Running Around Charlotte

Let Me Run is no stranger here on the Running Around Charlotte Podcast! Their mission to give young boys the tools they need to navigate the world and their emotions in a healthy and constructive way is one that we here on the podcast believe wholeheartedly. Today we are joined by a friend of ours from the organization, Jesse Smith. If that name sounds familiar you may have seen him running, volunteering, serving as an elder in the church, or during 2018 and 2019 as a member of the Charlotte Marathon Ambassadors. Jesse was recently named the Let Me Run Regional Director for the Greater Charlotte Area and he is here today to tell us a little about that, what Let Me Run has coming up this year and more.

Nothing compares to a day enjoying the natural beauty of the Carolinas at the US National Whitewater Center. Whether you are a biker, runner, climber, hiker, kayaker, tuber, ice skater, SUPer, etc, the Whitewater Center is your place for adventures year round! Days at the Whitewater center are some of the best that you can spend with your friends and family. Today we are joined by Jesse Hyde from the Whitewater Center. Jesse is here to talk all things Whitewater including some of the new projects they are working on! Without further adieu let’s get started!

Pace, distance, cadence, water stops, bathroom breaks, nutrition intake… the list goes on. There are a lot of things that we expect to worry about when we are going running, especially if we are training for or running a race. One thing that we shouldn’t have to worry about is whether or not we will be safe on our runs. However, news story after new story tells us differently. Safety can be a big concern for runners of all ages, races, genders, and identities. Today we are joined by Laura Morrow from RunCltRun and she is her to talk to us about the precautions we can take to be a little safer on our runs as well as the larger conversation on why these precautions have to be taken in the first place.

We love to run. The feeling of crossing the finish line, of getting a new PR, and just being around the running community is why we love our sport. But at the Novant Health Charlotte Marathon race day is just the beginning. Part of every race entry is a donation that goes to the Novant Health Hemby Children’s Hospital, and through your support, the marathon has been able to donate over $250,000 over the years to help the children and families receiving care. Today we are joined by Dr. Erin Trakas, a NICU doctor at Hemby Children’s Hospital. She and her colleagues work everyday to provide medical care for children and support their families through what are mostly likely the hardest times in their lives.

We’re almost ready for the Novant Health Charlotte Marathon, and it’s a good thing too because it is right around the corner. It takes a lot to put on a race of this size from closing down streets, to getting vendors, to making sure that we’ve got a fancy finish festival for you to sprint into. With just a couple weeks left it’s great to see everything coming together and we thought it would be great to get an update from Dr. Lisa Rentz the marathon medical director with everything you need to know to stay safe on race day!

Running is a great sport, there’s no getting around that! It’s a great way to meet people, it’s always a great feeling of accomplishment to reach your running goals, and among sports, it has a pretty low barrier to entry. No need to buy a bat or racket. If you had to, you could probably go for a run in the shoes you are wearing right now! Running is one of the few sports that can really meet you where you are and our next guest is a testament to that. Today on the podcast we are joined by Jaime McDonald! If you are a part of the Charlotte Running scene you’ve definitely seen Jaime running around town, working at your local running store, pacing a race or cheering for you from the sidelines.

How do you get out of your own head and start working towards your goals? Well, sometimes the first step is the hardest. And the longer you wait, the more time you have to build it up in your head until taking that one step turns into something much more difficult. But when should you take that first step? Well today’s guest would say that today is the best day to take that first step. This week on the podcast we are joined by Troy Gagliardo. Troy decided to take that one step about 1000 days ago and hasn’t looked back. He’s here to tell us a little about what he’s been up to since he got out of his own way.

Have you ever been out for a run or in a race and seen someone carrying a backpack? You think to yourself… surely they aren’t carrying their computer, in the hopes that they can fire off a few emails mid-race. Well depending on where you were those people were probably rucking! Wondering what rucking is, who the people that do it are, and how you can join the fun? Well, you’ve come to the right place! This week’s podcast guest is Amy Petersen! Amy is here from Pathfinder Rucking and she is here to take the mystery out of rucking. She’ll be explaining the reasons behind it, the training, and how you can show up and have a great rucking experience on race day.

We all remember 2020 as a year when everything changed. We had to stay in our homes, and words like social distancing and pandemic became a part of our everyday language. We traded happy hours at the bar for drinks in our pajamas over zoom and we all collectively forgot what the bottom half of a human face looks like. It’s safe to say that 2020 was a tough year for just about everyone, and if you or a loved one contracted Covid-19 we can only imagine. We aren’t afraid to say it. Covid was scary! In 2020 we didn’t know much but we knew that it could really hurt your lungs and that some people weren’t able to bounce back from it. So you can imagine when Alejandro (Alex) Burgos contracted Covid in the middle of training for a 100mi race it really threw a wrench in his plans. But enough introduction we can hear all about it from the man himself. Thanks for joining us today Alejandro.

Isms… Racism, Sexism, Classism, Ableism, the list goes on. We are all affected by them even if it is not directly. But it is important to remember that even if something does not affect you or someone you love that doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter. Our world needs to change and become more inclusive and though at times it seems like we are more divided than ever organizations like our next podcast guest give us hope that maybe we are not quite as divided as we think. This week on the podcast we are joined by Jillian Peat Hamilton from Race Against ISMs 5K. They are here to tell us about the opportunities that their race provides as well as the work that we must keep doing if we hope to achieve a world without -isms!

Have you ever wondered where all the technological innovations you see at the hospital come from? From x-ray machines to teledoc visits, to the machines that look straight out of a sci-fi comic book, modern medicine is at the cutting edge of technological advancement. But who thinks up all of those things? Well we’ve been wondering the same thing. So we are learning more about where some of the most fantastic technological innovations come from. Today on the podcast we are joined by Paula Kranz, the Executive Director of the Novant Health Innovation Lab that was recently opened in Uptown Charlotte. The Innovation Lab’s mission is to revolutionize health care for both patients and healthcare professionals, and we can’t wait to learn more!

Running and then drinking a beer may not always sound like it goes together but if you live in the Queen City you know that it is a match made in heaven. In Charlotte, we have breweries and those breweries have run clubs. In Charlotte proper there are more than 30 breweries, and that number just past 50 when you start to include some of the surrounding areas. Starting with Noda Run Club the idea of having a run club meet at a brewery grew in popularity very quickly! Today we are joined by Vanessa Parker from the Armored Calves Run Club that runs from the Armored Cow Brewery in University. We can’t wait to learn more about the Run Club over there and hopefully by the end of this episode you’ll be headed there on Tuesdays for a few miles and a few beers!

Having a baby can be the most wonderful, terrifying, stressful, and amazing thing someone can do. Individuals and couples that make this life-changing decision do not go into it lightly and it is not uncommon to fall in love with a baby that hasn’t even been born yet. Parents map out their lives, and can already see them being happy babies, toddlers, teenagers, adults, and parents to their own children. That’s why pregnancy loss can be so crushing and can feel like pulling yourself and your partner out of the ashes of that life you had imagined. Today we are joined by Theo and Brittany Facinoli from the Out of The Ashes 5K. They are here to talk to us a little about pregnancy loss and how the 5K is helping families through some of the most difficult times in their lives.

Have you ever thought that there are just not enough hours in the day? There has to be some secret code to get more hours because in the same time that it takes some of us to wake up, work, come back home, and go to sleep some of us are doing a heck of a lot more! Today we are joined by Mattie King, a modern-day Renaissance Man that is somehow doing it all! When you think of a Renaissance Man what comes to mind? Painter, sculptor, poet. Well in 2022 we are talking Spartan Race Training, owning a gym, and running a restaurant!

We all know that runners and athletes can do some amazing things. It’s hard to go more than a week without hearing a new amazing story about someone pushing past their limits to achieve the impossible. The human body is amazing and even more so when it’s got a determined mind in the driver seat! However, this is not always the case. Sometimes we push too hard and things don’t just bend, they start to break. It doesn’t make for as sexy of a news story but injuries and setbacks are just as much a part of sports and life as gold medals and PRs. Today we are joined by Phil Welsh the owner and head Physical Therapist at Premier Physical Therapy.

If you’ve ever had to take your child to the hospital — especially in an emergency — you know how scary it can be for you and for them. Novant Health Charlotte Marathon is proud that proceeds from the annual race help the most vulnerable members of our community – the children – find comfort at that unsettling time. The Charlotte Marathon has donated nearly $250,000 to Novant Health Hemby Children’s Hospital since 2013. This year, we’re upping our donation goals with the launch of Team Hemby. Betsy Zarzour joins us today to give us the ins and outs of the new program and tells us how YOU can get involved.

It’s been said that fish can’t run, and swimmers don’t do land sports. Our next guest on the Running Around Charlotte Podcast doesn’t fit that standard definition, because she’s a former collegiate swimmer who now runs marathons. In fact, Lindsey McClelland is a marketing director, brand ambassador, former yoga instructor, mom, and yes – a Novant Health Charlotte Marathon Ambassador. She’s a busy, energetic woman and we’re glad to have her as a guest on our show today.

One thing all runners dread is that feeling that something hurts – and not a “good hurt” either! If you’re in tune with your body, you know when something hurts the “wrong way.” You also have to be careful of external factors, like running in traffic, or other ways you can get injured. Our next guest on Running Around Charlotte is a pro at preventing the injuries – Kelly Moriarty is a Trauma Injury Prevention Coordinator for Novant Health. Kelly works with a broad range of people, trying to prevent injury from multiple types of trauma – including child abuse, dating violence, and guns. But she also helps runners avoid injury too, and that’s why she’s here with us today… so you DON’T end up being a patient if you can avoid it.

It takes a lot of people to make the Charlotte Marathon happen! A lot of people! From timing, to marketing. From customer service to sponsorship, it takes a village to coordinate a marathon! One piece of the puzzle and hopefully one of the pieces you are most familiar with are our fantastic Charlotte Marathon ambassadors. If you’re in the Charlotte area or even beyond you’ve seen them out in the city, at running clubs, and maybe even running with you! The ambassadors get the city excited for our race and that just might be the most important job we have! Today we are joined by Kate Hamilton! Kate is one of the 2022 Charlotte Marathon Ambassadors and we are so excited to have her here to learn a little more about her running journey and what she does when she isn’t in her running shoes!

Charlotte’s beer scene just might be the best in the world, and the folks at NoDa have played no small part in that. Really that’s an understatement, NoDa Brewing has been leading the way for Charlotte beer since they opened in 2011. They’ve also gone out of there way to support the Charlotte community, including being a sponsor of the Charlotte Marathon. 11 years later they are still leading the way with their amazing beer and commitment to improving the Queen City as well as the entire craft beer scene. Today we are joined by Ashley Roth from NoDa Brewing. Ashley is the brains behind some of your favorite NoDa events! A mastermind when it comes to logistics, she is always ready to find a way to make things happen! We are very excited to have her here!

Our Novant Health Charlotte Marathon Ambassadors are a diverse, interesting bunch. And while they all have running in common, they come from a wide variety of backgrounds. Today on the Running Around Charlotte podcast, we’re checking in with Meg Taylor, who is now a scientific director of Pharmacy Times Continuing Education.

There’s nothing we appreciate and admire more than a runner who adopts the running cloth to get healthy and set a great example to others and their kids. Bonus points if that runner is also willing to share their journey as a Novant Health Charlotte Marathon Ambassador. Sandy Johnson is that kind of runner. She’s checked the box on most all of the local “biggies.” She also got her own “BIG” marathon in last year’s Chicago marathon. We’re happy to have her on this year’s Ambassador’s team, and on today’s episode of the Running Around Charlotte podcast!

We love to mix it up with our road races here at the RunCharlotte Six Pack Series, but we guarantee the last one in the pack will knock your socks off because … it’s not on a road. In fact, this race ROCKS! No really… it does… because we’re taking you almost a mile DOWN into a Martin Marietta rock quarry, and back up again. That’s right. A rock quarry. And there’s nothing else like this race around here, trust us. The Keffer Cares Boulder Dash in October will not only wrap up our Six Pack Series, it will show off the quietest neighbor you never knew existed in Charlotte. The Boulder Dash 5k and 5 miler at the Martin Marietta quarry on Beatties Ford Road will show you an inside view of mining operations in Charlotte. Brian North, the Vice President of Environmental and Land Services at Martin Marietta is here with us in the Running Around Charlotte studio to tell us all about it.

The Boston Marathon is arguably the most storied event in our sport. No matter how long – or far you’ve been running – you’ve at least thought about running this one. And for those who’ve earned that prestigious BQ and then crossed that historic finish… well, that’s another story altogether, isn’t it? The event’s race director, Dave McGillivray is heck of a story in his own right! Author, hall of famer, valedictorian – in college AND high school. TEDx speaker and founder of his own events company. He’s run across America TWICE, raising money for children’s charities and cancer research. And somehow, he’s made time to be our guest on the Running Around Charlotte podcast.

We know being active helps everyone. Regardless of age, gender, or ability, an active lifestyle brings a wealth of returns. And having a disability doesn’t mean you can’t be a serious athlete – or even train for a marathon. In 1976, Dick Traum, an above-the-knee amputee, proved it was possible when he became the first amputee to complete the New York City Marathon. A few years later, Dick founded the Achilles Track Club of New York, specifically for athletes with disabilities. Six of its members completed the New York Marathon that year, and now Achilles International – as it’s now called – has 28 chapters in 19 states, and another 42 chapters in 17 other countries. One of those chapters is right here in Charlotte. Their CEO Emily Glasser, who took the reins from Dick Traum in 2019, is with us now on the Running Around Charlotte Podcast… along with the founder of the Charlotte Chapter, Eric Strong.

As runners – and presumably anyone else listening in – the term “human powered movement” seems pretty straightforward. Running IS human powered movement, right? But our next guest here on the Running Around Charlotte podcast has a big, bold view of the term. And has some pretty compelling reasons why. Let’s check in with Adam Bratton. He’s the guy who’s behind the movement that is “Human Powered Movement.”

We’re chatting with our friends from Hospice and Palliative Care of Charlotte about the work they do and the upcoming Hit the Brixx 5k and 10k!

We’re so happy it’s Spring! We not only love the weather and want to go for a run, but it’s time for spring running programs for the kids. One of our favorites started right here in Charlotte – Girls On The Run. The organization now serves more than 200-thousand girls a year in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It teaches more than just running, too – it teaches social and emotional skills, confidence, and good life habits, to name a few. Joining us today on Running Around Charlotte are Development Director Monica Carr and Council Director Jamie Krusch.

We’re excited about our remaining races in the 6 Pack Race Series and the Novant Health Charlotte Marathon. One reason is, they’re great races and we have a lot of fun. Another – and even better reason – is the money we can raise for a lot of good causes around our region. Our Sponsors are an important part of making that happen, and this year, Cortland Apartment Living joins the party as a sponsor, with a $1,000 donation to the named beneficiary at each race! They’re also adding a little fun with the Cortland Celebration Zone at every finish line. Their support for the Six Pack and Marathon is a nice fit with their “healthy lifestyle” living arrangements at their 11 properties around the Charlotte area. But wait, there’s more to their community outreach – and Courtland’s managing director Sarah Connolly is here with us today on the Running Around Charlotte Podcast to tell us all about it.

We welcome runners from every background at the Novant Health Charlotte Marathon, and choose Ambassadors who reflect that, too. Our next guest on the Running Around Charlotte podcast is a husband and father of two, who hails from the Bronx – but he’s been around the world serving in the U.S. Army, and also found the time to give back to the community he lives in now – Camden, South Carolina – while pursuing his MBA. Sounds like he has a full plate! Let’s learn more about Xavier Vargas, who you’ll see running our Six Pack races and the marathon.

One of the number one questions for any runner is how to FUEL. Yes, what to eat, when to eat it, and how much to eat for the distance you want to run in training or a race. If you feel like you’re just going from experience or trying to figure out a complex mathematical formula for every meal, we get it. Our next guest on the Running Around Charlotte podcast gets it too – and she’s got the knowledge to help! Ashley Muschiatti is a Registered Dietician and Performance Specialist with Novant Health Sports Performance, and she’s got answers.

April is Autism Awareness Month, and if you’ve never known a young athlete on the spectrum, we’d like to introduce you to one. Autistic athletes are not only capable, but can also be fast! And Marshall Love is a great example of that– just one year after he began running, he took first at the Let Me Run 5k! He is part of a pretty substantial community of runners who are on the spectrum, and Marshall and his dad Hugh are joining us on the Running Around Charlotte podcast to tell us their story.

If you have a pet, you know it’s part of the family! But you also know how hard it is to capture their spirit in a photo, because the best moments often come out a blur – it’s not easy to make them sit still when they’re being cute. So how do you turn a treasured glimpse of your pet into a keepsake? Our next guest on the Running Around Charlotte podcast can help. Pet Portraits by Bethany can help you slow down the motion and capture your awesome BFF – best 4-footed friend – forever. And the artist, Bethany Salisbury, is also a runner! The former VP of the Charlotte Running Club joins us today to talk about life as a runner, artist, and now, Fine Arts grad student.

We know marathoners are a special breed – it takes a lot of time, energy, and dedication to train for a 26-mile race and be any good at it. But let’s quadruple that distance for a moment, and consider the energy, sweat, and *we’re pretty sure,* TEARS that come with a 100-mile race. If you’re good, that’s 20-some hours of running at once. We’re joined today on the Running Around Charlotte Podcast today by one of those very special people, who travels the world competing in Ultramarathons. Even better, he opened a running store in 2013 so people who love running could gather, hang out, talk about running, and yes, buy exactly the right shoes for them. It’s our pleasure to say hi today to Nathan Leehman.

We always hear that age slows us down, but our next guest on Running Around Charlotte defies that idea. Donny Forsyth is one of the top Masters triathletes in the country, winning his age group at races all over the U.S. with his team, Triple Threat Racing. In December, he competed in the XTerra World Championships, and hasn’t stopped there. It’s a good thing he owns a shoe store, with all of the rubber he wears out! Yes, Donny is one of the owners of Charlotte Running Company, which has 5 locations around the Charlotte area and -STOP THE PRESSES- was just named 2021 Best Running Store in America at The Running Event in Austin, Texas. He’s joining us now to tell us how a guy with a Masters Degree in Park & Recreation Management landed his first job in pharmaceuticals, only to transition to owning the best running store in America a few years later.  

Want a fun, fresh breakfast? The answer is apparently, “Yes,” because a small house-turned-restaurant that first served breakfast in Huntersville in 2005, now has more than 30 locations across 6 states! Yum! If you live in the Charlotte area, chances are you’ve eaten at a Famous Toastery. And if you hurry, you can sign up for the Famous Toastery Shamrock 4-Miler coming up March 12th. Get your green on and go run! It’s a really fun, “top o’ the morning” event in a sea of green. Lorna Martinez is joining us now on the Running Around Charlotte Podcast to fill us in on what’s new at Famous Toastery and their involvement in the first race of our 6-pack series.  

We all make resolutions at some point – and we often make them in the New Year, whether we speak them out loud or not. Tops on those lists are diet and exercise, which many of us follow through on, though not always with the desired results. We get it. But our next guest on Running Around Charlotte made a plan and stuck to it. John Gerst is a preacher, an auto-finance guy, a husband, and a father… so we know his time is not his own. But in 5 years, he’s gone from 352 pounds of praise and love to a half-marathon and half-ironman finisher… and half the weight he used to be! How did he do it? Well, let’s hear it from him.

We love all of those ‘running gifts’ we got for the holidays, but you’re not alone if you didn’t get everything you were looking for under your tree. Our next guest can help! Chris Elkins owns Run for Your Life – a store we’re very familiar with here at the Running Around Charlotte podcast – and he’s here to tell us what the hot trends are this year, and what folks like you are looking for.

All runners everywhere were HORRIFIED to hear what happened to Ahmaud Arbery nearly 2 years ago, in February 2020. He was simply doing what so many of us do – taking a run through a beautiful neighborhood, taking in the local scenery with awe and curiosity. Except HE was chased down and shot, as 3 neighbors assumed he was there to commit a crime instead of just running. The outcry led to a lot of social justice movements, and the leader of one of those is with us today on the Running Around Charlotte podcast. Tyrone Irby is a certified personal trainer and sports performance coach, and former strength and conditioning coach at NC Central University. But he’s here with us today as the founder of Together We Stand, a statewide effort to have conversations about race with a good run and a tasty beer. The annual Maud 2.23 run is coming up here in Charlotte, and Tyrone joins us to talk about the run and the movement – welcome Tyrone!

If there was ever a guy who could “walk the walk” AND “talk the talk,” it’s our next guest on the Running Around Charlotte Podcast. Cornell Jones has a resume of work at the Charlotte Hornets and ESPN, and can “talk the talk” about sports. He’s also a runner – and he’s “walking the walk” by bringing hundreds of runners along with him on his daily runs, both in person and across the country. It all started with a New Year’s Day decision 3 years ago – to run a mile a day, every day. Yes, Every. Single. Day. And he’s done it! The promise turned into a movement, and the daily jog turned into a Tuesday group run that encourages others to learn, get healthy, and go for goals. Cornell is here to tell us how he’s doing, starting year 4 of the “Mad Miles Club.”

We know running can be good for a lot of things at any age — health and fitness, our minds, and our confidence, to name a few. So when a running program for girls spread like wildfire across the nation, one of their coaches here in Charlotte thought something similar would be good for boys. Working on a degree in Sports Science opened Ashley Armistead’s eyes to the role mental and emotional health play in overall wellness. As a running coach and mom of two boys, she was aware of the “Boy Code” that sometimes stifles boys’ feelings and emotions. The result of Ashley’s efforts was Let Me Run, a running program for boys that also lets them know it’s okay to have feelings and lean on each other for support. Ashley joins us now to bring us up to date on a refreshed, post-pandemic Let Me Run program – which just finished its first post-pandemic 5k. Welcome!

One of the best-known charity fundraisers in Charlotte rides in circles every July in Myers Park. And this year, the 24 Hours of Booty celebrates 20 years of rounding the famous Booty Loop to raise money for cancer navigation services at Atrium Health. If you know of the 24 Hours of Booty, you probably know its founder, Spencer Lueders. But did you know he’s also an engineer, attorney, entrepreneur, business owner, and former D-1 soccer player? There’s a lot to Spencer, and we’re honored to have him here on the Running Around Charlotte podcast to tell us what he’s up to next.

You’ve heard us say it before – it was really nice to be back under the sunshine and crisp fall air of the Carolinas at our in-person Novant Health Charlotte Marathon this year. We had a great turnout for the marathon, half-marathon, and 5k … and our women’s winner was a name that should be familiar to runners across the Carolinas. Mimi Smith was first over the line at 2 hours and 48 minutes, and if her name sounds familiar, it’s because she ran cross-country and track for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons for 4 years. Now she’s over at Duke University and joins us here on the Running Around Charlotte Podcast to let us get to know her a little better.

We hear some incredible stories in the running community about the life-altering effects of running, but this one will blow you away! Jason Gardner was always the “big kid” — you know, a little extra hefty. At his heaviest, about 10 years ago, he was 426 pounds! He decided to make a change. It started with diet and exercise… and now includes running. We’ll let him tell you how he did it — and where he ended up in his “1 man, 1 year, 150” personal goal.

If your back hurts, everything hurts. And if you’re one of 65 million Americans who suffer from back pain, you know how important it is to get relief. A chiropractor can help! Whether you’re a serious runner or just a weekend warrior, your back will need care to keep it strong and healthy so you can stay fit. The Novant Health Charlotte Marathon is proud to partner with one of the premier chiropractic clinics in the Carolinas — Greenapple Sports and Wellness. Dr. Doug Bradberry is an athlete himself, who has worked with Olympic-bound athletes from the U.S. and Canada. His partner, Dr. Eric Goodman, is an active crossfit athlete who has worked with a number of professional and collegiate athletes. Both perform at the highest levels with athletes and regular folks alike. They’re going to help us help YOU stay fit and healthy with some insight about proper back care.

Running a marathon is tough, and training for it can be a real challenge — We know that, right? Now imagine training for a long race or a triathlon if you are visually challenged. How would you do it? You would need a great training partner and coach, for sure. In Charlotte, you’re in good hands. Para Guides offers a training program for athletes at any level of fitness and ability, who need guidance because of a visual disability. Shannon Houlihan was inspired to start Para Guides in 2017 after working with a similar service at her training group in Texas, and now she oversees training for dozens of visually impaired athletes here. We’re honored to have Shannon with us today on the Running Around Charlotte Podcast, to tell us about Para Guides and how you can be a part of them.

It was great to be back! We’re talking — of course — about the Novant Health Charlotte Marathon. After a year of running virtually because of COVID, it was really nice to be back under the sunshine and crisp fall air of the Carolinas at our in-person race. We had a great turnout for the marathon, half-marathon, and 5k … and we had a new winner, too! Adam Jones crossed the finish line first in 2 hours and 23 minutes, and we bet we’re going to hear his name a lot more now. He was a runner at both Samford University in Birmingham and at Iowa. He joins us here on the Running Around Charlotte Podcast to let us get to know him a little better.

Many of us have had a hard 2021. Our Ambassador Blair Kitrick is no exception – she’s lost several friends and family this year. She’s here to share her a little about her grief and how running and the community have helped her heal – and even find some joy along the way.

We LOVE football, and 3 cheers to the Charlotte Sports Foundation for bringing 3 big college games to the Queen City every year. The ACC Championship, Duke Mayo Classic, and Duke Mayo Bowl, each bring “that little Southern something that makes good things better” to Bank of America Stadium in the fall, to the delight of ACC football fans everywhere. But the Charlotte Sports Foundation is more than just football — it supports sports and events all over the region because it knows that from youth to pro’s, athletics make our community stronger. Will Lawson, Director of Sponsorship Sales at Charlotte Sports Foundation, is with us on the Running Around Charlotte Podcast to share some of their exciting events with us.

If you’re a regular reader of our RunCharlotte blog, you may have been “wowed” by this story back in April. Richard Sexton of Concord — a former furniture e-commerce entrepreneur, digital marketer, occasional substitute teacher, and last-but-not-least ultra runner — ran a full month of marathons last May with a 25-pound weight ball in his rucksack. Yes, we said a Full. Month. Of. Marathons. With a weighted ball named “Slappy.” Yes, Wow. He did it all to raise money and awareness for Carolina CAN — or Champion Autism Network. His trip was long — from the mountains of Murphy to the beaches of Myrtle — and his goal was $50,000 dollars. Along the way, he threw in a stop at home in Charlotte, his daughter’s dance recital, and his 25th wedding anniversary. Now he’s joining us on the Running Around Charlotte podcast… which, in comparison, probably feels like a short sprint… to tell us how it went.