Girls on the Run: Life lessons through Running

I’m shaking up my routine a bit this spring by working with Girls on the DC, an organization that empowers young girls to achieve life goals through a series of interactive lessons and running. It’s my first season with the organization, and I’m really excited about it.

The girls meet twice a week for 12 weeks, and engage in lessons that focus on understanding ourselves, valuing relationships and teamwork, and understanding how we connect with the world. At the end of the 12 weeks, the girls and their running buddies participate in a 5k running event. The race provides a tangible sense of achievement, as well as a framework for setting and achieving life goals.

I’m part of a group called Team Adelaide, which provides support to coaches and their teams (resources, extra set of hands during practice, etc.) during the season. I’ll also be a running buddy for one of the girls during the 5k.

The team I’m working with is West Education Campus near the Brightwood neighborhood of the District. The group is a mix of elementary and middle school-aged girls. We met last week in a section of Rock Creek Park. The weather was beautiful (finally).

The girls all had a lot of energy and were engaged throughout the lesson. They were so fun to be around. Toward the end, when it was time to run laps, each girl set a goal of how many laps they wanted to run. Many didn’t realize how long the lap actually was (it was pretty long). Once they started running, some got tired and wanted to stop, but the coaches were great in encouraging them to push through until the end (when time was up). You could definitely see how proud they were to have finished — the feeling of accomplishment. Seeing that, and knowing that you helped achieved it, is a great feeling and accomplishment in itself. It’s going to be a great season with these girls.