It all began with The Levinsons...

Welcome to Charm City Run.  Kara and I started Charm City Run in 2002 at the Timonium location.  It was a former bank and the vault and drive-through are still there.  Do not try to make a deposit.  Your money will not show up in your account.  I am a Baltimoran and Kara hails from Route 29 in Howard County via Greenville, SC.  

The Charm City Run idea was born during a 4.5 year stay in Austin, TX where I earned an MBA from the University of Texas-Austin and where Kara taught Physical Education and 2nd Grade at the St. Andrews Episcopal School.   Kara and I talked about running the first time we met and we ran a lot together until little ones came along.  In Austin, everyone runs on Town Lake and a running store there called Run-Tex had hundreds of coolers all around the lake filled with Powerade and water.  Kara thought that was just wonderful and decided that Run-Tex is where the Levinsons would be purchasing their shoes.  

Kara and I trained for the Fort Worth Marathon together and ran it in cotton shirts and lacrosse shorts.  It was a disaster of epic proportions.  We were malnourished, dehydrated and overheated.  DO NOT MESS WITH TEXAS.  Like every crazy runner, I forgot how bad it was in two weeks and announced to Kara that I thought I could do better next time.  Kara knew that was not the case and gifted me a Run-Tex training program.  It was then that I discovered Run-Tex magic.  

It was so positive.  People from all different walks of life became friends and it was just all goodness.  After two years at Dell Computer, a much smaller stint at a process manufacturing software company (I do not know what that means either), and the birth of a beautiful boy named Ben, we traveled home to see family.  During a run with Kara on the NCR trail, Kara looked at me and said “Baltimore needs a Run-Tex.”

I laughed but was disconcerted to notice that she was not laughing.  While I was trying to figure out what process manufacturing software was I volunteered at Run-Tex and then worked there part-time.  After 6 months we moved back to the Charm City and added the RUN.  

Our goals were simple, create a place where we would want to hang out and create a workplace where we would want to work.  Enjoy hanging out, leave inspired.  

Best,
Josh & Kara Levinson