Root Runners marks five years

Root Runners, a specialty running store in Upper Lake Plaza, is celebrating its fifth anniversary in Sparta, with owner Matt Vilardo crediting running as a life-changing force that shaped both his personal recovery and the store’s mission.

Vilardo said the business was built not just around selling footwear, but around promoting physical activity and mental wellness through community connection and support.

The store, located at 270 Sparta Ave., Suite 106, offers personalized service, special ordering for customers, and a focus on individualized fitting for runners and walkers.

Vilardo shared that his relationship with running began after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, which claimed the life of his father, Joseph Vilardo, a senior vice president at Cantor Fitzgerald Securities who worked on the 104th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

He recalled a final memory of running with his father on a school track the night before the attacks, an experience he said became a lasting source of strength during later struggles with depression.

“I didn’t know I was depressed during most of the early years after 9/11,” Vilardo said. “It wasn’t until after graduating high school that I realized something was wrong.”

Vilardo said he began running again in 2006, describing it as a turning point in his mental health.

“On a cool evening in early September 2006, I took my first run outside,” he said. “It was the first time I felt something and I knew I wanted to repeat that.”

He said running eventually helped him regain stability and purpose, and influenced his decision to open Root Runners with his wife, Anastassia, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vilardo said the early years of the business were challenging as the store navigated supply issues and rapid changes in inventory, but credited community relationships and data-driven growth for its eventual stability.

“We went from having no inventory at the height of the pandemic to becoming excessively over-inventoried while trying to bring mental health awareness into retail,” he said.

Today, Root Runners hosts weekly community group runs every Monday at 6:30 p.m., meeting at the lower parking lot of Hillside Park behind Sheridan’s Restaurant. The runs are free and open to all abilities.

Vilardo said the store’s success is rooted in relationships with customers and a commitment to community.

“Being able to call our customers by their first names when they walk in or watching young athletes grow and develop are all special to us,” he said. “We have built a family.”

He added that running continues to play a central role in his life and well-being.

“If the skies are cloudy and my mind is grey, running helps make it go away,” Vilardo said.