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.

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.

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!

School is just around the corner.. and let’s face it, this won’t start as a normal school year, just like the last one didn’t finish that way. On top of classroom learning, schools are weighing a return to sports — when many athletes have been out of practice since March. Dr. Christian Turner is a pediatrician with Novant Health – with a specialty of pediatric sports medicine – to give us some great back-to-school reminders.

We have become especially aware this summer of the differences in opportunities across our city. We know going to museums or camps are good for kids, but not all kids get that kind of exposure to what’s called cultural capital. It affects education and upward mobility, something Charlotte struggles with, according to a now-well-known report putting us last among Top 50 metros when it comes to moving up in socio-economic status.

The non-profit Raise a Child of the Carolinas sets its goal of exposing kids to the kind of opportunities that are not evenly available across the city, in order to help them grow up to be responsible, engaged citizens and leaders. If you’re a casual runner or walker, you can help. Shay Hunt is the Executive Director of Raise a Child and is here to tell us how — and more importantly, why — you can do your part.

If you’ve been in Charlotte for even a few months, listening to the radio or watching local TV, you’ve likely heard an ad for one of the Keffer Auto Group’s 8 car dealerships like Hyundai, Volkswagen, or Kia. What you may not know is their namesake owner, Jim Keffer, is pretty good at getting around on foot, too — we mean, of course, running.

Jim likes training and competing in endurance sports, and in fact, is the name sponsor of our Keffer Cares Rocktoberfest Half Marathon and 5-miler, part of the Run Charlotte 6-pack of races leading up to the Novant Charlotte Marathon.

We can all use a little encouragement in our running lives, and our next guest on Running Around Charlotte has some for you. Aaron Beaver is an ultra runner who created the Suffer Club on three points: encouragement, accountability, and consistency. He’s here to encourage us now with his story.

We love talking about running here, but the best part of running is knowing that you’re doing something to keep your body healthy and fit. Our next guest on Running Around Charlotte wants you to feel amazing in your body .. and, in fact, is inviting you to be a part of “Be Amazing Weekend” in October. Celia Thompson, or “Cel” to her friends, spent 10 years in competitive fitness and now focuses on keeping others fit. She joins us now to tell us how we can, also, “be amazing.”

Running is a hot, sweaty business. And what’s the first thing you do after you cool down? Taking a shower and washing your hair is probably high on the list. Our next guest on Running Around Charlotte, though, got sick of running with her hair one day during a 20-mile run, and… took it off. No, she didn’t shave it — she was wearing a wig, like she had almost her whole life — and she was tired of it. Lindsay Walter is an athlete with alopecia, which means she doesn’t grow hair. And she’s here to tell us the story of how she embraced her bald head… and literally ran with it.

One really cool thing about our Novant Health Charlotte Marathon is our love for local companies with what we choose to represent us, and the local sponsors who support our race. And we’re excited that once again, our race t-shirts are made by local company, Recover Brands. What’s even cooler is that Recover Brands supports the earth. They are made of 100% recycled material, designed, sourced, and sewn right here in North Carolina. Bill Johnston is the co-founder of Recover Brands, and he’s here to explain more about the amazing sustainable T-shirts that are the must-have accessory from every race around.