fenty said.
“It was never pressure to be a
runner, (it was) to find the sport
that works for you and put in a
good effort.
“Tennis was their thing. I
didn’t try to influence anybody
in the family to do what I did.
They found the sports that
worked for them.”
Phil, though, still recognizes
the
benefits
that
running
provided for Andrew at a young
age. He believes that endurance
is crucial to success in tennis
and that those with running
backgrounds have a significant
advantage.
Andrew certainly recognizes
the effect that such training
provided. About five years ago
on Christmas, Andrew began
doing a track workout with
his father. Even in that first
workout, Andrew kept pace
with a father who avidly runs
triathlons
and
marathons,
Adrian noticed his son’s speed
and potential.
By the next year, Adrian
acknowledges that his son had
bested him. And for Andrew,
these workouts and lessons from
his father and grandfather have
paid dividends on the court.
It has given him perspective
on his up-and-coming tennis
career.
“(My grandfather) still works
out four hours a day,” Andrew
said. “He goes to the gym as
much as me. He doesn’t stop. It’s
motivation, but it’s just amazing
to see that, he’s kinda like my
father in a way, never stopping.
I don’t think he knows what it
feels like to not work out.
“It means the world, to
have the grandfather like that,
pushing me in a way.”
Andrew’s father too, provided
a path for his son to succeed.
Adrian Fenty had a similar
journey to intense distance
running
as
Phil.
After
graduating from Oberlin and
competing on the track team for
two years, Adrian took a break
from the sport for most of his
twenties.
It wasn’t until his thirties
— as happened with his father
— that Adrian returned to the
sport. Running, in the words of
Adrian appears “in his blood”
and he couldn’t stay away.
But for Adrian, it’s not just a
way to stay in shape or keep his
heart rate up. He genuinely —
which, as Adrian acknowledges,
is perhaps a bit peculiar for
many to understand — loves
running.
“Even if there was a way
to
magically
make
myself
permanently in good shape
without running, I still would
want to run,” Adrian said. “I
enjoy it that much. I would
definitely miss it if I didn’t do it
regularly.”
Adrian remained true to
his word. As the mayor of
Washington D.C. for four years
from
2007-2011,
he
would
wake up in the early mornings
before work and run. He credits
endurance as a valuable tool not
only for running, but for various
facets of life.
“If you are good at endurance
sports, you can wear down
the competition,” Adrian said.
“That’s the theory and the hope.
Whatever
the
competition
happens to be. Whether it’s in
business, politics, academics or
sport. Hopefully you’ll outlast
everybody.”
Adrian never wanted his twin
sons to participate in track and
field, believing it to be a “burn-
out sport.” He did though, hope
the two would find the same
sport and stick with it.
Tennis
happened
to
be
that sport. They could play
—
and
enjoyed
—
football
and
basketball
but
by
the
time Andrew and his brother
Matthew were eight years old,
they could succeed at tennis
together.
And as with Phil Fenty
and his sons, tennis became a
family affair for Adrian and his
twin sons and daughter Aerin,
born in 2008. It became a sport
that the five of them enjoyed
and relished both playing and
watching.
For Andrew, that led him to
compete for Michigan.
***
No one ever pushed Andrew
to play tennis. “Tennis was
always my thing,” he said. While
his
father
and
grandfather
would passionately run miles
on end, Andrew was drawn to
the tennis court, specifically
the hard court.
He loves the speed of the
game of the tennis and, on hard
courts, the speed of the ball.
But Andrew recognizes the
power that running so often
as a child provided him. He
understands the benefits it gave
him to succeed in tennis. It also
put the sport in perspective for
him, something tangible that he
reflects on during matches.
“It shows me that whatever
I do, playing tennis for three
or four hours going side to
side, is nothing,” Andrew said.
“It’s nothing at all. What these
guys do is just run. The only
way to get better at running, is
running. It’s more mental than
anything.
“When I’m out there, I think I
can do this, I do it all the time. I
can run longer, I can run faster.
That’s what I tell myself.”
He has succeeded. He leads
the Michigan tennis team in
victories this season and is
expected to lead the Wolverines
this weekend when they begin
the Big Ten Tournament.
Fleet
Feet
too,
provided
invaluable lessons for Andrew.
According to Phil, the right
tennis shoe is crucial to success
and it is vital to take care of
one’s feet in tennis when the
player moves from side-to-side
for multiple hours.
His grandfather also taught
him the importance of the
mental aspect in tennis. The role
of working with his teammates
and coaches to achieve their
best goal.
Most significantly though,
the Fenty family fostered a
goal of exercise and sport. They
honed it with the establishment
of the Washington D.C. Fleet
Feet in 1984. Each member has
spent time as a sales associate
or in other capacities working
at the store.
Phil Fenty honed it through
running miles and miles and
fitting the customers of his
store with the proper footwear.
And, serving as counsel to his
sons and grandchildren in their
sporting exploits.
Adrian
Fenty
honed
it
through his morning runs, his
desire to run no matter where
he is or what he’s doing. All that
matters is that he has his shorts,
shirt and watch.
And finally, Andrew Fenty
took the lessons of all those
in his family. He took the
lessons
from
Fleet
Feet,
morning runs with his father
and conversations with his
grandfather to succeed as a
freshman for Michigan tennis.
Being an athlete is simply in
his blood.
“In our family generally,
everybody’s an athlete,” Phil
said. “Male and female. Young
and old. All of us. Everybody
runs, bikes and swims. It’s
our family’s activity. When we
travel, when we go anywhere,
we make sure we have facilities
where we can exercise.
“It’s always been in our DNA
to exercise.”
COURTESY OF THE FENTY FAMILY
The Fenty family values an active lifestyle as participating in sports runs in the family, starting with Phil Fenty (right), who opened Fleet Feet, the nation’s premier running store, in Washington D.C. and is the grandfather of Michigan’s Andrew Fenty.
MICHAEL BAGAZINSKI/Daily
Freshman Andrew Fenty chose tennis, unlike his father and grandfather, and has found himself at the collegiate level.
AVI SHOLKOFF
Daily Sports Editor