2023 Around the Crown 10K Race Recap

Finn and I ran our second Around the Crown 10K on Sunday, September 3 and we had SO MUCH FUN!

It’s official – Around the Crown has dethroned the Charlotte Marathon for my favorite local race event. The course is incredible, the organization is top-notch and the expo is amazing!

Here’s a full recap of our race weekend.

AROUND THE CROWN 10K EXPO

The Around the Crown race expo is held at Camp North End. It’s a 76-acre industrial site that has been transformed into a hub for innovation and creativity. It’s a big, open-air campus with over 60 tenants ranging from unique shops to food stalls to restaurants and bars to corporate businesses and more. There are public art installations, lots of hangout spaces and frequent events. It’s an awesome place to go and wander around for an afternoon or evening.

We picked up our race packet and then Finn ran around with a bunch of kiddos for a while playing in a life-sized lego set.

Our next stop was at Seemingly Overzealous for a scoop of ice cream. A fun perk of the Around The Crown this year was that Truist (one of the main sponsors) was giving out $5 tokens at their booth that you could use at all food vendors at Camp North End the day of the expo.

I got a scoop of lemon blueberry cheesecake and Finn had chocolate. All of Seemingly Overzealous’ ice cream is dairy, gluten and egg-free but you would never know it. So god, highly recommend, will be back!

We swung by ALDI on the way home to get stuff to make homemade pizzas. A solid pre-race dinner! Finn made a little cheese pizza for himself and I had sausage and mushroom.

Another great perk of the ATC is that you get a free pair of Feetures socks! They are my favorite running socks. We also go a coupon for $20 off a pair of shoes at Charlotte Running Company. I opted out of receiving a shirt. Love it when they give you that choice. Lastly, I’m a BIG FAN of the size of this race bib!

AROUND THE CROWN 10K RACE DAY 

We were up early for the 7:30a start but both in good spirits. It only took us 15 minutes to get from our house to Uptown and parking was super easy. We were able to park just a block away from the start/finish area at Truist Field. The weather was incredible on race morning – low 60s! There were almost 6,000 runners registered for this year’s race and the energy at the starting line was great. Finn was dancing all over the place and woohooing away. They let strollers and wheelchairs start at 7:25a so we were off and running before we knew it.

What makes the Around the Crown 10K course so special is that you run three miles of the race on I-277. It’s the inner expressway that loops around Uptown Charlotte so you get city skyline views. They shut the interstate down in one direction for the race which is so crazy!

The last half-mile of your time on 277 is the “Queen’s Climb.” It’s a long, brutal, steady uphill climb. Finn had been asking the whole race if he could get out and run and I was like, “now is the time buddy.” Haha. It was such a reprieve to get him out of the stroller for even one minute to run up the hill without an extra 45 pounds!

The Queen’s Climb is tolerable because as soon as you exit off of 277 the next mile is flat/downhill so fast and great recovery.

Before we knew it, we were crossing the finish line! I let Finn get out and run across and he thought that was A BIG DEAL! 🙂

Done and done! Sweaty, happy people.

We grabbed our medal, took a few photos, chatted with a few people and got out of there!

My finish time was 55:40 with a pace of 8:58. I honestly could not believe that I shaved 5 full minutes off my finish time from the last time I ran ATC two years ago given that I was pushing an even heavier stroller! That 10:35 mile was the Queen’s Climb mile, haha. Other than that, the course is really not bad in regards to hills.

It has been really special to have Finn along with me for so many runs and races over the last five years. I know our stroller running days are winding down but hopefully he’ll be running some races alongside me in the future. 🙂 And huge appreciation for the Cybex Avi running stroller. It has made running with a bigger kid not only possible but enjoyable. The engineering and design of this stroller is amazing. I still use my BOB for walking but this stroller is so much easier to push for running than the BOB.

What a memorable experience the ATC was with my sweet boy! I just love the running community and races like this so much. So pumped for fall race season!

QUESTIONS

What’s your favorite pre-race dinner? 

Favorite running socks? Are you particular about the socks you run in? 

What’s the most unique course you’ve ever raced?