The Amy Schuerholz Metz and Charm City Run Scholarship is more than financial support; it represents the spirit and joy of running that I hope to uphold in every stage of my life.

By: Scarlett Seitz, 2024 Female Recipient of the Amy Schuerholz Metz and Charm City Run Scholarship presented by Saucony

Hello! My name is Scarlett Seitz, and I was the 2024 female recipient of the Amy Schuerholz Metz and Charm City Run Scholarship presented by Saucony. To this day, I am honored to be a recipient of this scholarship because I feel a connection to its purpose and mission. In high school, I fell in love with running – more specifically, running on a team.

The shared pain and joy of running fostered lasting friendships and lifelong memories. Although I wouldn’t be competitively running for a team in college, I knew I needed to find a running community again. So, I joined the Club Cross Country and Track team for my school, the University of South Carolina. Being awarded this scholarship helped to fund my participation in the club, which often had meets at other universities.

At first, the transition from high school to a less intense and demanding club team was difficult.  Although I no longer run in a highly competitive atmosphere, the people on the club team – many of which also ran cross country and track in high school – have highlighted other positives to running, giving me new goals in my life. Now, I practice with more freedom, flexibility, and time to train for longer races.

This past April, my friends and I trained and competed in our first Half Marathon – an achievement that I certainly could not have done without my team. My goals for running are different than they were in high school. Yet, the joy I receive remains constant.

This scholarship has given me the opportunity to enrich my freshman year experience and preserve running as one of the main pillars in my life. I have always found that I run better surrounded by others than alone; so, I am grateful that this scholarship allowed me to find a running community after high school – the thing I knew I would miss the most in college.

If you love running, I encourage you to find others with the same passion. Even in college – in a new state and with new people – I feel connected to the mission of Charm City Run. I am grateful that communities like Charm City Run continue to bring people together under one shared passion: running. It was a pleasure to meet Amy’s family and honor her memory through this experience.

To learn more and apply for the scholarship, please visit: https://www.charmcityrun.com/about-ccr/scholarship/.