Our Story
Fleet Feet Columbia may be new, but our team members sure aren’t! Our owner Nancy Yaeger, a longtime runner and triathlete, managed a specialty running store prior to opening Fleet Feet.
Our employees are triathlon team captains, retired cross-country moms, Ironman and more. We come from different places but are united by one passion – making sure YOU are ready to hit the pavement.
Fleet Feet Columbia opened in mid-July 2017. Even before our doors were opened, runners were crowding outside and racking up miles. You've probably seen us running and walking around Columbia.
However, there’s only so much you can learn online. Come in and say hello!
Nancy has been a runner since her gym teacher encouraged her to run in first grade. Fourteen years ago, a friend persuaded her to take her love of running and start competing in triathlons. Her first trip down the pool was not pretty but she kept going and did her first triathlon at Trizou in 2009. Since then she has completed numerous triathlons, marathons and ultra-marathons, including 3 Full Ironman Triathlons.
Nancy was the head coach for the Stephens College Cross Country team for 5 seasons until the summer of 2019. She is a USAT Level 1 Certified Coach. She was the founder of Tiger Endurance Company, a youth triathlon team in Columbia, MO. and was one of the founders of the Heart of Missouri chapter of Girls on the Run. She has encouraged and coached numerous athletes. Nancy loves helping others reach their goals.
As a coach, Nancy is dedicated to making sure her athletes learn proper form and make good use of strength training to lessen injury risk. She brings that same passion to the store to help walkers, runners, and triathletes to find what works for them.
Wayne is originally from Billings, MT where he joined the Army after graduating from high school. He is a retired Army Master Sergeant with 20 years of active duty service. He has deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq as well as many other locations throughout his service. While serving in the Army, he had the additional duty of the unit Master Fitness Trainer, developing physical fitness training programs for the unit. After retiring, he taught Military Science for the Army ROTC program at the University of Missouri. He was the lead trainer for the MU Army ROTC endurance teams; Ranger Challenge and Ranger Buddy. This is where he developed a passion for triathlons. He has completed numerous triathlons varying in distance to include two half Ironman and two full ironman with plans to complete more in the future. He enjoys sharing his knowledge and experience with others to help them reach their goals.
Kathy Lee
Manager
Kathy is a late comer to running having started when she was 47 years old. Originally from Sarasota, FL she joined the Air Force after high school and served in Texas and Germany. Kathy left the service to stay home with her two children. She received her bachelors degree in management from Park College and soon after also began homeschooling her children. After the kids graduated, Kathy started meeting with local running groups and discovered a love of running and the companionship and camaraderie it brings. She's run 7 marathons, including Boston in 2009, and numerous halfs and shorter runs. She also enjoys biking and camping on the Katy Trail and has ridden the entire trail 7 times with the State Park system. Kathy was the director of the Heart of America Marathon from 2018 to 2022. These days, she can be found hiking around the trails and creeks with her lab mix puppy and grandson, and running shorter distances.
Sidney was born and raised right here in Columbia. She started swimming at age 5 and swam for The MAC summer league and Columbia Swim Club. Sidney took her love of swimming and started competing in triathlons. She qualified for numerous Ironkid Championships and participated in numerous local 5K and 10K races. She also started playing volleyball at a young age and played all 4 years on the Hickman High School Volleyball team. She is now attending The University of Missouri studying Business with an emphasis in Marketing working towards certificates in Sales and Digital Marketing. In her free time, she loves going to concerts and music festivals with her friends, being outdoors, volunteering at the Peace Nook, and playing with her cat Soop!
Andrea Knollmeyer
Inventory Manager/ Outfitter
Andrea moved to Columbia from Nashville,TN.
She has always had a passion for being active. She enjoys biking on the Katy trail around Columbia and hiking throughout mid Missouri. She also enjoys kayaking and waterskiing.
Annie Fennewald
Inventory Manager
Annie has lived in various states, but now calls Columbia, MO, her home with her husband, Andrew, and their adorable cats. She started her fitness journey in her late 20’s winging it on her own. A couple of years later when she moved to Columbia, her aunt tricked her into a bike ride that turned out to be part of a triathlon training group. From then on, she began training for and competing in running and triathlon events. Now, you’re more likely to find her enjoying a group fitness class or lifting in the gym; a run isn’t out of the question.
Annie loves to travel so if you don’t see her in the office, she’s most likely on one of her adventures.
Debbie Gerding
E-Commerce Specialist
Debbie is originally from St. Louis but has lived in Columbia since 1998. Debbie started with us from day 1 as an outfitter but when Covid hit, she took a job working from home for the University of Missouri. She did not want to leave us, so she now works on Sundays helping fill online orders and helping as needed. She loves working with the young kids as her own kids are grown, and she refers to herself as “everyone’s mom”. Debbie’s running career started at age 42 when she ended up joining a beginners’ running group with some girlfriends in 2010 and ran her first half-marathon. Since then, she’s run several half and full marathons. Besides running, Debbie’s other passion is her two golden retrievers. She worked with her older retriever, Ella, for 2 years and got her certified as a therapy dog. Debbie and Ella frequently visit the University Hospital visiting staff and patients.
Alaina Hornibrook
Training Director
Alaina is from Bloomington, Minnesota, and has moved around the country after graduating from the University of Oregon. She has been running since her parents signed her up for a kid's fun run when she was 3 years old. Growing up she played soccer, and basketball, and ran track and cross country.
As the Training Director, she hopes to help everyone improve and find happiness while running. She is a trained RRCA coach and is CPR and First Aid certified. Please reach out for information about training groups!
Lainey Gall
Team Lead/ Outfitter
This is Lainey. She is originally from Kansas City, MO. She is a Senior at Mizzou studying Health Sciences. She grew up playing almost every sport. She enjoys working out, water sports, and walking around campus in her free time.
Carson Helmer
Team Lead/ Outfitter
Carson was born in Wichita Kansas, then moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, to Temecula California, then to Sydney Australia where he grew up most of his life there and discovered the great sport of running. Then back to Raleigh, graduated high school in Utah and now run Cross Country and Track and Field for Mizzou. He is currently studying psychology and enjoys the beautiful campus and city of Columbia. This place along with Fleet Feet feels like home and being able to share my story and experiences from running with other people brings me joy. I am a huge dog lover and have three dogs at home that I enjoy spending time with. I love nature, traveling, working out, and learning about others' life stories. Running changes everything!
Maddie Welsh
Team Lead/ Outfitter
Maddie is originally from Festus, MO where she ran cross country and track and played basketball in high school. She ran with the Mizzou running club while in college and recently graduated with chemistry and political science degrees. During the summers, she works at a ziplining resort in Durango, CO where she can frequently climb mountains, rock climb, and hike. She also loves scuba diving, Jeeping, weightlifting, and all kinds of adventure! Maddie’s future goals include attending law school and hiking the Appalachian Trail.
Kaitlyn Holland
Outfitter
Kaitlyn is originally from Springfield, Missouri where she ran cross country, track and swam at Kickapoo High School. She is currently studying Dietetics at the University of Missouri. Kaitlyn frequently competes in triathlons around the Midwest and just finished her first Half Ironman!
Stephen Czujko
Outfitter
Originally from Washington, D.C., Stephen is a third-year PhD student at Mizzou studying Archaeology with hopes of one becoming a professor. Stephen has been an avid runner since he was a teenager, when he was first introduced to Cross Country and Track. He competed in both sports during high school and college. Before moving to Columbia to pursue his doctoral degree, Stephen worked as an assistant track coach at a D.C. high school where he taught. Today, running remains a favorite past-time of Stephen's. Though he still competes in the occasional road race or marathon, he mainly enjoys exploring trails and paths in and around Columbia. He is excited to share his passion for running with the Fleet Feet Columbia community.
Krista Bretsch
Outfitter
Krista is from from St. Louis Missouri. She ran track and cross country in high school. She is in the Dietetics program at Mizzou. Currently, she enjoys running in her free time and doing 5ks.
Elliotte Abernathy
Outfitter
Jennifer La Mantia
Outfitter
Jennifer is a school teacher and a yoga instructor along with helping us out at the store. She is a mother of 3 young adults whom she loves very much. She is a fitness enthusiast and she loves traveling and the outdoors.
Graham Bartlett
Outfitter
Graham grew up in the Columbia area. He fell in love with running in his sophomore year of high school. He is currently in his senior year of high school. He is the cross-country captain for Hallsville. He also runs the mile and two-mile in track. Graham hopes to run in college.
Abbie Gunter
Outfitter
Abbie grew up in just outside of Columbia. She was born into a family of runners but didn't really start runner on her own until high school. Her longest run has been a half marathon, but she hopes to run a full marathon someday!
Alex Murphy
Outfitter
Alex is originally from Kansas City, Missouri. She is currently a junior at Mizzou studying Radiology. She grew up doing gymnastics for 14 years and transitioned into coaching while in high school to make time for pole vault on the track team. She enjoys going on walks and going to rock bridge state park in her free time.
Adam Farmer
Outfitter
Adam is from Columbia, MO. He is a junior at Rock Bridge High School and loves to spend his time practicing golf. In school, he loves learning about business, but especially entrepreneurship and marketing. Although he doesn’t run competitively anymore, he still loves to run every morning!
Jay Allen
Outfitter
Jay grew up in the Columbia area. He started running competitively in middle school and continued throughout high school competing in State Cross Country four years in a row and gaining several school records. After highschool he joined the Missouri National Guard and started college at Missouri State University. However his studying was cut short as he was deployed to Syria. He plans to return to college in fall 2024 and study History Education and Coaching. He has competed in several 5ks during and after high school and would like to in the future be able to work up to marathons and even ultra marathons.
Nebula Ridings
Outfitter
Nebula is originally from Farmington, Missouri, where she played club volleyball growing up. She's now a freshman at Mizzou pursuing a degree in Nuclear Medicine Technology. Back at home, Nebula took advantage of all of the trails and rivers that were nearby at any chance given. In her free time, she loves being outdoors - especially to go fishing, hiking, on float trips and camping. Along with this, Nebula enjoys going to the gym every morning to lift weights or run a few miles. She earned her NASM Personal Training Certification in 2023 and will be getting her NASM Nutrition Certification soon.
Quentin Worley
Outfitter
Quentin was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. He is a senior at the University of Missouri studying English with minors in sociology and political science. He has been a competitive runner since he was in middle school and has developed a deep love for the sport and the community it brings. He is now on his fourth year with the Mizzou cross country and track teams. In his free time he enjoys running, hiking, reading, or spending time with friends.
Danny Gantz
Outfitter
Danny is from Farmington MO. He is a freshman at Mizzou studying health sciences and exercise sciences. He enjoys CrossFit, weight training, and running.
Maddie Campbell
Outfitter
Maddie is from Sullivan, Missouri and currently lives in Columbia pursing a degree in sports marketing. She is a former sprinter turned long distance lover. Outside of running, she enjoys being outdoors and traveling! She plans to do a couple of races this year as well!
Sophie Zion
Outfitter
Sophie is from Huntley, IL. She is a freshman at Mizzou majoring in Physical Therapy. She grew up doing a lot of different sports but in high school, she played lacrosse and cheered competitively. She played on the club lacrosse team in the fall. In her free time, she likes to run, especially on the MKT trail, and listen to new music!
David Mohrland
Associate
David was originally born in Columbia, Missouri. He then moved to Ypsilanti, Michigan, then to Wausau, Wisconsin, and then back to Columbia, Missouri. He’s a senior at Rock Bridge High School. He loves to run cross country and track. He also leads a small group at The Crossing which he’s very passionate about.
Grace Edwards
Associate
Grace is originally from Bourbonnais, Illinois. She is currently a freshman at Mizzou and is a pre-nursing major. She grew up playing a couple of different sports such as softball for 14 years, volleyball for 7 years, and gymnastics for 4 years. She loves going on walks, the outdoors, and hanging out with her friends!
Connect With Us
see the latest from Fleet Feet Columbia