Around the Crown 10K: Redefining What a Race Can Be

How do you choose races to run? If you’re like me, you probably don’t consider a race’s impact on a community, its residents, or the planet. Guided by three pillars—inclusivity, sustainability, and elevating the city of Charlotte—Brian Mister, co-founder and race director of the Around the Crown 10K (ATC10K), provides a shining example of the transformative impact a race can have beyond race day. I chatted with Mister about what makes the race unique and how it empowers the running community both in and outside the city.

Fortune favors the bold

“I could run faster than this.” What started as a passing comment made in standstill traffic on Interstate-277 led Brian Mister and his wife Chelsea to create the epic ATC10K race on that same Charlotte highway. The 6.2-mile course starts and ends at Truist Field and winds its way through a major beltway. Runners experience an unparalleled opportunity to experience a bird’s eye view of the city’s landmarks including the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte FC stadium and Johnson & Wales University.

“We constantly hear racers say they get chills running on this course,” says Mister. “They never get to see their city from this special vantage point, above the city streets as they take in the beautiful skyline.”

Once the idea took shape, Mister and his team faced many roadblocks on the way to making this race a reality, including figuring out how to block off I-277 to traffic.

“When we first had the idea to shut down the highway to host a race there, everybody gave us a laughable ‘good luck’,” said Mister.

But, through the power of determination—and a lot of work— the improbable can become possible. Through multiple meetings with local government, Mister’s bold idea started to gain traction. The next step was to attract sponsors to help fund the race idea. The pitch to potential sponsors? Align your brand with inclusivity and sustainability while uplifting Charlotte—lofty goals it would be easy to buy into.

Inclusivity in Charlotte

Mister and his team aren’t just changing perceptions of where you can race; with the support of key partners, they’re also changing perceptions of who can race. Take presenting sponsor Truist’s “Pay What You Can” entry. The program enables a limited number of participants to pay what they can afford to register for the ATC10K. Then, Truist covers the outstanding registration fee. After selling out the program the past two years, race organizers are proud to continue increasing entries. Mister emphasizes the importance of diversifying the race.

“One of our goals is to get our starting line to look more like our diverse community. The average race’s starting line is typically white males in their late 30s. That’s just not an accurate representation of Charlotte. With the support of Truist, our race is experiencing double-digit registration growth from Charlotte’s lower income zip codes.”

Another way Mister and Truist advance their commitment to the city of Charlotte is through the Truist Training Tours. The training runs take runners on routes through various Charlotte neighborhoods, highlighting places of diversity and historical significance. The Tour’s annual Pride Run sees some of the highest attendance numbers in support of the LGBTQIA+ community. Additionally, the ATC10K has always had non-binary and undisclosed categories, but in 2023 they offered equal prize money among genders.

Recognizing it’s intimidating to register for races, the ATC10K partnered with Charlotte-based sock company Feetures for a First Timer’s Club. Through the financial support of Feetures, up to 100 first-time racers can register for their first-ever race—the ATC10K—at just half the registration cost.

Giving back

In addition to spotlighting Charlotte before, during, and after race day, the race donates $25,000+ annually to the “Crown Town.” Main beneficiaries include Sustain Charlotte and Carolina Farm Trust, two local nonprofit organizations headquartered in the city. Sustain Charlotte works to inspire choices that lead to a healthy, equitable, and vibrant community for generations to come. Additionally, Carolina Farm Trust strengthens the local food system in the Carolinas, from production to consumption. Two missions that tie in perfectly with running.

Knowledge is power

Although, Mister’s push for inclusivity extends beyond just the race he created. Through panel presentations, he presents the Around the Crown 10K as a blueprint for races to empower communities and people. During The Running Event 2023, Mister spoke in a panel session focused on hosting zero-waste events.

“There’s this misconception that making a race more sustainable and inclusive is more expensive,” Mister explains. “It doesn’t have to be. That’s why we’re so passionate about sharing the lessons we’ve learned through our race. We provide easy steps race directors and staff can take to transform their races.”

Sustainability

Going cup-less, composting food waste, using local water, and providing sustainable shirts are just a few of the initiatives that make the race one of the country’s most sustainable. However, none of these crucial measures would be possible without the support of local organizations.

• Crown Town Compost reduces waste during the finish line festival going to landfills by composting waste at their facility just outside I-277.
  
  
• CGC Water and Charlotte Water donate drinking water for the hydration stops and finish line, reducing the carbon footprint by eliminating shipping and production.
  
  
• Hiccup provides reusable rubber cups while Recover Brands crafts the 100% recycled race shirts from plastic bottles.

Sharing beers and miles

Ironically, it was through the ultimate post-race beverage that Mister first discovered his love for bringing community together through running. During his senior year of college, Mister worked as a bartender at NoDa Brewing Company. It wasn’t long before he created a run club on Wednesdays as a way to subtract the beer calories that started to add up. The run club went from three people to 100 in just the first month. Then, as the club continued to grow, Mister saw an even better way to connect his community: a 5K race starting at the brewery. A thousand runners registered in the event’s first year.

After a stint as race director for the U.S. National Whitewater Center – headquarters of the trials for Olympic canoe and kayak—Mister accepted a position as marketing director at Run For Your Life in Charlotte. Promoting local races in this role, coupled with his 10+ years of experience in the running industry, inspired him to create his own race—the ATC10K. The rest is history.

History in the making

And the race has made history of its own. After attracting nearly 5,000 runners in 2019, its inaugural year, Mister and his team worked tirelessly through the COVID-19 pandemic to host one of the largest races in 2020. Although most races were canceled, Mister was adamant about keeping momentum going and bringing people together safely amid social distancing requirements.

As if a highway racecourse wasn’t wild enough, Mister and team doubled down and came up with the idea to host the 2020 race in an abandoned Ford Factory. Only 30 runners could enter the “indoor race” every half hour, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for seven days. The race easily reached its 2,000-registrant limit. Despite it being a smaller race, there was an advantage: Mister and the ATC10K staff met a lot of community members because they were entering the race one by one, instead of thousands at once in the traditional starting corral.

It’s this kind of fortitude that achieves results in the face of adversity. Registration numbers have grown by nearly 25% each year since 2021. But growth can provide its own obstacles. A race has many moving parts—SWAG, parking, the after-party, finish line supplies, volunteers. And Brian and team don’t want to compromise the integrity of what they’ve built over the past six years. Thus, to keep growth at a manageable level, there’s a registration cap of 7,277 runners in 2024 for the first time in the race’s history.

What matters most

It can be easy to get overwhelmed as a race director, especially for a race experiencing immense growth year after year. So, how does Mister balance it all? In reflecting on what he’s learned throughout his career, Mister notes it’s all about prioritizing.

“The busier you get, certain things will start to fall off that you don’t really want or need to do. You make time for what’s important to you.”

So, what does Mister make time for outside of work? Unsurprisingly, he’s just as ambitious and determined when it comes to his own running. Last year, he completed his second 100-mile race, while directing his race and raising three kids, all ages six or younger. He credits race co-founder and a fellow runner—his wife—for supporting him through it all.

Ironically, Mister has never had the pleasure of running the racecourse. He’s too busy running around the sidelines ensuring the race goes off without a hitch. Besides, it’s not like he could run the course on any other day—it’s filled with bumper-to-bumper traffic. Well, I suppose he could be dropped off onto I-277 to go for a run. Turns out, that’s not such a crazy idea, after all—at least he’d be going faster than the traffic.

The sixth year of the Around the Crown 10K is held on September 1, 2024. Registration is available on the race website.

All photos courtesy of the Around the Crown 10K.

This is not a sponsored post, and I was not compensated in any way for writing about the Around the Crown 10K (ATC10K). I was drawn to Brian’s story and wanted to amplify the positive work he and his team are doing for the running community and the planet.