Jimmy Molina & Sunkul Soni — NHCM Charity Chasers

If you’re old enough, you probably remember the old school charity walks where donors would pledge a certain number of dollars for every lap you walked for charity. (Do they event still do that??)

Either way, there’s a pair of runners who’ll put a new twist on that this year at the Novant Health Charlotte Marathon. Jimmy Molina and Sunkul Soni are running as “charity chasers,” to gin up money for the Novant Healthy Hemby Children’s Hospital.

And if you’re wondering how this whole “charity chaser” thing works, we’ve got Jimmy and Sunkul on this eposide of the Running Around Charlotte podcast to tell us all about it.

 

Dave Koontz

If you’ve been running around Charlotte for any length of time – or swimming or cycling – you may know of our next guest. Dave Koontz is arguably THE OG in the Charlotte Trialthon scene. He and his wife, Sharon, have logged no telling how many miles around the globe training and competing for decades.

After a 42 year career as an engineer at Duke Energy, Dave has retired from “that” kind of work, but he’s still an age group force to be reckoned in triathlon. He’s the publisher of the “Tri News” email… and he’s authoring one very incredible comeback story after donating one of his kidneys to his younger brother.


https://www.charlotteobserver.com/article276008706.html

Anthony Butler

Boston. Berlin. Tokyo. Chicago. New York. London. They’re not just great places to add to your passport. They’re home to some of the most prestigious marathons on the planet. Running one is something special. Running them all and earning the six-star,
World Marathon Majors is a bucket list for many a runner.

Charlotte’s Anthony Butler earned his sixth star in April at the London marathon. And he may very well hold another unique distinction: Butler is believed to be the only visually impaired runner to check the box on all six stars.

He adds yet another milestone to his list today, as our guest on the Running Around Charlotte podcast!


https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a43690578/visually-impaired-athlete-completes-6-world-marathon-majors/

Jessica Carranti – Ambassador

Like we’ve heard countless times on this program, there are SO many reasons that we run. And many of us use our running as a vehicle to help others.

The 2022 Running USA “Global Running Survey” shows that nearly 40-percent of runners are running FOR a cause. And their efforts add up to millions of dollars each year.

Jessica Carranti is one of those runners. She’s a Novant Health Charlotte Marathon ambassador, a spouse, a mom, and a runner on a mission.

Cornell Jones – Mad Miles

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.”

Ashley Mahoney

Most every runner has their “why.” Why we get up in the morning. Why we go to bed early. Why we get outside in the worst weather or why we log so many miles… The reasons we run are special to each one of us, even if the pace or distance is the same as the guy running next to us. And it seems the longer we run, the more meaning – the more WHY – each one of those miles holds.

Some of us may have difficulty articulating that “why.” And for some folks, like today’s guest, it’s part of their job. Ashley Mahoney is a Novant Health Charlotte Marathon veteran, yoga instructor, former college athlete, and local journalist. You probably recognize her byline from Axios Charlotte, the Charlotte Post, or Queen City Football Chronicle.

Jamey Yon – TriYON Performance

Today’s guest has been coaching, training, and competing for more than three decades. TriYON Performance is the distillation of that experience, and his way of helping others successfully piece together a healthy lifestyle of running, triathlon, and multi-sport. 

His unique style of incorporating training and nutrition into real life schedules gets results for athletes of all ages and disciplines. This year that experience is part of the 2023 Novant Health Charlotte Marathon Official Training Plans. 

We are REALLY excited to have Coach Jamey Yon join us on this episode of the Running Around Charlotte podcast. 

Jesus Delatorre

We think it’s fair to say that runners are pretty darned good people. As a group, they’re generous with their time, their knowledge, their finances, and all that.

Today’s guest on the Running Around Charlotte podcast embodies all of that. His instragram is wall-to-wall pics of running. Whether it’s racing, running, pacing, or volunteering at events… it seems like it would be pretty hard to be out there and NOT run into Jesus DeLatorre.

And, we’ve got him on the program today with us on the Running Around Charlotte podcast.

Heather Taylor – Momma’s Building Memories

Home improvement shows are some of the most ubiquitous and popular shows on just about any platform. Our next guest should probably have her own show. She’s a mom, a runner – of course — one heck of an inspiration, and has some incredible DIY home improvement skills. If you’re not following Heather Taylor on Instagram, you will be after this program. She’s our guest today on the Running Around Charlotte podcast.

Keith Koldsbaek – Bella’s Person

For some dogs, ball is life. Others play fetch or whatever, and others might prefer a walk around the block. Bella likes to run. A lot. You may have seen her running around Charlotte – doing anywhere from 5k’s to the marathon. All on those little dachshund legs of hers!

Bella and her person, Keith, slowed down long enough to join us on an episode of the Running Around Charlotte podcast. Welcome!