Many know Meredith Dolhare Elliott either as a collegiate tennis player at perennial top-ranked UCLA and Vanderbilt, or as a record-setting ultra triathlete, cyclist and ultra-runner who founded her own thriving nonprofit ten years ago to give back the values accrued via sport: discipline, confidence, teamwork, self-respect and respect for others.

Meredith founded RunningWorks.org a decade ago, while serving six years on the boards of the former Urban Ministry Center and Care Ring, in order to better assist the under-served homeless clientele at RunningWorks. Remaining extremely active in the community, Meredith currently serves on the boards of the Charlotte Rescue Mission, the Apparo Foundation and, of course, acts as Executive Director of RunningWorks.

RunningWorks’ unique model of using sport, education and community support assists individuals and families to develop healthy lifestyle habits and meet their goals for physical, mental and social well-being. RunningWorks offers programs and services to men, women and children of all ages at risk of health disparities and negative health outcomes due to their socioeconomic status.

Meredith is looking forward to using her new role in real estate at Henderson Ventures and interior design and staging expertise with Stage of Designs to donate a portion of her commission back into the organization: selling and designing homes to benefit the homeless. In addition, she is in her 11th year coaching varsity boys and girls XC/TF at Charlotte Country Day School, where the undefeated girls team won their first state title this past year, won their division at XC Nationals, and qualified 21 boys and girls for Outdoor Track Nationals placing eight All-Americans.

Meredith has two sons, Watson, 24, who works in DC as a veterinary technician, and Noah, 22, an award-winning XC/TF runner at Furman University who now works as a financial analyst at Wells Fargo. She and her husband Matt (who runs RunningWorks and coaches XC/TF with her at CCDS) + their three French bulldogs (Levi, Lovette and Moses) are currently renovating a ranch home with some acreage in South Park for their “three little monsters” while Meredith completes her first book, a memoir, due to be released in early 2023.