* LOCATION: 802 Hamilton Ave., Chattanooga
* HISTORY: Dick Dillard opened what is now Fast Break Athletics in 1977. The original store was called Athletic Attic and was located in what was then Eastgate Mall. As the store grew, its focus widened from running/walking shoes and apparel to include more gear for more sports, and Dillard opened six more locations by 1987. He later changed direction, though, closing all but the original store in 1995, refocusing on running/walking gear and dropping the Athletic Attic name in favor of Fast Break Athletics. Dillard moved the store to the North Shore in 1996 and then sold it in 2009. Alan Outlaw went to work at Fast Break in 2010 and became Fast Break’s sole owner in 2013.
* COMMUNITY: Tim Moore, a spokesman for Fast Break, says the store sponsors about a dozen running events in a typical year and is lead sponsor/partner for Chattanooga Track Club (CTC) races and four trail-running events conducted each year by Bad Beard Events. Moore says the CTC’s signature event, the 55-year-old Chattanooga Chase, was struggling in the mid 2010s when the CTC asked Outlaw, a former Chase champion, to take over as race director. Moore says the race went from about 150 runners in 2015 to 500 in 2016, the first year on Outlaw’s watch, and has grown steadily, drawing a record 1,000-plus runners this year. “In both the store and sponsoring races, we’re trying to help people enjoy something they love,” Outlaw says.
* ONLINE: fastbreakathletics.com
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