Welcome back to The Running Around Charlotte Podcast. We’re glad to be back in the studio with you —and of course – we’re happy to have you listening!

On this episode, we’re playing hookey with our new friend Sarah Barton Thomas. OK, we’re really not ditching out of class, but what else do you call it when you get the principal to spend a half hour of the school day with you? Recess?? 

Regardless, Sarah Barton Thomas is just a delight. Full disclosure, she left us a voicemail a few weeks back to help us with a writing project, and we KNEW we’d have to get her on the program!

If dogs, coffee, running, and lifelong learning appeal to you at all… this episode is for you! 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:23 — 22.8MB)

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Welcome back to The Running Around Charlotte Podcast. We’re glad to be back in the studio with you —and of course – we’re happy to have you listening! Today, we’re excited to introduce you to a guy who’s a regular at the finish line of the Novant Health Charlotte half marathon… Cliff Anderson.

Clif also happens to be one of our 2025 Novant Health Charlotte Marathon Ambassadors. Listen in and you can almost hear the smile on his face when he tells us about his running journey – and his comeback from a rare blood cancer. Man, what a great story! We’re glad he’s on the team, and our guest this week on The Running Around Charlotte Podcast!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:16 — 22.7MB)

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Welcome back to The Running Around Charlotte Podcast. We’re glad to be back in the studio with you —and of course – we’re happy to have you listening! Today, we’re excited to introduce you to another one of our 2025 Novant Health Charlotte Marathon Ambassadors. This week’s guest is Brendan Miller-Radest. 

Brendan is a recovering New Jersey native living in Charlotte now. He’s a dog dad, regular run-clubber, and is potentially resurrecting his DJ career?? We’re getting into all that on this episode of The Running Around Charlotte Podcast! 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 25:12 — 20.2MB)

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A few months back, we got the chance to talk with Smita Warrier here on the show. She casually discussed what — for most folks — would be an anxiety-inducing and one-of-a-kind opportunity: running 7 marathons over 7 continents in just 7 days. Along with the mileage, she’d be raising money and awareness for educational assistance for girls in her native India.

While she was out overachieving, we’re not really sure what all we got done. We certainly didn’t log a 180-plus mile week, or rack up 25,000 airline miles in the same week.

Well, Smita’s back in the CLT and has plenty of stories to share about her adventure — and her “why.” We’re happy to have her back on this episode of The Running Around Charlotte Podcast!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:05 — 25.7MB)

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Welcome back to The Running Around Charlotte Podcast! We’re excited to continue our special series featuring Novant Health Charlotte Marathon Ambassadors. Our next guest is Tara Kelbagh, a passionate runner who has seen her life transform since she started running consistently. Tara attributes much of her positive experiences to the supportive community she’s encountered and now wants to pay it forward by inspiring others to get involved in running.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 19:34 — 15.7MB)

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Welcome back to The Running Around Charlotte Podcast! If you’re doing any kind of distance running you know – at some point you’re going to need a little fuel in the tank. In this day and age, there are LOADS of gels, “goos,” bars, and stuff to help keep your energy up. We’re probably tried them all, which has us REALLY excited about today’s guest. He’s got something all new, and all natural.

We’re talking with a local runner and entrepreneur who’s making waves in the endurance fueling world. We’re excited to welcome Joe McMahan, the founder of Azoia Endurance, a company making all-natural energy gels right here in Charlotte.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 24:53 — 20.0MB)

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Welcome back to The Running Around Charlotte Podcast. We’re glad to be back in the studio with you again! Today, we’re excited to kick off our special series featuring some of our 2025 Novant Health Charlotte Marathon Ambassadors. This week’s guest is Tarik Haniff, a passionate runner and community leader who’s running all around Charlotte and its vibrant running scene.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 20:34 — 16.5MB)

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Welcome to the Running Around Charlotte Podcast! We’re recording LIVE here at the 2024 Novant Health Charlotte Marathon Expo. We are excited to welcome Philip Sanford, the current president of the Charlotte Running Club.

Philip has dedicated his time to fostering a welcoming environment for runners of all levels in our community. He leads the Triple C Beer Runners and serves as a coach for the Let Me Run program at Sedgefield Middle School, too. Philip also writes a weekly newsletter for his Team Sanford Running program, sharing insights and tips to help runners improve their performance. We’re looking forward to discussing his journey in running, coaching, and how he envisions the future of the Charlotte Running Club.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 34:22 — 47.5MB)

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Welcome to the Running Around Charlotte Podcast! We’re recording LIVE from the 2024 Novant Health Charlotte Marathon Expo. We’ve got our long-time friend, Lisa Landrum here on the program with us. (Note: we didn’t say old…)

Lisa is a runner, coach, and community-builder who has been instrumental in shaping the running landscape here Charlotte. As the founder of runCLTrun and Forward Motion, she’s created platforms that connect and support runners of all levels. She’s a helluva runner in her own right, and long-time pace team leader for the Novant Health Charlotte Marathon. 

More important than all of that, she’s a Cotswold mom and friend of ours. Lisa, welcome back to the program! You were actually the very FIRST guest on the show!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:57 — 38.7MB)

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Welcome to the Running Around Charlotte Podcast! We’re recording LIVE from the 2024 Novant Health Charlotte Marathon Expo today, and we’re excited to have Cornell Jones back on the program with us.

We’ll say it here: Cornell is a straight-up Renaissance Man; a former Division 1 college runner, Feature Producer for ESPN, runner and Mad Miles run club founder, and community-builder. If you don’t know from the Mad Miles Run Club, you’re either just visiting, or you’re one of the 117 people moving to Charlotte every day. And today’s your first day in town! 

 Cornell, welcome to the show! 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 34:48 — 48.2MB)

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