4 takeaways from my fourth Charlotte Marathon
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Ashley Mahoney finishing the 2024 Novant Health Charlotte Marathon. Photo: Courtesy of the Novant Health Charlotte Marathon
I ran the Charlotte Marathon, and it didn't hurt like hell.
- You may be thinking, "Ashley, that's the exact opposite of what you told us in 2021."
Why it matters: Sometimes we're trapped in a cycle where the pain is self-inflicted — where we make things more difficult than they need to be.
Zoom in: Running a 50K last year taught me a lot about the difference between pain and discomfort. It taught me the importance of fueling (eating while you run), and that has been the ultimate game changer.
Here are four takeaways from this year's race.
You need to eat
I've run the Charlotte Marathon, all 26.2 miles of it, four times. Not once did I give my body the nutrition it needed during the first three races. I convinced myself water was enough.
- My body would crumble because it didn't have the necessary nutrition to push, causing some of the worst pain I've ever experienced.
- This time, I used five gels, pickle juice and water, plus Gatorade from aid stations. And while I was uncomfortable at points, the debilitating pain I felt during previous years didn't return.
Don't be afraid to go after a goal
Cross the finish line — that was the only goal for previous races. Fear of failure kept me from setting a time goal. This year, I decided to push for a sub-10-minute mile. I was terrified.
- But I found the 4-hour 15-minute pace group (that's a 9:43-mile) and clung to them for dear life, until the final few miles when I let it rip. My time: 4:13:23, a personal record by 43 minutes.
- Don't let fear hold you back. You're capable of so much more than you think.
It takes a village
This was the first time I was never completely alone on the course, thanks in part to the record number of people who participated in the Charlotte Marathon events this year, making it a sellout.
- I also chose to run with a pace group. Shout out to Brian and Naveen for their encouragement! They felt like coaches and as a former athlete, I thrived on that.
- Friends made signs and came out to cheer, and the biggest thank you of all goes to my partner, who biked around Charlotte to cheer me on. The last time I ran Charlotte, he was a month removed from a knee reconstruction and stood on crutches cheering me on. We've come a long way.
Charlotte has never looked more beautiful
Runners made their way down College Street past the Convention Center Saturday bathed in morning light.
- It was unlike anything I've ever seen here — not just the sea of runners, but the people who came out to support them.
- Charlotte showed up Saturday and we need more of that — of neighbors showing up for each other and people reminding each other that we can do hard things.
The big picture: Charlotte, like cities across the globe, is in its running era, meaning you're either training for a race or you probably know someone who is.
- There are more than 70 run clubs here, race director Tim Rhodes tells Axios. Go check one out.
What's next: The 2025 Novant Health Charlotte Marathon is scheduled for Nov. 15.