Inspiring Conversations with Elizabeth Pagano of nOg Run Club

Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth Pagano.

Hi Elizabeth, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
The nOg Run Club started in 2008 after I read an article about an Irish pub in Colorado Springs that hosted a weekly run club. I was an avid runner and my brother owned an Irish pub in Raleigh (Tir na nOg), so we decided to give it a shot. At that time, there was not a weekly run club in our area. We secured Fleet Feet Raleigh, our local running store, as a sponsor and the nOg Run Club took off! Our first run had 69 people and since then we have had thousands of people join us over the past 13 years. Having had an audience of hundreds of people every Monday, we decided to start producing races in 2009 to raise money for our community. By the end of this year, we will have hosted our 30th race over the past 13 years!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
From 2008 until 2015, it was a smooth road. In November of 2015, Tir na nOg closed its doors and we had to find a new Monday night home. This was a huge challenge for us since we were used to things being a certain way for the previous seven years.

COVID of course was an even bigger struggle. It was hard to keep people engaged in run club with only virtual runs and social media. When the world reopened people were slow to come back and join us for Monday night runs.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about nOg Run Club?
I am the President of the nOg Run Club. The nOg Run Club is a weekly run club that meets at Standard Beer + Food every Monday night at 6pm. We run the streets of downtown Raleigh followed by trivia at 7pm. What sets up apart from other run clubs in our area is that we are a 501(c)3. We host three annual races to raise money for our community. Our races include the St. Paddy’s 4 Miler, Oktoberfest 4 Miler, and World’s Largest Flip Flop 1K. Prior to COVID, we broke the Guinness World Record for the past five years for the most people walking a 1K in flip flops! Our organization is comprised of all volunteers and we donate 100% of the money we raise back to our local community. The fourth Monday of every month is our monthly charity night and we sponsor a different local charity each month.

We are most proud of the charitable aspect of our run club. What started as a social get together has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for our community. A lot of people have grown up with us over the past thirteen years. They have met their spouses at run club, had kids, and made friendships for life.

What was your favorite childhood memory?
Growing up my dad sponsored families in need for the holidays. That always had a huge impact on me as a child. Looking back, this is the reason I had the desire to help our local community. Our largest charity event of the year is sponsoring children through Wake County Holiday Cheer. We started in 2011 with sponsoring 10 children and now sponsor over 120 children a year as well as pay off over $10,000 worth of toys on layaway at a local Walmart.

Pricing:

• FREE weekly run
• $27-$40 4 Mile Races

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.nOgRunClub.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nogrunclub/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nogrunclub
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/nogrunclub