As the co-owners of Carrboro's Fleet Feet Sports, a cornerstone in the local community, Bobby Biles and his wife Rona Van Willigen made it their business to put active souls into running shoes.

After the couple departed North Carolina last month to take over a Fleet Feet store in Albuquerque, N.M., many are finding that Biles' and Van Willigen's shoes are awfully hard to fill.

And if the shoes are a tough fit, think of the number worn by the couple -- global activists, endurance runners, successful community-oriented business owners, parents and active members of the Cardinal Track Club.

Dick Forbis, who co-founded the Cardinal Track Club with Biles more than a dozen years ago, said Biles' influence was everywhere.

"Bobby and others stepped up and did what was necessary depending on who was in charge of Cardinal -- and that changes every year," Forbis said. "He was always one of the people who would step up to make sure nothing fell through the cracks."

Cardinal membership chairperson and webmaster Joan Boone said little has changed at Cardinal.

"I think (current president) Jon Van Ark has been great about filling the void here," she said.

The "No Boundaries" training program for fledgling 5K runners makes up the bulk of Cardinal membership, she said. A marathon training program offered in past years was not available this spring, but some members are interested in restarting the program.

Still, Cardinal is best known for the three-race Tour de Carrboro series, open to all comers. And other programs thrive.

"The women's running program through Fleet Feet and New Balance is moving ahead just fine too. The momentum that Rona created for that is definitely continuing."

Biles worked consciously to find other people to take over, Boone said.

Another challenge falls to Amanda Bushman, the new owner of Fleet Feet who worked at the store under Biles and Van Willigen for three years before ascending to her new position.

"It has to be a challenge to run it right after Bobby," Forbis said.

"I'm learning to be more confident in my decisions," Bushman said. "I've spent so many hours here. I'm here way more than I am at my house, and the staff is really like a family."

Fleet Feet's impact was felt well outside the town limits of Carrboro.

Just last year, Fleet Feet put its hometown on the global map through a goodwill initiative to benefit a needy school in Lesedi, South Africa. An association with South Africa grew from out of Balega Running Socks' Induna Award for community involvement, bestowed upon Biles and Van Willigen last year.

Biles and Van Willigen's community service initiatives have included hosting events with various charities as beneficiaries, facilitating the purchase of track equipment for disadvantaged youth and the donation of closeout products to local schools.

Biles and Van Willigen traveled to South Africa last June to compete in the Comrades Marathon, which was actually a 56-mile run. As both Biles and Van Willigen are avid ultra-runners, regularly competing in races of up to 100 miles, the 56-miler was not overly daunting.

The trip also included a visit to the Ethembeni Orphanage School in South Africa for which local efforts had raised money. Last year's fundraising by Fleet Feet stores enabled the purchase of a bus for the school.

While the trip to South Africa and numerous trips to ultra-marathon events like the Leadville 100-miler in Colorado took both owners on various quests far from their Carrboro home, Forbis said their permanent absence strikes home.

"I walk around Carrboro a lot," he said, "and I miss not just running into Bobby on the street or knowing he's right over at the store."

The fact that many local runners are still unaware of the couple's departure testifies to the abilities of current Cardinal administrators and Bushman at Fleet Feet.

"I haven't had a question for Bobby yet that I haven't, with a bit of digging, been able to figure out," Van Ark said. "... That's not to say that I won't run into something."

Van Ark sees Cardinal prioritizing its partnerships with the community.

"I really want to see us become a vibrant part of the community, with more group runs, more educational (initiatives), more youth programs and making donations to more benefactors in the community. Hopefully, as our races continue to grow, we'll have a bigger pot of money we can divide up," Van Ark said.

Others look to build on the potential reflected in Biles' and Van Willigen's business vision.

"In my experience, Fleet Feet has always been more about community than merchandise, and I've no doubt that the new management will continue this," said Steve Hoge, a founder of the Trailheads, a local group of off-road running enthusiasts.

"It's pretty much the same staff," Bushman said, "and we've also added a couple awesome people. We've been really lucky. But I'm also hoping to make this even more at the center of the community by being at races, sponsoring races, helping local groups like the Pacers, and just being much more visible."

And Bushman will work to continue the relationship between Fleet Feet and Cardinal.

"I don't want to change that too much, just because Cardinal is also a very important part of the community," she said.

Bushman is also tackling new issues, like that of sustainability.

"We're working out a lot of green initiatives and shoe donation programs," she said. Among them are plans to stop using plastic bags in June.

Hoge said a tangible sign of Fleet Feet's commitment to a sustainable future is the display banner for the upcoming Trailheads' Philosopher's Way Trail Run in its window.

"Amanda continues the outreach by including even a ragamuffin group of trail runners and their hopes to give something to the local forest," Hoge said. "None of this would have even been imagined without the people behind that storefront, including Bobby & Rona, Amanda, Chris Bevin, (Fleet Feet Chairman) Tom Raynor and the values of the many friends who work there."

Forbis said everyone in the community would still "come across things and say, 'Oh, that's right, Bobby or Rona used to do that.' It will be an awakening."

Hoge feels the same way.

"Bobby and Rona helped us to raise our kids, define our interests, and grow," Hoge said. "I miss them like you'd miss a family member or friend who moves. ... But they're part of you, regardless of the distance."

If anyone made the miles seem shorter for local runners and residents, it was Bobby Biles and Rona Van Willigen.