Running Toward Community: The Story of the Holly Springs Runners' Project and the Interplay of Fitness, Philanthropy, and Craft Brews

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Amanda Benbow Lunn (00:09):
Hello friends, happy 2024 and welcome
back to the newly renamed NCDeep Dive Podcast, formerly
known as the Holly Springs DeepDive.
I am your host, Amanda BenbowLunn, and today I have the
immense privilege to be speakingwith local community members
Ryan Monteleone and Sarah Larson.

(00:30):
We will be exploring the ideasof community, connection, and
motivation, while highlightingthe Holly Springs Half-Marathon
Foundation, which has justrecently been renamed to the
Holly Springs Runners' Project,Pace Yourself Run Company, the
Holly Springs Run Club and howthey all may support our town,
its people and possibly each ofyou, as you strive to meet your

(00:53):
New Year's resolutions and goalsfor 2024.
Without further ado, friends,let's dive in.

Ryan Monteleone (01:01):
My name is Ryan Monteleone.
I'm a financial advisor withEdward Jones by trade here in
the Holly Springs, also thepresident of the Holly Springs
Half-Marathon Foundation, alongwith the president of Pace
Yourself Run Company.

And how long have you been in the area?

Been in Holly Springs essentially for 21 years
.

Sarah Larson (01:19):
And Sarah.
My name is Sarah Larson.
I've been in Holly Springs for10 years in the area, North
Carolina, for 12.
All three kids born in thisarea.
So we love Holly Springs, welove the accessibility, we love
the community.
We live in Oak Hall where I'mthe president of the HOA, there.
Love to volunteer for thecommunity, so I sit on the Parks
and Rec Advisory Committee.
I was on the Downtown VillageAdvisory Committee and then

(01:41):
through that I've been asked towork as the executive director
for the Holly SpringsHalf-Marathon Foundation and I
do social media and eventplanning for Bombshell and
social media I take a breathbecause there's so many options,
so many things to check off.
Social media for EnduranceFence Solutions and Southwest
Greens.
I also have my own LLC where Ido social media and other event

(02:02):
planning throughout thecommunity.
So very involved.
Love it here.

Awesome.
That's why I love both of you,because you are super involved
and your list of things that youdo is way longer than your list
of things you don't do.

That's true.
Don't mind me running out ofbreath.
You're trying to say all thethings, All the things for sure.

All right, so tell me about the Holly
Springs Half-Marathon Foundation

Sure.
It's been around since 2017.
And since then we have givenback over $145,000 back to the
community through scholarshipsand race chariots and to the
Parks and Rec department.
Here in Holly Springs we have areally good partnership with
the town.
You'll see our water fountainsthroughout town.
They're ADA accessible, theyhave dog drinking bowls, water

(02:46):
bottle filling stations and wehave some athletic exercise
equipment on some of thegreenways.
With the foundation putting onthese races and encouraging
Holly Springs and surroundingcommunity residents to come and
be active and to push themselvesand to let them know what they
can do.
Whether you're a walker, runner, rucker, adaptive athlete, our
races are geared for everybody.

Awesome.
So, as one of the founders,Ryan, why was it created?
What was the inspiration?
What was the need that you andothers felt that needed to be
filled?

Yeah, I mean, like Sarah said, the
organization started in 2017 andwas really born out of the
Holly Springs Run Club.
I mean, the Holly Springs RunClub is an amazing community of
people in Holly Springs or inthe surrounding area, you know,
came together, not only rantogether, but they had that
charitable awareness.
They're always looking for waysto give back, and when we
created the first event, whichwas the Holly Springs Half

(03:39):
Marathon, which is run theSaturday before Thanksgiving
every year, we decided to takethe extra step and go ahead and
form a foundation you know 501C3organization and really come up
with a vision on how we wantedto give the money back to the
community.
And so our mission really is topromote health and wellness and
charitable awareness in theHolly Springs community.
Again, as Sarah discussed, we'vedone that in several different

(04:00):
ways.
We've done that in scholarships, race chariots for our adaptive
athletes If you happen to be onthe Carl Dean Greenway, you'll
see our exercise equipment thatwe donated.
Drinking Fountain Project iswhat we're working on now but
also just other support we'vedone during COVID, we did
Frontline Feet, which we gaveaway several hundred pairs of
shoes to our first responders,teachers.

(04:20):
That was a partnership withPace Yourself Run Company and On
Running, so that was a greatevent.
They're always looking at waysthat we can, you know, give back
, and creating this foundationin 2017, it really gave us the
vehicle to do that.

Perfect.
What kind of events does theHolly Springs Half Marathon
Foundation put on?

Right now we put on the races.
So, like Ryan said, startedwith the Holly Springs Half
Marathon, which is 13.1 miles,then it includes the 5k and then
, a couple years later, we addeda 10k option.
A couple years ago weincorporated the North Carolina
Spring Classic, which runs inApril, and it has a 16k, 8k and
5k.
And new this year, which isreally exciting, is our

(05:00):
inaugural A Race Against the Sunevent, which is a 24-hour
endurance event here in HollySprings at Sugg Farm and Bass
Lake.
Four mile loop, very doable foreverybody.
Like we said, we really try togear our events just to the
movers, you know, walkers,runners, ruckers, adaptive
athletes.
We're excited about that event,just to kind of prove to
yourself how much you can pushyour body and be active and

(05:23):
knowing that you can do thesethings.
So we have several, like I said, races that really just
showcase Holly Springs.

And add a little bit to it.
You know the Half Marathon isthe first event.
You know that started, again,just we were just running down
the Greenway group of us and wesaid, wouldn't it be cool if we
had a race here in town insteadof driving a Raleigh or outside
of town to not to do thoseevents?
And so we immediately partneredwith the town.
And you're gonna hear that alot, I think.
For me, and from Sarah, it's allabout partnership.
None of these things that we'vedone do we really do on our own

(05:51):
.
We find other groups to partnerwith, whether it's, you know,
Kiwanis or Rotary or othernon-profits, schools, different
things like that.
And so the Half Marathonstarted.
You know we wanted to partnerwith the town, we wanted to give
back to the town Parks and Rec,so partnered with Adam in Town
Hall and we're able to createthis vision for that.
The next step was NorthCarolina Spring Classic.
That vision was born out ofhaving a community event where

(06:11):
we would have a race and afestival on the same day.
So we created Springs Fest.
We created the North CarolinaSpring Classic and then, in the
spirit of partnership, weapproached the Chamber of
Commerce to operate Springs Festfor us on our behalf, since
that is our event.
And so, again, partnership,right, bringing people together.
And then the Race Against theSun, since it's new.

(06:32):
We're still looking forpartners, we're still trying to
figure out exactly how thatone's gonna work.
It's much different event thanyou know, the normal just road
race.
But a couple cool things.
I mean this is the first time,I think, Parks and Rec will have
people overnight at Sugg Farm Ithink that they had said that,
Sarah, right.
So a lot of these events thatwe've done, we've kind of pushed
the envelope up a little bitwith the town.
They've never closed roadsbefore and done this mass event.

(06:52):
Holly Springs Half Marathon wasthe first introduction to that.
So now they're a lot morecomfortable doing those types of
things because we've created,with Captain Patterson at PD,
Robbie at PD, kind of ablueprint on how to do that.
So now they're able to do itwith more events.
Same thing we've never had adowntown close the streets
festival before.
So we were able back in 2019,when we did the first Springs

(07:13):
Fest, to create a blueprintright to do that Right.
And so now we're able to dothat for more events.
And now we're looking at, youknow, having this overnight
event at Sugg, and so again,creating this blueprint for
future events.
Those are the three events asof now, but we've been talking
about some other exciting things, maybe, some things that maybe
aren't just running.
You know kickball tournaments,dodgeball, you know just some

(07:34):
fun things where people can beactive.
But maybe you know different,you know.
So I think some folks maybe area little intimidated by, you
know, going out and runni ng a5k, 10k, half, but they'd love
to throw a ball at somebody.

All right, so tell me a little bit more
about this race coming up, theendurance race in February.
What does that really look like?
Like, if you say half marathonto me, I know that that's 13.1
miles, right, and people aregoing to come and they're going
to walk, slash, run until theyfinish it, but I have no idea
really what an endurance racelike that looks like.

So you have events that are ultra marathons
right, and those are typicallyanything that's over, you know,
over 26 miles.
Over a marathon is going tobecome an ultra marathon, right,
and so those are going to bedistance right.
We decided to do a timed eventbecause it's an endurance event,
right.
So we want to be lessintimidating, and I think some
people are thinking, oh my gosh,it's a 24 hour event.
There's no way I can run for 24hours or 12 hours, or, you know

(08:35):
, we do have some relay optionsas well.
But the point of it is, if youcome out, it's a four mile loop.
If you come out in 24 hourperiod and you can run one or
walk, hike, whatever you do onelap, the answer to the question
is you can go four miles in 24hours.
That's the answer to thequestion, right?
The idea is it is a 24 hourperiod of time and you do as
much as you can or are willingto do.

(08:55):
There's no stipulation between,you know, starting and going to
work and coming back andcontinuing.
There'll be tents and fires andfood and you know people can
hang out and they can take a twohour break and then get back
out after it if they'd like.
So it's just about you know,knowing for that 24 hour period
of time, you know you're goingto attack something and just
doing the best you can for thatperiod.

(09:16):
So I think you know we'retrying to get the word out so
people understand that.
Don't be intimidated.
You walk forward, you walk onelap, you get your medal, you've
achieved the goal, you'vecompleted the task, you're okay,
right?
So we wanted it to be moreinclusive.
You know, if it was a 50 milerace or 100 mile race, it takes
a special person to do that, butwe'd still have kind of the
feel too of what would be anultra marathon.

(09:36):
So one thing ultra marathonersare very proud of if they can
finish 100 miles in a 24 hourperiod of time, they get this
really fancy belt buckle.
We have belt buckles for thosefolks who are really going to go
out and get after it and try toget their 100 miles.
We obviously will have winners.
But, as I mentioned also, we'regoing to have the relay option.
So we have the 24 hour-That's asix person relay option and
it's just.
You know, man, if you want tobe on the team with me, if you

(10:00):
run one lap and everybody elseruns the rest of them, that's
okay.
There's no stipulation on howmany, it doesn't have to be
divided equally amongsteverybody.
Then a four person, 12 hourrelay.
And then we just added and we'lltalk about run, we can probably
talk about Run the Springs herein in a few minutes but and
then we just add, added a fourmile, just a one lap option for
those folks that really are justlike I'm only going to do one,

(10:21):
I just want to have it start andend and be done option, and
those people would qualify for anew rebirth, what's called Run
the Springs, which if you don'tmind, I'll just go ahead and go
into it.
R un the Springs is if youparticipate in all three of our
events in the year, then youwill qualify for someone who ran
the springs and we will havesome pretty cool awards for

(10:42):
people who do that.
So again, we didn't want peopleto be intimidated by that 24
hour and 12 hour time period, sowe said, okay, come out and do
four miles walk, run, howeveryou do it.
Four miles, one lap.
You qualify three, five or tenmile right at the North Carolina
spring classic, the 5k, the 10kor the half marathon.
At the Half Marathon, any ofone of those or the relay, and

(11:03):
you know, whatever you do, youqualify, Run the Springs, you
get this swag that thoseparticipants will be awarded at
the how springs half marathon.

So I think that's really important because
I am one of those people who wasvery intimidated like that
might not be for me, but I likethat it's inclusive to everyone
within the community, becausealmost everybody has the ability
to walk or to ride in some sortof way, and so it does really
open it up.
Is the course open to those whomight be in strollers or

(11:35):
wheelchairs or something of thatsort?

It is not.
Okay, glad you asked thatquestion.
That's something we need toconsider because our
organization is, you know,really founded on inclusivity
and we want to make sure thateverybody can, no matter what
their skill level or theirpersonal situation, are able to
participate.
We should consider and talkwith Jaren about maybe having a
modified route for those who maybe, you know, our assisted
athletes.
The majority of it they can,and it's a little bit off-road,

(12:01):
but there is one path through.
One trail is fairly rooty, ifthat is a word, and would be
very, very difficult for them tonavigate.
So, with that's something weshould probably look at is
having some sort of modifiedroute for them to participate.
Yeah, for sure.

And sign-ups for that are already going on
Already going on.

They are.
We'll have a shirt deadline onValentine's Day, February 14th,
so if you sign up prior to thatthen you'll be guaranteed a
shirt.
But I appreciate you bringingthat up and thinking, you know,
like asking that question aboutaccessibility and just kind of
proves that as an organizationwe really do take community
feedback to heart and try tomake our events as inclusive as

(12:41):
possible for everybody involvedand whoever we partner with is
our focus, and so I mean I lovethat that just happened on air
live today.
You heard of your here, folks,so I appreciate that, so thank
you Amanda.

Yeah, absolutely, let's talk a little
bit about Pace Yourself RunCompany.
Okay, when was it established?
Again, what were some of thethoughts behind the foundation?

Yeah, so Pace Yourself Run Company.
We opened our Holly Springslocation in 2019.
The vision behind that startedright along the same time as the
Half Marathon.
Many of us, obviously, we rantogether and we'd run from
Bombshell, we'd run from CBC,we'd run from these different
breweries and I think one day wewere actually at Aviator and on
a Friday afternoon after work,and one of us said you know, we

(13:28):
were talking, we need to have arunning store here in Holly
Springs and it'd be really coolif we had beer.
It'd be really cool.
It'd be so cool.
You know, since we always runfrom the breweries, let's bring
the brewery to the shoe store,right.
And you know, in true, you know, Ryan fashion, I took that ball
and ran with it and you know,we had a group of people who
wanted to participate in that.

(13:49):
They're part of thatconversation.
At the time, we started meetingand, like said, around 2017.
And this is right along thesame time as the new Holly
Springs downtown was beingdeveloped, being built, right.
And so we had this vision of,again, the shoe store, this
community, the bar, if you will,inside it's called the Runners
Clubhouse this community insidethe store, the runners that hang
out, whether it's throughRunClub or just meet,

(14:09):
collaborate, talk about running,talk about fitness, talk about
whatever they want to talk about.
And then what better place tohave that than downtown right,
this new downtown?

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rgb(252, 252, 253);">2019,e opened
September and then COVIDhappened in 2020, which is a
small business.
That was a very interestingtime.
We had just opened.
Because we had just opened, itwas very challenging for us to
get much help from thegovernment, you know, as far as
PPV, loans and whatnot.
So we were able to get a littlebit of support.
But what was amazing about thattime is people had to get out

(14:39):
and they had to get out and dothings and I think they realized
when they dusted off their youknow, their shoes they bought at
Kohls four years ago that aredry, rotted and went out and
they disintegrated on their feetor they came back hurting or
hobbling they realized that theyneeded some help and some
support.
Us being a local provider, youknow they would come to us and
we were very blessed.
A lot of our customers come tous because of injury, so we were

(15:00):
deemed by Wake County as anessential business, so we were
able to stay open on a limitedbasis in order to continue to
serve the community.
Since then, we opened PaceYourself Run Company in Southern
Pines in 2022.
And more recently, just fourmonths ago, we opened a Pace
Yourself Run Company in Wendell.
So now we have three locations,kind of northeast Raleigh, down

(15:22):
south in Southern Pines, andthen still the mothership or
flagship here in Holly Springs.

Do each of those towns have the running
community like you have here?

They do, they all do.
You know Wendell is such anamazing town, it's growing, it's
fascinating and they have arunning community, a good run
club, and more and more peoplebeing added to it every single
day.
Southern Pines you know thestore that we have.
There was already a store, soit had a running community, so
we acquired it.
So that one was great becausewe kept the staff, we kept the
run clubs, we kept mosteverything.

(15:52):
You know.
Just put some new logos up andyou know whatnot, and so that
community is huge.
Of course, big militarypresence as well.
So everybody's pretty activeand wanting to get outside and
get together and have fun.

So All right .
So this involves a little bitof the Holly Springs Run Club.
I'm not sure how much of it isthe Run Club versus the various
businesses, but do you want totalk about the events that
happen on a weekly basis forthose who might have made their
New Year's resolution to get outand about on a more regular
basis?

Sure.
So, like Ryan said, a lot ofthis started with, like the
Holly Springs Run Club and so alot of these runs were kind of
happening and then birthed, youknow, the store and everything
since then.
So it's exciting.
There's a Run Club that leavesfrom Tap Line, which is over in
like Main Street Square, likekind of where Dunkin Donuts is.
Tuesday they start and finishdowntown at Pace Yourself and

(16:43):
then Wednesday, I think, there'sa walking club that goes from
Black Dog and they used to haveone at CBC.

It's at Local Time now.

At Local Time, okay.

But everyone like has it.
Black Dog started it.

CBC had one, Local Time on Wednesday, Thursday at
Bombshell.
And then shout out to theracers from Bombshell who did
the Mill Chill this last Sunday.
That's a race up at Rocky Mountand they get all these
breweries together to race tosee who's the fastest brewery.
Basically they were supposed tohave it in December but it was
like raining, that was like thatcrazy storm on a Sunday and

(17:14):
that generates money for MS.
So they just got to move thatrace to this last Sunday and so
all these area breweries sentpeople you know Mason Jar, Bond
Brothers, Bombshell so shout outto the Bombshell team for doing
pretty good.
So it's active when breweriesbring people to the table.
It's kind of like that Germanfeel.
You know where you're at a beergarden and you can sit down

(17:34):
wherever and like have thatcommunity.
And with run clubs, same thing.
You want that to be accessiblewhere everybody can show up and
you can run and have thatcommunity.
So partnering with breweriesreally goes hand in hand.
People might not think it butit really is like a good
partnership.

Awesome.
And what time do those walkruns happen?
Are they all the same time, or?

6.30.
630, but always check.
So if you go to ace YourselfRun Clubs Facebook page or the
Pace Yourself Run Companywebsite you can see all the run
clubs.
Always check that.
T hey're subject to change.
Most of them haven't, I think,just one the walk club, I think
changed times a little bit.
The other thing I'll add youknow all paces are welcome, so
you can run, you can walk.
You can run during walk club,you can walk during run club.

(18:14):
Do what you need to do, gowhatever pace you are
comfortable with.
We have routes, typically atleast three miles and they'll go
up to five.
If you're looking to run orwalk farther than that, Our race
leads or run leads, I'm sorry,can give some advice on how to
add on distance.
And then, last, also, if youdon't like beer, every place has
other options, includingnon-alcoholic beverages, for you

(18:35):
to enjoy.
You know the brewery itself, Ithink we're talking about the
community, like Sarah said, sodon't think that, " Well, I
don't really drink beer so I'mnot going to.
I don't want to go to bombshellon Thursday night.
It's okay, with a lot of folksthat come in, they run with a
group that hang out and chat andthen they head home.
It's very little pressure andvery comfortable atmosphere we
try to create.

Yes, so people can run with their dogs, run their
strollers, like Ryan said.
I think one of my favoriteslike even during 2020 when the
run clubs are still active youknow I'd bring my kids.
My husband was deployed so Ihad to get the kids out.
But running from the storerunning to Womble, letting them
play at the park, running someloops, getting the kids running
back to the store, like it, justgives you an outlet to get off

(19:13):
of online right Like havingthose human interactions too.
So run clubs are prettyimportant to the community.

Awesome.
So I guess that brings me tothe next point.
Y'all are creating space forhealth and wellness.
You're creating opportunitiesfor connection, to bring the
community together.
You're uniting people withsomewhat of a shared goal
getting out there and running orwalking, or just being active
or doing your best at whateverthat means for you.

(19:39):
Let's talk about motivation anddrive.
This is the beginning of thenew year.
A lot of people have made NewYear's resolutions.
I'm not really a fan of NewYear's resolutions because I
feel like they're just set up tofail, and so I too have
wellness goals, but it isdifficult for people to maintain
them long term.
So what tips, tricks, advice doyou have for those who may have

(20:05):
various health and wellnessgoals this year?

I would say, you know, take it one step at a time
.
I mean, if you haven't gone tothe gym maybe a handful of times
last year, don't say you'regoing to go to the gym five days
a week this year, like youdon't want to set yourself up
for failure, and accountabilitypartners are really big and a
lot of our run clubs I will, youknow, tip my hat to the
organizers of that they'rereally about you know,

(20:28):
accountability, be like hey, letus know if you're coming, or
give us a like that you're goingto be on your way, and so we
know that if someone's countingon you, you might not do it for
yourself, but you're going to doit because someone's waiting
for you.
I mean, I don't like to get upand go to the gym in the morning
, but I know my partner's thereand she's gonna be like, where
are you?
I'm like, oh sorry, I'm coming.
So if I don't want to do it, atleast you could do it for

(20:49):
somebody else, and then youbenefit at the back end for sure
.
But I would say, just step bystep, little you know pieces
that you can chew, like if youwant to just try one run club
and you met somebody and they'llbe like, hey, they'll invite
you on Thursday.
Be like, oh, I'm available onThursday, but if it's, if you
have one bad day, don't say, oh,I'm done for the year.
You know, it's like it's okayto take two steps forward, one

(21:09):
step back, just one step at atime, that's okay.

Yeah, I mean, I couldn't have said it better
myself.
I think it's important forpeople, when they're making
change, to make small changefirst and make you know these
goals that are achievable andthat knock out all the
roadblocks you might have.
I mean, why do I think thatrunning or walking ends up being
a great way to start?
Is because you can put on apair of shoes and walk out your
door.
That's it.
You don't have to go anywhereto do it.

(21:33):
You don't have to necessarilybe a member of anything to do it
.
You can just go out and do it.
It's easy, right?
It's simple.
So, just starting there, likeSarah said, you know you're not
going to go from I ran zeromiles to 1000 miles in a year,
right?
As soon as you start fallingoff track, a lot of people will
give up.
You know, understand what'sdriving you to do it.
I think that's important aswell.
You know I've chatted, I think,actually, with you the

(21:54):
difference between, in myopinion, motivation and being
motivated and being driven right.
Being motivated get you out ofbed in the morning on a day like
today to go work out, right.
The problem is that when youopen the door and it's raining
or almost snowing out here now.
Motivation a lot of times isn'tenough to get you out the door,
but being driven will.
If you're driven to accomplishthe goals, the tasks, if you're
driven to be part of thecommunity with your friends

(22:16):
because you're supposed to meetthem for that run, that drive is
going to get you out the door.
Right, maybe go back and get ahat or some gloves, but it's
going to get you out the door.
So I think that's, and beingpart of a community you know,
try.
Be part of a community.
Doesn't mean you have to alwayswalk around or work out with
that group, but be part of thatcommunity that you can support
each other and be there for eachother.
Because all of us go throughthose periods of time where we

(22:39):
lose drive, we lose motivate, welose those things.
And having that, those friendsin that community to help pick
you up right Is so important,especially in the beginning.

So, Ryan, for you, what drives you?
Because you are somebody whoone year you had a goal to run a
marathon every single month, Ithink you have a goal to run a
marathon in all 50 states,possibly all the countries,
continents.
All co ntinents.
Yeah, so what drives you, whatallows you to create those

(23:10):
goals and to continue to strivefor them?

Maybe it's a little bit of a FOMO, I don't
know.
No, I think what drives me is,you know, I look at I'm blessed
with so much time here and Ijust don't want to miss any of
it.
I don't want to waste any of it.
I don't want to be 60, 70, 80years old and saying, man, I
really wish I would have triedthese things.
So that sense of accomplishment.
So there's that, it's me, it'sthat fear of like I don't want

(23:34):
to regret that I didn't get achance to do some of these
things.
I'm healthy.
Now I have an opportunity to dothem, so let's go ahead and do
them.
I also think it's just a healthycompetition with myself.
You know, getting in my ownhead and saying, you know this
is hard, but you know you'regoing to do it, you can
accomplish this.
And putting in that work I meanit's the reward, is the race
right?
That's the reward for all thework.
So I you know that reallymotivates me as well that just

(23:57):
that accomplishment is settingthese goals, seeing it through
and getting it done.
And then you know, in additionto that, I mean many of the
events that I run.
I try to run for other people,you know, whether it's Flags for
Fallen or different, in thepast times where I've pushed
race chariots and whatnot, Ithink when you start doing it
for other people, it feels a lotdifferent, that extra drive
right that you get when you're,you know, I'll never forget

(24:18):
running a marathon in OklahomaCity and I was carrying a flag
on American Flag for Family andI just remember, you know,
turning the corner and seeingall the signs for all the people
who lost their lives inOklahoma City Bombing, and I'm
thinking what am I complainingabout?
I know I hurt, I know this ishard, but really like this is no
, Ryan, you're doing this forthem.
Right?
They would be here, they couldbe here doing this, that's what

(24:39):
they would do.
So you know, those types ofthings really drive me as well.

And Sarah, I don't really know much about
your run history, but I do seeyou bee bopping all around town.
You're all on social media.
It seems like you have a rolein all the things.
So, for you, where does yourdrive come from and your
motivation to do all of thosethings?

That's really great too.
Yeah, I've always been one tomake sure that everybody feels
included.
I'm the oldest of nine kids andjust like which is chaos, but
organized with chaos right, andif someone needs help, I want to
be.
I am that person.
It's like Sarah, can you helpme?
I'm like yes, like you don'tknow what it is yet.
I'm like I know that's mydownfall, but I'm in, I get that

(25:22):
.
I get I say yes a lot, but,like Ryan said, I don't want to
miss out too, I mean, I think alot of people miss opportunities
because they're scared to sayyes.
Should I say no sometimes?
Sure, I get it to balance, butI like saying yes and I like
helping people and I like makingsure everybody's included, and
if I can make someone else feelcomfortable, then I did my job.

(25:42):
You know, I've been in thosepositions where you don't know
anybody or you're suffering forwhatever reason, and it just
really makes a difference if youhad somebody on your side.
So I just really like to bethat person.
If anybody has questions aroundtown, like you know, I'm going
to town council tonight.
Am I going to say anything?
No, but I just want to beinformed.
So if other people have thequestion they feel like it's

(26:03):
accessible to ask Because, likeI know, it's hard to ask
sometimes and I don't want tomake anybody else feel
uncomfortable so ask me, I'llfigure it out.

Awesome, all right.
So, Ryan, you recommendedExtreme Ownership to me a few
years ago.
This book was written by JockoWillink and Leif Babin, and for
me that is a piece of themotivation drive conquest type
conversation, because I findthat myself, but others as well

(26:33):
we decided to do a thing.
And then for me, in my runningjourney I never was a runner, I
hated running, I didn't evenwant to try, and then one day I
had Audible.
So I was like, okay, it's veryhard to set aside time for me
and I'm supposed to beexercising and I'm supposed to
be doing all these things.
I don't have time to readanymore.
So my hack was if I go for a run, that is the time when I'm

(26:56):
allowed to quote, unquote, readand listen to this book, and if
I want to know what's comingnext, I have to go for a run or
walk or whatever that means inthat moment.
And normally where I lived, itwas maybe 0.2 miles out of the
subdivision.
If I would have started runningprior, I'd get to that point,
and then there was always anexcuse why am I doing this?

(27:17):
I don't like running.
It's cold, it's hot, the sun issuper bright.
Oh, I have to use the restroom,I better go back, and I'd
always come up with an excuse.
At that time when I listened tothe book.
I ran for five miles, a wholefive miles.
I didn't know I could do it,but when it was loud enough that
I shut up the voice in my headI was able to accomplish that,

(27:37):
and so that started a wholejourney.
So the book Extreme Ownershipkind of talks about making those
excuses and making sure thatyou are owning your part of the
blame for any given situation.
So do you want to add anything?

No, I mean, that's perfect.
You know your life, your journey.
You need to own it right.
I mean, when good things happen, you need to own it.
When bad things happen, youneed to own it right.
You know, if you do somethingwrong, you need to own it.
It's the only way as humanswe're going to learn and get
better right, and so it's notbeing mean to yourself to own it
right.
I mean that's just the way weare, and too many people make

(28:11):
those excuses.
I mean I've done it in the pasttoo.
Too many times in my life I'vebeen.
It's so easy, it's so easy justto say oh, you know if it's
raining out, or oh, but thisperson did this or this person
did that.
No, that's not how it works.
There's bad weather, there'smean people, there's injuries,
there's just bad things thathappen in the world, and you are
in control of yourself, right?
So you got to fight throughthose things and then you have

(28:32):
to internalize it and understandthat you own it.

And we just observed Reverend Dr Martin
Luther King, Jr's birthdayyesterday and I was looking at a
myriad of his quotes and somany of them kind of fit our
conversation, One of which ispeople fail to get along because
they fear each other.
They fear each other becausethey don't know each other.
They don't know each otherbecause they have not
communicated with each other.

(28:56):
And so, as I'm hearing thisdiscussion today like I'm
thinking about that and I'mloving the way y'all are
bridging community, you'recreating opportunities for
people to get together to get tolearn more about one another.
You're creating thoseopportunities so that people get
off of social media and learnabout one another in person, to
find out.
You know, maybe we're not alikein a lot of ways, but in so

(29:19):
many ways we are alike.
I guess that' s going to wrapup this episode, but do y'all
have anything that you wouldlike to add before we do?

Yeah, I mean I add a little bit to that.
You know, I'm just verygrateful for the opportunity to
talk to you.
I'm very grateful for theopportunity to have this
organization and the rest of thepeople who have helped create
it.
You know where there's ourvolunteers for the events, our
board for the nonprofit.
You know, I think we've justbeen able to do some wonderful
things together and I thinkthat's a powerful word and

(29:47):
that's changed me a lot thisyear.
The word gratitude, and younever know; it's tying into the
quote, right?
I mean, I had somebody thisyear very special to me,
challenged me to come up with aword of the year and was
gratitude, but tying into that.
And when you think back and youthink about everything you have
, you never know what otherpeople's situation.
Right, we're scared of peoplebecause we don't know them right
and we don't know them, wedon't know their story, we don't

(30:08):
know their life right, we don'tknow what they're going through
.
And as an organization we wantto help with that.
We want to bridge those gaps.
We want to build, continue tobuild, that community so that
everyone is grateful for thethings that they have, whatever
it is, whether you run in a fiveminute mile, or you can run 100
miles in 24 hours.
Whatever, it is just beinggrateful that you have the

(30:28):
opportunity to do.
Whatever it is you are able todo, share that with other people
and build the community.
That's what the organization isabout.

that partnership For another quote you know it's
always the right time to do theright thing.
And if you feel you know, thankyou for listening to this
podcast and thank you for allthat you do, Amanda.
But if you feel called, I wouldchallenge everybody here to
step out of their comfort zone.
You know, if running is notyour thing, that's fine.
Join a volunteer organizationor a sporting event or you know,

(30:57):
the race or something Volunteerat the school, just something
that gets you out of your ownbubble, and you'll start
bridging that gap.
And you know people who arelistening here.
You are the community.
We are the community, likewe're all in this together.
So I just challenge everybodyto kind of step out of their
bubble and to join something newand say hi to somebody you
might not have said hi to andjoin us, you know always looking

(31:19):
for people that want to helpwith the organization of the
events or new ideas serve on ourboards or committees, if that's
something you're interested in.
hy don't you give your emailaddress, they can.
Yeah, Sarah@ Holly Springs HalfMarathon.
com.
Sarah with an H.

Perfect, and so that will bring us to our
lightning round of questions.
What's your favorite book?

Oh, Can't Hurt Me.

Sarah

Amanda (31:50):
What's your favorite way to relax and let go?

Ryan (31:57):
Go for a run.

Sarah (31:57):
Hot tub.

Ryan (31:58):
Nice.
What's one thing that fillsyour heart with joy.

Sarah (32:03):
My kids laughing.

My children for sure.

What's your greatest weakness?

Saying no.

Oh man, I mean, I'm not weak.
So, me thinking I'm not weak ismy greatest weakness.
There we go.

What is one thing you wished for as a kid?

To be a professional hockey player.
That's what I wanted to be.
So, really, that's what Iwished for.
Yeah, hockey, that's what Iplayed.
Growing up I played hockey.

Okay, I mean, it was the 90s.
Lisa Frank, marine biologist.

What's something on your bucket list?

To go to Alaska.
So I've been to 49 out of the50 states, so that's the last
state I need to go to, so that'sthe closest.
It's a big bucket, right, butthat's going to happen soon
Awesome.
So go to Alaska.

Marathon in every state and on every
continent, along with the NorthPole, which is the only marathon
that isn't run on land, it's onice.
I was, like you run on a boat,like in a circle?

Amanda (33:05):
You need special shoes for that?

You need some yak tracks, which you know
shameless plug you can purchaseat Pace Yourself Run Company.

Oh, wow, sweet.
We can almost use it in thisweather, I know.

And what is your favorite thing about
yourself?

Honestly my ability to say yes and to try
new things, knowing that if Ifail, it's okay that I tried.

I would say that it's my drive, that I don't
really let much stand in my way.
If I say I'm going to dosomething, I'm going to do it
and I'm going to do as well as Ican.
So I would say my drive.

Well, thank you, Ryan and Sarah, for being
with us today.
I appreciate the conversationand love seeing y'all doing all
the things that you do, andthank you for being such a great
support for the community andall of us who live within it.

You as well.

Ryan (33:48):
Thanks, Amanda.

Sarah (33:48):
Thank you.
Al right, Byeeeeeee.

We generally create these conversations with
perhaps a brief outline or gistof what we may be talking about
, but really it's a genuine,authentic, off-the-cuff
conversation.
I found it wonderfullysynchronous to have spoken about
the running themes "belovedcommunity and pushing oneself
where one can the day after wecelebrated Reverend Dr Martin

(34:16):
Luther King Jr and hisachievements.
To quote MLK Jr again, it doesnot matter how long you live,
but how well you do it.
And if you can't fly, then run.
If you can't run, then walk.
If you can't walk, then crawl.
But whatever you do, you haveto keep moving.
And I'll add, you'll have tokeep moving towards whatever the

(34:37):
goals you have set for thisyear and your lifetime in
general.
You are the captain of your ownshit, so make sure you are
sailing in the direction thatyou would like to go.
Shortly after the recording ofthis podcast, the board of the
Holly Springs Half-MarathonFoundation officially voted to
update the name of their 501C3organization to the Holly

(34:58):
Springs Runners' Project.
That way their name could beinclusive to each of their races
.
As a reminder, the Race Againstthe Sun Endurance Race will be
Saturday, February 24th,starting at 7am and will run
through Sunday, February 25th at7am at Sugg Farm in Holly
Springs.
The NC Spring Classic 5K, 8Kand 16K will be Saturday, April

(35:22):
20th, starting just after 7am,and that will be followed from
11am to 4pm by Springs Fest,which is helped to be put on by
the Holly Springs Chamber ofCommerce.
Both the Race and Springs Festwill be held downtown, near Pace
Yourself Run Company and TownHall.
There will be food, a beergarden, music, vendors, kids

(35:43):
activities and entertainment,along with a car show featuring
classic and exotic cars.
The latter will start at noon.
Finally, the last race of theHolly Springs Runners' Project
for 2024 will be approximatelytheir 9th annual Holly Springs
Half-Marathon, which will beSaturday, November 23rd.
There is still time to sign upto run the race, and they could

(36:05):
always use volunteers.
I will include all thisinformation in this episode's
show notes, along with thegeneral schedule of the regular
runs and walks that happenthroughout the week in Holly
Springs.
Thank you again to all who helpmake these events happen to
provide opportunities forbuilding community and
connection, as well as space andencouragement to be more active

(36:27):
and inclusive.
A special thanks to those onthe Holly Springs Runners
Project Board and those who helporganize the races, which
include Jim Wyland, MaryFlannigan, Lisa Burnham, Scott
Lefferts, Stacey Head, CaptainMichael Patterson, Courtney
Holmes, Edgar Garrido, RyanMonteleone, and Sarah Larson.
I wholeheartedly appreciate allyou do.

(36:49):
There will always be a memoryengraved in my mind.
It was the NC Springs Classicof 2021.
Mind you, for over a year we hadbeen dealing with COVID.
All major events had shut down.
This was the very first bigevent we had had since the after
time.
I remember vividly the aura ofjoy, the smiles on people's

(37:10):
faces, the feeling oftogetherness.
While completely different, itwas a celebration of the return
to some semblance of normal.
Each of you reach many heartsthrough your races, but that
race, that race, was the firstin the healing of our community
and for that I give you mydeepest gratitude.
Thank you to all of you fortuning in and helping us

(37:32):
acknowledge those who touch ourlocal communities.
Your part within our communityis important.
Thanks for showing up.
That brings this episode of theNC Deep Dive to a close.
As always, if you have anytopics or thoughts you'd like to
share, you may do so throughsocial media or by emailing
NCDeepDive@ gmail.

(37:52):
com.
If you found value in thisepisode, I'd love for you to
subscribe, rate, and review itso that you'll get a head's up
each time a new episode isreleased, and others may be
given a head's up as well.
Be on the lookout for furtherepisodes at www.
NCD eepDive.
com, Apple Podcasts, Spotify,Audible, or wherever you

(38:15):
currently listen to yourpodcasts.
Until next time, my friends,namaste: the love and light in
me sees and honors the love andlight in you.

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