Married couple goes from teaching to owning a running store in Stillwater
STILLWATER, Minn. — Kate Eggers Leaf and her husband John have been lacing up to run since before high school.
"My parents called me the Energizer Bunny and my mom was a big runner. She would do a loop around my elementary school, and I would run with her occasionally just to burn some energy and I loved it," said Kate Eggers Leaf, co-owner of Wild River Running.
In college, both ran at Gustavus. John Leaf had just graduated when he met Kate Eggers Leaf, a freshman, at a race.
"He came over to congratulate me afterward and I really, that was it, I was interested after that," laughed Kate Eggers Leaf.
"I invited her to a Trampled by Turtles concert in Minneapolis," added John Leaf, her husband and co-owner.
The two married in 2018, eight years after their first date. And they kept running as they both got into teaching.
Over time, they began to vent about the difficulties of the job to their physical therapist.
"For years, he'd be listening to us and saying 'You guys need to just quit teaching, you need to open a running store.' He's from Stillwater. 'There's no running store in Stillwater, there's not one that's close. You guys should do it'," said John.
After a decade of teaching, most of it at Hopkins North Middle School, they decided it was time for a change.
"At the end of the day, there's too many asks that it just makes it really hard to feel like you're being successful," said John Leaf.
"But also we still have this deep love for kids and education and really believe in public education," added Kate Eggers Leaf.
Last fall, they followed that friendly suggestion and put a plan into action to open the community running store in Stillwater.
The Leafs are among the 38% of licensed teachers in Minnesota who are not currently working in a public or charter school classroom. They are on an extended absence as they run toward their dream.
"From the time we told our administrators last January they have just been like they've had our backs through the whole thing," said Kate Eggers Leaf.
Taking these new steps, they're discovering similarities in teaching and business.
"There's so many different skill sets that you need to have and you need to be really quick at learning and you've got to be very flexible with how you're approaching things," said John Leaf.
As long-time marathon runners, they are familiar with the grit to start something and the stamina needed to get through to the end.
Here's what they think of their own personal finish line.
"Being able to live comfortably and happily. For the business itself, we really want to be embedded into the community. That was our favorite part about teaching," said Kate Eggers Leaf.
Wild River Running is on Chestnut Street in downtown Stillwater. The store is open Tuesday through Sunday. The grand opening event is Thursday, Oct. 17 at noon.