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Craft Sportswear Joins Novant Health Charlotte Marathon as Official Apparel Partner

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Swedish-born running apparel company Craft Sportswear North America has signed on as the official apparel partner for the Novant Health Charlotte Marathon. The partnership allows NHCM to provide runners with apparel opportunities from a company that makes innovative technical gear, and whose mission and values align with RunCharlotte and its 6-Pack Series of events, and the Novant Health Charlotte Marathon.

“We’re constantly in search of ways to create and embrace new opportunities for our runners, and our partnership with Craft is one more way to bring ‘more’ to the experience,” says Novant Health Charlotte Marathon Race Director, Tim Rhodes. “We’re looking forward to reintroducing the Craft brand to Charlotte and our audience.”

“The running community here in the U.S. has exploded over the past year and we are thrilled to be aligned with RunCharlotte as the premier race organization in the Charlotte area,” said David Preciado, Director of Partnerships for Craft. “Through this partnership, we look forward to providing RunCharlotte and their running community with innovative products and programs that will help elevate the race day experience and meet all their endurance needs.”

Runners will find Craft race shirts in their packets for the Novant Health Charlotte Marathon and select Premier series (6 pack) races. But they’ll also have opportunities to explore Craft Sportswear choices more closely at local retailers.

“They’re always looking for ways to come up with new and better products for runners, to make us more comfortable when we run,” says Rhodes. “Runners can look forward to more choices in the marketplace, new products in their race bags, and the chance to win Craft apparel throughout the year.”

About RunCharlotte and the Novant Health Charlotte Marathon

RunCharlotte is Charlotte’s home for the resources, inspiration, and experiences to guide you along your running journey, with more than 25 years of experience producing, promoting, timing, and scoring events of all types. Since 2005, the Novant Health Charlotte Marathon has capped the local road racing season. The event and its participants have contributed nearly $200,000 to support programs at Novant Health’s Hemby Children’s Hospital.

More information and registration for the November 13, 2021 event: thecharlottemarathon.com

About Craft Sportswear

Craft is a Swedish brand specializing in clothing and gear for endurance sports where performance and comfort are crucial for optimal results. Working closely with elite athletes and constantly developing new materials and technical solutions, Craft offers innovative training and competition apparel and footwear for world champions and everyday heroes. For more, visit craftsports.us

 

5 Best Yoga Moves for Runners (Who Aren’t Into Yoga) 

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We’ve said it here before — to be the best runner you can be, you need to do more than run. Sure, a long run feels great if you only have an hour or so to get something in. But if all you do is run, you’re setting yourself up for muscle imbalances that lead to injuries. Great fitness combines cardio-pulmonary efficiency, strength, agility, and flexibility with that endurance long-distance runners crave.

There are a lot of cross-training choices for runners, but if you only have time for one, yoga is a good one. The total-body integration that comes from yoga’s combination of strength, flexibility, breathing, and mental focus will make your runs feel better, and your downtime less sore.

“Yoga can help elongate the muscles overtightened from repetitive motions of running, to create proper alignment and prevent injuries,” says Novant Clinical Exercise Physiologist Taylor Pigg. “Yoga helps not just in prevention of injuries, but after the run it can bring oxygen-rich blood back to those muscles to aid recovery.”

If you’ve never tried yoga before, don’t be put off by its unfamiliarity. Think of it as an enhanced pre-run stretch and post-run recovery exercise. Pigg suggests the 5 yoga poses below to get your started. Don’t forget to breathe deeply and slowly while you do them to increase circulation and relieve stress!

Downward Facing Dog

This stretch and its many variations are a yoga student’s best friend — and always fun for a joke or two. When unleashed, it stretches your calves and lower back.

“Downward Dog is a good stretch for the posterior muscles that tend to stay tight and make your back hurt,” says Pigg. It can also strengthen arms and upper body, core, and legs — basically everything.

Start with the basic Downward Dog: Lie flat with your hands on your mat a little wider than shoulder-width apart. Life up and point your hips to the sky to make a “triangle” with your body. For variations, reach one arm over and grab the opposite ankle and hold, or lift one leg so it is in line with back and shoulders. You can even try bending that knee for a little extra work, but take your time and don’t push it if it hurts too much!

Pigeon Pose

The pigeon is a good, basic pose for something runners don’t do nearly enough — open their hips. Those muscles and tendons need a good stretch to stay loose and keep you limber as the miles roll on. This stretch will strengthen your hip flexors, piriformis, and glutes.

“Pigeon Pose is good if you have sciatica and flare-ups,” says Pigg. If running makes your back and hips sore and tight, this is for you.

From Downward Dog, bring one leg forward and across, so the outside of the foot is down on the mat. Keep the other leg extended. Bend the open hip down to the mat and hold. Take a deep, slow breath.

Low Lunge

This is another great pose for tight hip flexors, says Pigg, and one many runners are already familiar with. Thought of as a basic running stretch, low lunges can help with hip, knee, and back alignment for a balanced, more efficient run.

“Runners have tight hips, because when you’re running those muscles are tightening a lot, and runners don’t take a lot of time to elongate those muscles,” says Pigg. “That can cause the hips to get out of alignment, which can hurt knees and ankles.”

From your pigeon pose, slide the bent leg forward so your foot is flat on the mat in front of you. Stretch your back up straight and rest your hands on your knee. Breathe deep and exhale!

Cobra

Cobra will stretch and strengthen your lower back and core, says Pigg. Lie on your belly with your legs behind you and your palms flat on the mat next to your ribs. Push your chest off the mat, trying to lift with your back muscles while using your hands to steady yourself.

“These are the muscles that support your lumbar spine, and will help strengthen your back, keep your core and your hips strong, and keep attaching muscles around your hips stabilized,” says Pigg. “If you have a stronger lower back and core, you don’t have to compensate with other muscles.”

As runners, all of your movement starts with a strong core and back. Keeping them strong can help add power to your run, whether distance or sprinting.

Thread the Needle, and other shoulder/neck stretches

Don’t exclude your upper body from your stretching routine! If you’ve ever been running and felt tightness across your shoulders, consider loosening up your trapezius muscle. Thread the Needle, Eagle Arms, and Bear Hug will help your whole body to work together by loosening up your traps.

To thread the needle, start on your hands and knees in tabletop position. Thread one arm under the other and bend down to bring your ear to the mat. Hold, breathe, and repeat on the other side.

For Eagle Arms, sit up. Cross your arms at the elbow and intertwine them so your palms are together. Bring your elbows up in line with your shoulders and hold. Breathe!

One more? Give yourself a bear hug. It will stretch and loosen the muscles across your back that get tight easily when you run. It’s also a great way to end your new yoga routine. Congrats!

 

Get out of your training rut: 5 ways to spice up your running routine

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Restrictions or no restrictions, we all feel a little cabin fever by the beginning of March, right? It’s been cold, often grey and rainy, and a lot of us feel like we’ve been trapped indoors forever. Even if we’ve been good about our running, we need a change of scenery.

If you’ve made it this far sticking to your New Year’s resolutions, GREAT! And here’s more good news: COVID cases are easing across North Carolina, and restrictions are being lifted. Spring is just around the corner and temperatures are getting warmer. If you feel like you’ve been “stuck in second gear” for too long (thanks, Friends), we have a few ways to spice up your running routine.

We asked one of Charlotte’s best-known runners & triathletes to give us a few ways to switch things up as we head into spring. Kelly Fillnow, of Fillnow Coaching, has been running long enough to know your pain. She gave us some good ideas to get you out of your training rut.

1. Be Flexible

Like we said, try a change of scenery now that more is open — and warmer!

“If you run four days a week, be flexible with it,” says Fillnow. “Be adaptable based on the circumstances.” So if one day is cold and rainy (It’s not May yet!), do something other than running that day. If you’re even more organized, check the forecast and arrange days accordingly. But mostly, don’t be afraid to change it up if you’re not feeling it on a particular day — just do something.

2. Don’t Run Every Day

Fillnow advises against running 7 days a week. Your legs need some rest! Ride a bike or walk with a friend.

“Do something that adds a social component to your activity, especially if you have a friend that’s not a runner,” says Fillnow. Walk the greenway, ride a bike, take a class, do an exercise video together — all good choices! If you’ve never tried a Zumba or cardio funk class, find one! They will add some great rhythm to your step.

“It’s good to have something fun in the schedule to look forward to,” Fillnow reminds us. Heck yeah, it is! Sometimes we need a lift to keep us motivated.

3. Hit the Trail

Like a great cross-fit experience that will get your blood pumping? A hike or trail run changes up the routine enough to give your legs and heart a good workout, without the same relentless pounding on your joints.

“There are so many beautiful trails around, it’s a great way to stay fit and cross-train for running with aerobic benefit,” says Fillnow. And now is a GREAT time of year to check them out, because you’ll immerse yourself in North Carolina’s natural beauty and still be able to feel your toes when you’re done.

Want to know some great trails around our region? We wrote about some local ones here:https://runcharlotte.com/trail-running/ . Here are a few tips to get you started:  https://runcharlotte.com/hitting-the-trail-with-ease/

4. Get Stronger

Your muscles need more than running to be strong and fast, so don’t forget to do your strength work! If you can go to a gym to lift, great. If not, we also introduced you to some bodyweight exercises last month that you can do at home: https://runcharlotte.com/exercise-for-runners/

And while we’ve had to rely on our computer screens and YouTube quite a bit for social distancing to do our core workouts, they are still a great resource. Yoga is a favorite, but try some pilates, too. There are a lot to choose from. And don’t forget your glutes! They need to be part of a strong, balanced muscular system for runners.

“Runners overwork their glutes,” says Fillnow, “and don’t use them properly.” So wait, you overwork them but you should work them more? It’s about balance, says Fillnow. Strong glutes help you run more efficiently because they’re in balance with the rest of your body.

5. Swim

We know pool time has been really hard to find this year. Most pools have required a reservation, the Aquatic Center has been closed a lot, and neighborhood pools are  closed for winter (but hey, May isn’t far away!) Even local swim teams are scrambling for space.

But if you have access to a pool or club, throw in an hour of swimming once or twice a week. It’s a great recovery workout that balances work across your entire body without the joint stress, and it’s great for your heart too. Warning: You’ll be more tired than you expected, and will probably want to eat a bowl of ice cream. It’s okay, you’ve earned it!

The most important thing to remember when you feel like you’re in a rut is that motivation can wane depending on how you’re feeling on any given day. Good habits come from focusing on your goals and going after them even when it’s tough to find your “get up and go.”

“You’re not motivated to brush your teeth every day, you just do it,” says Fillnow. “Don’t just focus on being motivated, but on habit formation.” And go for it!

 

Novant Health Charlotte Marathon Welcomes New Event Experience Director

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Tim Rhodes, Race Director of the annual Novant Health Charlotte Marathon, is excited to welcome a new member to the marathon’s leadership team who can bring a fresh reimagination to the storied fall event. Alaina Williams, MBA, CPCE, brings a wealth of coast-to-coast experience to the new role of Event Experience Director.

“For 2021, it was important for us to reimagine what an in-person and virtual experience would look like,” says Rhodes. “Runners have been away for so long, we felt they deserved a fresh take on what the Novant Health Charlotte Marathon looked and felt like.”

Rhodes points out that a lot of new runners have started training for marathons in a year that allowed few other athletic outlets, yet few races could be run in person. He wants to welcome new runners to the Novant Health Charlotte Marathon with the best experience possible — whether they are running in person or virtually — and Williams has the on-the-ground experience to do that.

“We want to make sure their first experience with us sets the bar for other events,” says Rhodes. “Alaina brings to Charlotte the experience of working with world-class events, and what it takes to make them work.”

Williams has directed the Biofreeze San Francisco Marathon Health & Fitness Expo and Biofreeze Berkeley Half Expo in San Francisco, CA; coordinated hospitality and experiential events for the New York Road Runners 5-Borough Series and TCS New York City Marathon; directed food and beverage, catering, and concessions for events at Lincoln Center in New York; coordinated and produced events at the Georgia International Events Center and the Gwinnett Center; and much more. She is excited to bring her talents to the Charlotte Marathon.

“I’m excited to join the Novant Health Charlotte Marathon team and make this your favorite race each year!” says Williams. “We’re working hard on introducing interesting runner-focused content and experiences, virtual class options and more. Making the Novant Health Charlotte Marathon an amazing world-class experience for the first-timers and veterans alike, either in the virtual or live event space, is something we are striving for.”

Williams holds an MBA from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, and a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication from the University of Georgia; in addition to several professional certifications, including Certified Professional in Catering & Events.

5 Bodyweight Exercises to Make You a Better Runner

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We know a great exercise to make you a better runner is…. Running. There is no substitute for hitting the pavement to get you the training you need — but to be a better runner, running is not all you should do! If you only run, you can create a ‘pattern overload’ that leads to a muscle imbalance, and that can lead to injury.

We talked to Will Hayes, Performance Manager for Novant Health Sports Performance, about exercises that can make your legs stronger on your non-running days. Try a few of these at home or in a gym, and you will see the difference.

Squats

“These are the best and most simple exercises for leg strength, hitting your quads, hamstrings, and glutes really well,” says Hayes.  You’ve probably already done them at some point, but are you doing them right?

Place your feet between shoulder- and hip-width apart, and balance your feet so your weight is evenly distributed between the balls of your feet and your heels. Your toes should point forward or slightly out, while your torso is as vertical as possible — not bending over or hunching — with your head up and your eyes forward. Bring your arms out in front of your body, and squat as low as you can without losing your balance, below parallel to the ground, like you’re sitting in a chair. Start with 10, and build from there.

Split Squat

Think of a lunge, but staying in place instead of walking forward.

“It’s where we start everyone,” says Hayes. “It adds lower body strength, mobility through hip flexors on your last leg, and gets some movement.” It’s also a little more glute intensive, says Hayes.

Like the squats, keep your torso vertical. Your front foot should be flat and your back foot should be up on your toes. Make sure your legs aren’t too far apart. Drop your back knee first, and come back up. Start with 10, and do them slowly until you build up some strength.

Glute Bridge

Go grab your yoga mat or a towel, and lie down on it. Enjoy the moment of rest, take a deep breath, and then get to work on these core exercises that strengthen your glutes!

Bridges are a great, basic exercise that can add many variations. Start by lying on your back, knees bent so your lower leg is straight up from the floor. Lift your hips up until your back forms a straight line from your shoulders to your knees. Feel that? Hayes says to do this right, 80% of your weight should be on your heels.

“Lift your toes up so the weight is on your heels,” he advises. “Drive your heels into the ground and lift your hips to the sky.” Don’t overextend, though — you don’t want to stress your back out. It’s important to squeeze those glutes — yes, squeeze your buns! — and tighten your abs to support your spine. Start with 15 of these, and then add additional exercises like marching and single leg lifts from the bridge position for more variety.

Front plank

Oh yessss… I know you can feel this one by just reading those words. A bridge is only as sturdy as its planks, right? And this exercise is a good way to check your overall muscle balance if you mostly work on your legs.

“These are good for your core and posture,” says Hayes. “Holding a static position makes a big difference.” Lie face down on your mat (hey, no napping!), and then raise yourself up on your elbows. Your elbows should be right under your shoulders, and your back should be in a straight line from your head to your heels. Don’t sag (ouch!), and try not to lift your hips too high, either. Both cheats defeat the purpose of a good plank.

Kneeling Quad Stretch

In addition to leg strength, you need mobility and flexibility to get the most out of your running muscles. A kneeling quad stretch can help stretch out and tone your hip flexors and quadriceps on the front of your thighs.

You can start from a kneeling position and pull your back foot up, or lower into it from a standing position. “Put your back foot on something chair height, and kneel down with your other foot in front of you,” says Hayes. “Then stretch up nice and tall.” To hold the perfect pose, squeeze your glutes, and keep your shoulders back and down. Ahhhh.

Let’s Go!… Slowly

If you’re just starting out, do less than you think you should do, says Hayes. “You should not feel like you did a hard workout,” he says. “You shouldn’t be sore.” The best part of these 5 strength exercises is that they can be done easily while you’re at home during your workout time, when it’s too cold and/or wintry for your tastes. Throw in some towel stretches for added flexibility.

You can find more great exercises on the Instagram and YouTube pages for Novant Health Sports Performance, @NHathlete. So grab your mat and feel the power!