Lissa Nypaver – Ambassador

Let’s check in with another one of our Novant Health Charlotte Marathon ambassadors — and this one, can give some valuable advice and motivation to those of you who’ve ever had an injury and needed to take some time off. Lissa Nypaver is used to running a LOT of races — at least one a month… or 2… or 3… but like we all know, a lot of races this year were cancelled or run virtually. And then on top of it all.. ow, knee surgery. She joins us now on Running Around Charlotte to give us an update on her year.

Novant Health Foundation

Our partnership with Novant Health is a great one. Novant keeps the marathon rolling with health and wellness, and all money raised by the marathon is used to support programs at Hemby Children’s Hospital. In fact, in the last few years, the Novant Health Charlotte Marathon has donated more than $200,000 dollars to Hemby because of our runners’ enthusiastic support.

So it’s with great joy that we welcome Amy McKinney and Jessica Osborn from Novant Health Foundation to the Running Around Charlotte podcast.

Hit Your Brixx

Here’s a virtual race you want to be a part of — one in which a donation gets you a free pizza! And not just any pizza, but a Brixx Wood Fired Pizza. Yum. We’re talking about the Hit the Brixx 10k/5k Run/Walk. Coming in October, it’s part of the RunCharlotte 6-pack series and this year, it’s virtual – so this year’s race is actually called, Hit *Your* Bricks. It benefits a very important nonprofit in our community — the Kids Path Pediatric Hospice Program.

We’re honored to Have Pete Brunnick, President & CEO of Hospice & Palliative Care of the Charlotte Region, and Jenna Wise, Marketing Director at Brixx Wood Fired Pizza on the Running Around Charlotte Podcast to tell us all about it.

Will Hayes – Novant Sports Performance Center

We all know training for a marathon involves a lot of running, but what else should you be doing in your workouts to get the best performance? We’re asking that question to Will Hayes, a sports performance manager at Novant Health Sports Performance in Huntersville.

Eric Smith – Charlotte Running Club

Charlotte Running Club is a powerful force behind running and encouragement in Charlotte.. and for the first time in 2-1/2 years, it has a new President. Eric Smith is a committed runner who is eager to encourage others, and has also been described as a “rock star” pace runner for our Novant Health Charlotte Marathon.

With the Charlotte Marathon (and others) transitioned to virtual runs this year, he is literally “Running Around Charlotte” for his races. Eric joins us now to talk about his upcoming races and his new post.

Christine Turner

Here’s a question we all need to hear: “How will you get moving today?” It’s a favorite question of our next guest on Running Around Charlotte. Christine Turner is a former college soccer player and now mother of 2, who trained as a mental health counselor, and is currently as a personal trainer at a company she started about 2 years ago. And as if she’s not busy enough — she also runs. Wow! We’re glad she’s here talking to us today… maybe she can share some of her energy!

Matt Sharp – RunningWorks

We like anything that gets folks out running — and we know the transformative effect running can have on people’s lives. One place that’s absolutely apparent is with RunningWorks, a non-profit that gives Charlotte’s homeless population an avenue to take control of their lives through health and wellness. They also help their runners along that course with mental health counseling, group therapy, career development, and housing assistance. Matthew Sharp is their Chief Operating Officer, and joins us now on Running Around Charlotte.

Juliet Kuehnle – Sun Counseling & Wellness

How is your relationship with food and exercise? How are you feeling after stay at home orders that kept you out of the office or your usual social circles? Do you want to talk about it? Well Juliet Kuehnle is someone you can talk to. She’s a therapist who takes a holistic approach to helping you sort out your feelings and fears, and move forward in a positive way. She’s here today on Running Around Charlotte, to share some insights about how to deal with stress right about now.

Aaron Dodge

Wanna have a good time? Then be around fun people! Or at least, watch them on Tik Tok and Instagram. Our guest today on Running Around Charlotte is THAT guy — the one everyone loves to watch dancing on Tik Tok or running the mic at Charlotte Checkers Games. And guess what? He also runs marathons and has served as one of our Novant Health Charlotte Marathon Ambassadors! Welcome, Aaron Dodge!