Girls on the Run

Girls on the run - Run this way!

It's hard to believe that a year ago I was prepped and ready to run a half marathon. It was at this race that I first heard of Girls on the Run, and started investigating this awesome program. I tried to get it put into place at my daughters school in the fall, but with school board approvals, paperwork and a little red tape it took a little longer to get put into place than I was hoping. However, this spring we finally got it up and running! This awesome program empowers girls in grades 3rd-5th grade to be joyful, healthy and confident. Twice a week we discuss issues like gossiping, bullying, peer pressure, and the food pyramid all while doing running exercises to prepare for a 5k race.  While trying to get my girls' school up and running I paired up with another woman to try to bring it to all the Catholic schools in town and now we are hopeful that by next fall it will be in 3 of our feeder schools!

All the girls and running buddies praying before the race

We paired up and ran our first practice 5k this past weekend at my school and it was so fun to see how far some of the girls have come. Some of them ran so hard; the look of determination on their faces was priceless. It was a great way to once again see the awesome community that makes up the Catholic schools in our city. Though the curriculum just scratches the surface of some of the issues that these girls are facing, I am hopeful that it is planting a seed to help these girls understand their awesomeness!