600 Runners, One Summer Classic, and Run Slick’s First Race

Some days are about more than the miles.

The 2nd Annual Etowah River Park Summer Classic 5K & 10K was one of those days.

Hosted by our friends at Cherokee Run Club, the race brought 600 runners to Etowah River Park in Canton, Georgia — a sold-out morning of racing, cheering, run clubs, friends, and a whole lot of good energy.

And for us at Run Slick, it was a pretty special one:

It was the first race we’ve ever sponsored.

Our first race

We’ve spent a lot of time bringing Run Slick to group runs, talking with runners, handing out samples, listening to feedback, and putting the product through plenty of miles ourselves.

But seeing the Run Slick tent out there on race morning — and seeing our logo on the back of the official race shirt — felt different.

A little surreal, actually.

Run Slick started because we believe something pretty simple:

Movement changes people.

And when you stand at a finish line and watch hundreds of people come through — some chasing a PR, some racing with friends, some simply proving to themselves that they could do it — you get a pretty good reminder of why that idea matters.

Thank you, Cherokee Run Club

A huge thank you to everyone at Cherokee Run Club for putting together such an incredible event and for giving Run Slick the opportunity to be part of it.

Six hundred runners don't accidentally show up.

It takes a community. It takes volunteers. It takes planning. And it takes people who care enough about running to build something that others want to be part of.

You guys built a great one.

Running is better with friends

One of the best parts of the morning was getting to share it with some familiar faces from Mindful Miles Run Club — and meeting some new ones along the way.

We also got to connect with the people behind Southern Running Collective, another Metro Atlanta running community working to make the sport more welcoming and accessible.

That's one of the things we're learning as Run Slick grows:

The running community is a lot bigger than a race.

It's the clubs that get people out the door.

The friend who convinces you to sign up.

The person yelling your name near the finish.

The runner you've never met who gives you a "good job" when you're hurting.

The volunteers who were there before sunrise.

And all the conversations that happen before, during, and long after the miles are done.

Just getting started

For Run Slick, this one gets a permanent spot in the story.

First race sponsorship.
First Run Slick logo on a race shirt.
600 runners.
And a morning surrounded by exactly the kind of community we built Run Slick for.

Thank you again to Cherokee Run Club, Mindful Miles, Southern Running Collective, every volunteer, every runner who stopped by our tent, everyone who tried Run Slick, and everyone who made the Summer Classic what it was.

We’ll see you at the next starting line.

Keep moving. And if it rubs, Run Slick on it.™