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.

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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!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 22:23 — 20.5MB)

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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.

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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.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 23:57 — 22.0MB)

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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.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 18:38 — 17.1MB)

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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.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 17:40 — 24.3MB)

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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!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 23:33 — 32.4MB)

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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!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 23:59 — 33.0MB)

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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!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 16:18 — 22.4MB)

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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.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 25:40 — 35.3MB)

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