Live. Give. Run. Blog
To Inspire and Move the Human Spirt, One Sole at a Time
I have had quite a few people ask me; how do you stay so structured with your runs? They talk about how the first week or two they do well and then they miss a run here or there and it all starts to go sideways. Or maybe you are tired after that first week and so the thought of lacing up your shoes and getting out there is a bit daunting. You want to run but mentally you’re stuck. What is the secret to creating a running habit? There is not really a secret, however they are some key strategies I have put in place to help me keep my running at the forefront of my week!
As we enter the holiday season, you may have started to hear people talking about New Year’s resolutions. For many people, these resolutions tend to focus on health, wellness, exercise, losing weight, or changing their body in some way. While focusing on health and wellness is a fabulous motivator, many times we take these resolutions to an extreme. For example, completely cutting out all desserts or sweets, or removing carbohydrates from our diet, or something that is just not maintainable for the long term.
This podcast integrates Dr. Arman Taghizadeh’s (aka “Dr. T”) experience as a board certified Psychiatrist, NCAA division 1 wrestler, and current competitive athlete as he dives into the stories of how elite athletes and entrepreneurs have used mindset to help them overcome challenges and achieve success. Today’s podcast features our very own Josh Levinson, founder and owner of Charm City Run.
We started the Amy Schuerholz Metz and Charm City Run Scholarship presented by Saucony back in 2015 after a former store lead, Anthony, had a great idea to support our local high school students. This was a chance for us to not only support these great young men and women, but share their stories with Charm City Run Nation.
For many years I thought about how cool it was that National (now Global) Running Day always fell around my birthday, June 3rd. Kelly Maurer our training director, former Annapolis store lead and friend, has this obsession with being epic. She has been epic and has attempted races that feature ultra-length and mental challenge. When Charm City Run was searching for something EPIC to do on National Running Day, Kelly had an idea for a 24-hour race in the Annapolis Towne Centre. As we know and appreciate, runners are a little funny, perhaps a little nuts, and to insiders, just the right amount of crazy.
As runners and fitness enthusiasts, we know what it’s like to transform our psyches in as little as 20 sweaty minutes – i.e., to go from feeling flat, or off, to feeling good again. This is the real reason why we always find a way to move, even when we’re injured. Who doesn’t want to feel better? When we feel better, we treat ourselves and others better.
The entire Charm City Run community is something that I’ve never seen before in a workplace. Everyone always has a smile on their face, even if the store is getting slammed. Everyone is willing to pitch in and genuinely cares about each other. As an intern getting to know the owner personally is something you may not see in big companies.
5:03 am:
It’s Saturday, and I reach for my phone to check the time. I make sure that the alarm is set. Check! Official wake up time is 6:15. I either have one hour and twelve minutes to go back to sleep, dreaming of finisher medals and post-race bagels. Or, I have one hour and twelve minutes to run through everything in my mind...at least 26 times..for the first day of half marathon training.
Whoever said running from your problems doesn’t solve them probably wasn’t running fast enough. It may not be effective in solving them, but running in general usually makes problems seem significantly easier to work through. At least, easier than the act of forcing your body to run a certain distance or time.
