Welcome to The Running Around Charlotte Podcast! On this episode, we’ve got Meilin Tompkins with us, a 2025 Novant Health Charlotte Marathon Ambassador who has inspiring story of her own. She went from being NOT a runner, to becoming a passionate ambassador for the marathon, and is now the marketing director for one of Charlotte’s “OG” running specialty shops!  

Meilin’s story is a testament to how consistent effort and dedication can turn anyone into a runner and a community leader. 

Welcome back to The Running Around Charlotte Podcast. On this episode, we’ve got Erica Meisner, the founder of Mental Health Matters here with us.  Erica is not only a passionate advocate for mental health awareness, but she’s also a former college lacrosse player who turned into a runner! Her organization hosts the annual Mental Health Matters 5k here in Charlotte, bringing together runners and community members to support mental health initiatives.

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 get to catch up with the second-best looking bald guy on the Charlotte running scene. 

My man Miller Yoho is on the program, and after you’ve googled his picture, you can listen in on this week’s conversation. Miller’s the guy behind some of the best Charlotte sports tweets, the bowl game with the most “twang,” and The Meck Mile.

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!

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!

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!

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! 

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!

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.

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.

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.