Owner Of Madison Running Store Joins Branford Board of Recreation

The owner of three running specialty stores – – Julie Francis said her new appointment to the Branford Board of Recreation really makes sense.

Francis has been involved in many sports and athletics programs in Branford, both for the and at her stores, so she was very pleased when her appointment was official on Dec. 7.

"I’m excited about it," she said.

For years, she has led a summer running program for children, open to youngsters in grades 5-8. It teaches the participants running etiquette, trail running techniques, information on nutrition and hydration, and other keys to having fun as a long distance runner.

Plus, the participants including children from Madison and Old Saybrook where the other stores are, get out and run. "It’s very social," she said.

At age 53, Francis said she has been running a long time. "Forever and ever and ever," she said.

She started when she was 11, growing up in New Hampshire. Sometimes her life seems like the chapters of a book, she observed, but running has been the one constant that extends throughout it.

Francis moved to Branford in 1992, put her three sons through school and worked for The Gap before opening her own business. Today, her running stores, soundRUNNER, employ two of her sons, including Preston, her oldest son and general manager.

Prior to her appointment to the Board of Recreation, she was a member of the Economic Development Commission from 2005 to 2009, and also on the Revilitization Board and the Library Board of Trustees.

But the Board of Recreation is the first one she said she feels is "absolutely perfect at the perfect time."