COMMUNITY UNITY CHILI COOK-OFF

Delicious homemade chili may not be the first thing you think of when you think of a run club, but Charlotte Running Company’s Riverwalk location definitely pulled it off on Tuesday, September 29. The warm and cozy aroma of multiple crockpots wafted through the air as the second annual Community Unity Chili Cookoff took place on the outside pavilion. 

Multiple running clubs came together to take part in a group run down the riverwalk, and then stayed for the chili, the community, and the raffles and giveaways. It felt more like a party than a run club, as people partook in libations from the bar and conversed around the outdoor tables. 

“There are so many run clubs in the area, and our goal is for all of them to come together as a community and just have fun running together,” said Paige Kell with CRC. 

Representatives from Tega Cay Run Club, Rock Hill Brewery Run Club, CRC’s Fast Feet, and Main Street Bottle Shop Walk/Run Club were all in attendance, competing for the chili crown. 

“I love getting all the local run clubs together and getting to know more of the local runners,” Nicole Vonalven with the Tega Cay Run Club told me. “I love seeing all the camaraderie.” 

Amor Ababan with Fast Feet said she attended last year, and she just loves “being with the community… and of course winning prizes.” 

And who doesn’t love winning? This year, in addition to the swag that the chili winners got to bring home, there were also several items raffled off from various community partners. 

Fostering the Family was in attendance, promoting their November 7th 5K, which will help raise awareness and funds to support foster, adoptive, and kinship families and the children in their care. In the same spirit of coming together, Christina Abdella told me that Fostering the Family “helps create communities to assist with whatever these families need.” They gave away swag, and one lucky participant won a free race entry. 

Carolina Sports Clinic was also in attendance, raffling off a complimentary session, and there were donated items from ON and Brooks. 

CLT Sports/ Charlotte Novant Run showed up to join in the gathering, eat chili, and promote the upcoming Charlotte Marathon. “I love seeing the different run clubs coming together,” Rachel Holloway told me. “It’s wonderful to have a common bond.” 

In addition to swag, the Charlotte Marathon also gave away a grand prize of a free entry to the race, with the winner's choice to use it for the full, half, rucking half, or 5K. They also raffled off a free entry to the Novant Health Lake Norman 5K or 15K. 

After everyone had the chance to chow down on chili and vote for their favorites, the Main Street Bottle Shop Walk/Run club was awarded as the winner for the second year in a row. 

Lissa Nypavec, the founder of Main Street Bottle Shop’s club and the winning chili maker, said that even better than winning was “having everyone come out together and support each other.” 

Community is always a main focus at Charlotte Running Company, which is why all four of our locations have events like this throughout the year. To stay up to date on all the happenings, be sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook, and sign up for our newsletter. 

And of course, you can always stop by any of our four locations for expert shoe fitting, gait analysis, and the ability to try on as many pairs of the top-brand shoes as you’d like to find the perfect fit for you.