“In the long run, the sharpest weapon of all is a kind and gentle spirit.”
We are a locally owned running store with a purpose: to provide you with high quality products and service, and encourage you on your path to fitness, no matter your background or ability. We want you to leave our store feeling better than when you came in.
OUR team
JULIA CONNER
Julia is the CEO of The Long Run and the main wear tester for the women’s running products we carry. She has been active in the local running community since moving back to Knoxville in 2007. In 2006, while living in Nashville she developed a love for running while participating in local 5k races with her beloved Golden Retriever Montana aka Monty. In 2007, she finished her first half marathon (Country Music Half) in 2:57:00 with almost no training or guidance. Since then she has learned a lot about training, basic nutrition, and gear needed for distance running. With dedicated training and guidance by coach Ethan Coffey she has substantially lowered her race times: marathon 3:38:03 (BQ), Half 1:41:26, and 5k 22:28. She has also participated in numerous relay races across the country and the occasional trail race including one 55k on the Lake Tahoe Rim Trail and the Javalina 100K in 2023. Future running goals include re-qualifying and running the Boston marathon and participating in more ultra-trail races. She is a practicing veterinarian with a DVM and Master’s in Public Health from the University of Tennessee and she has been a member of the Eddie’s Health Shoppe racing team since 2009.
ETHAN COFFEY
Ethan is the CXO of The Long Run and the main wear tester for the men’s running products we carry. He has been a staple of the local road race scene for over 10 years, winning the Knoxville Track Club Grand Prix five times from 2012 to 2018. He won the Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon in 2015 in 2:22:58 and placed 2nd in 2014 and 2018. He won the CHKM two more times in 2021 and 2022 becoming the only male 3-time CHKM champion. Nationally, he has competed at USATF championships at 10K, 10 miles, half marathon, marathon, and 50K, winning the national 50K title in 2014 in a personal best 2:53:32. He ran a personal best of 2:19:34 at the 2018 California International Marathon, just missing the Olympic Trials Qualifying standard of 2:19:00. He completed the No Business 100 in 2022 and the Badwater 135 in 2023. Collegiately he ran for Carnegie Mellon University and works full time as a mechanical engineer at Oak Ridge National Lab.