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'A super positive person': Vance Stiles brings UNC's club running community together

Vance Stiles is the glue holding UNC Club Running together

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Members of UNC Running club run together in masks across Hooker Fields to warm up on Friday, Sept. 4, 2020. They are happy to be able to continue practicing together with new precautions in place amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vance Stiles has always brought people together. The senior member of the UNC Running Club has a charisma that draws people toward him. Part of it is because he's always willing to talk, no matter the subject. 

“He’s happy to get into any conversation and help you walk through whatever is troubling you in your life, your hopes and dreams and where you want to end up, all while ripping you apart at 6:30 pace,” Lawton Ives, his club teammate, said.

Coming into his first practice as a new club member, Stiles didn't think his biggest asset to the club would be his personality — he started as a talented athlete looking to assert himself. 

The club was waiting together to get picked up to go rollerblading when then-senior Dustin Sneed rolled up in his truck and invited a group of then-first-years, including Stiles, for a ride. Stiles was still adjusting to college life, and didn’t have many friends within the running club. It was the first time he saw a goofy side to an upperclassman. 

“He’d turn on everything from Miley Cyrus to Tyga in his big ol' truck, and we’d all just sing along and laugh,” Stiles said.

Sneed learned that many of the first-years in the car had never been to Cook Out, a North Carolina staple. He was determined to get them there, but not without having some fun first.

“We got lost multiple times because he was paying too much attention to us talking versus actually getting to Cook Out,” Stiles said.

Sneed had no idea who any of the new runners were, yet the fact that he was so willing to get to know the others made Stiles feel welcomed and introduced him to the family that was the club. 

“Dustin and I’s relationship told me that it doesn’t matter how good you are in a group,” Stiles said. “What really matters for the group is how well you can pass on what the group really means to you.”

'That kid always brings the energy'

During Stiles' first year, the club had just finished a tough race in the hot Charlottesville weather, with no plans and a terrible hotel to stay in. Many of the other runners left for Chapel Hill, leaving two seniors and a bunch of underclassmen left to spend the night.

“It felt like mom and dad taking their kids on vacation,” Stiles said.

The first-years in the group were nervous and unsure of what to do next. That's when Stiles took the lead and made the trip less awkward. 

“Vance really stepped up to set the tone,” Ives said. “That kid always brings the energy. He was absolutely committed to not only having a good time for himself that night, but making sure that everyone else did.”

Ives, one of the first-years at the meet, said that Stiles made the best out of a potentially bad situation. He realized that the other first-year was willing to talk about almost anything with him. 

Stiles was able to make the group feel more comfortable and really helped establish bonds throughout the 2021 class. This made it easier for them to walk around a new town and share a bed with two other people. 

His role in the club has expanded over the years, taking command of organized long runs, carpooling and the group messaging platforms.  

Every day right before practice, Stiles steps onto one of the miniature columns outside of Hooker Field and loudly gets everyone’s attention so club president Adalyn Fleming can make her announcements. 

His yelling has gotten members to listen to what Fleming has to say, but it also gets them hyped up for the upcoming run.

That energy is maintained during runs. 

He will always make an effort to give a fellow runner a high-five or words of encouragement as he passes by.  

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“He’s always been a super positive person to be around,” Fleming said. “It’s people like him on club that I think make the club such a cohesive group of people.”

'More important to him is the sense of community'

“He’s really great about connecting folks,” Ives said. “Some people that I really see as close friends now are people that I met through Vance.”

One of Stiles’ closest ties is with Hank Snyder, a junior who currently lives with him.

“That beginning relationship was definitely older brother, younger brother," Snyder said. “But now, because we have had so much time together and we’ve definitely matured over time, it has really grown into a peer-to-peer, brother-to-brother, almost twin-to-twin kind of thing.”

The two men have used running as a way to discuss their feelings and have developed a big sense of trust through the sport.

Snyder recalls when Stiles invited him to a brunch with his mom, his brother and a family friend. Stiles knew Snyder was homesick, especially since he was an out-of-state student. It meant a lot to him that Stiles empathized with him and recognized a way to make him feel better.

“That moment really solidified my opinion on Vance and how much I appreciated who he was as a person,” Snyder said.

Stiles has done more than just try to make his now-roommate feel welcome, though. For the senior, it's always been pertinent to his role as a club veteran to try and bring the younger members together. 

During Stiles' junior year, there were several different friend groups of first-year runners within the club. It was the then-secretary who brought them all together in one group in Chase Dining Hall to eat together. 

“He would always force us all to sit together and make sure we were all bonding,” Snyder said.

That class of runners has now all become friends, thanks to Stiles — it was his efforts at social events, jumping from one group to another to bring them all together so that the runners would get to know each other outside of practice. 

“Vance is obviously there because he wants to perform well and has got his training goals in mind," Lawton said. "But probably more important to him is the sense of community and being there to get to know everybody and support people when they need it the most.”

Whenever a member needs a ride, Vance is always willing to pick them up. He only has one requirement:

“If you’re in the car with me, we’re talking the whole time.”

@ryanheller23

@dthsports | sports@dailytarheel.com