Two Rivers Treads
People
Dr. Mark Cucuzzella knows that only so much healing happens during office hours. “The focus of wellness has to be outside of the medical clinic,” he says. So he founded Freedom’s Run, an annual marathon and shorter races through West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle. Then he and his wife, Roberta, decided to open a store that would sell running shoes and know-how. “As a doctor and runner, people have been asking me for years, ‘Where can I buy running shoes?’” he says. “But there are so many other issues that need to be addressed, like injury prevention, form and mechanics.”
Progress
Shepherdstown is on the Potomac River and a mile from the trail-flanked C & O Canal. Mark figured that The Progress Fund would be “a perfect fit” because of their specialized knowledge of the outdoor recreational industry and the C & O Canal trail. Since the shoe fit, The Progress Fund loaned the $50,000 needed to launch Two Rivers Treads.
Impact
Two Rivers Treads offers running and walking shoes with a focus on better foot function, primarily from Terra Plana, Newton Running, and other leaders. They will offer injury prevention training and classes in the ChiRunning method. It serves as the office of Freedom’s Run, which has drawn to the region runners from 37 states, and as a headquarters for the growing movement for a fitter West Virginia. “When you look at societies where people live long and well,” says Mark, “it really has little to do with medical care. It has to do with how you live.”
View Story as PDF
Connect With Us!