 Girls on the run grow up to be Women Running Together.
Running can change your life. Give you confidence, a strong body, a healthy lifestyle and amazing friendships.
Photo Courtesy of Marissa Rauch Photography Many women who have shared their stories with WRT feel the same way.
Mollie Barker, a four-time Hawaii ironman triathlete, took it a step further and founded Girls on the Run International in 1996 (GOTR). The program introduces running to pre-teen girls, ages 8 to 13. It now has around 160 councils in the USA and Canada. GOTR’s mission is “To educate and prepare girls for a lifetime of self-respect and healthy living”.
GOTR’s 12-week curriculum teaches self-esteem and running. The focus is on impacting girls lifestyles and their choices. The program concludes with a 3-mile (5k) road race.
Carol Lynn Bamford is the founder of the GOTR Washington D.C. Council. She is a mom and wanted her two daughters and other girls in DC to experience GOTR. “I heard about this fantastic program and it was really a no-brainer that we needed it here. I approached my daughters’ school and without blinking people came and offered their help.”
 Four years later Carol Lynn and the GOTR DC Council are serving more than 400 girls in almost 30 DC locations.
As Carol Lynn explains, “The program works for all backgrounds and body types. It brings girls together who wouldn’t be bonded.
Photo Courtesy of Susan Clemer We don’t advertise but easily get 80-100 volunteers. We recruit coaches through the schools - teachers, college students and moms. Dads are out there running the race with their kids or cheering them on. They are community fun runs with different people of all ages.
The race is just an incredible goal. As race director I worry about the competitive side. We have a clock but the race is not officially timed.
However it’s the crowning culmination of the girls and their coach’s time.
Their sense of accomplishment and the look on their faces at the finish line is a double/triple bang for our buck.”
Joy Buckner has been teaching for 10 years, mostly first graders. This is her first year as a coach for GOTR DC.
Photo Courtesy of Susan Clemer At her DC inner city school, Imagine Hope Community Charter School (Lamond Campus), running is not an activity the girls normally participate in. They are all African American and cheerleading is the sport of choice.
Joy and coach Niyeka Wilson, her 16 girls, aged 9 to 12 meet twice a week for 90 minutes. They started with some walking backwards, skipping, running one minute and walking one minute. They run around the city block of their school and the hallways if it’s raining.
The girls are rewarded for positive behaviors with "Energy Awards". All the girls give these awards after they have identified one or two in the group who did or said something that day that was extraordinary. It maybe helping a teammate who was having trouble or contributing something positive during the conversation portion of the lesson.
The girls circle around the girl(s) they have identified and give her a special cheer that they make up like: "peel the banana," "WOW", "superstar" or the "cheese GREATER. Consistent attendance earns the girls stripped high socks, stuff for their hair and shorts.
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 Joy says, “The biggest challenge is trying to build a team and get everyone to be together.
I urge them not to give up and keep moving forward. Some of the girls are frustrated with the others who are complaining or who want to just lie on the ground.
Coach Joy (L) with her student Kaila (R)
Photos Courtesy of Joy Buckner Being a teacher I’ve had years of practicing patience. Sure I sometimes get irritated and tell my girls, ‘I’m tired too and I’m running more than you guys so keep going’.
The girls are also getting a good education on eating healthy food. In the first week they still wanted chips. Then they began noticing food that had too much salt. The girls are taking these lessons back to their families.
Unfortunately some of the other teachers gave out lollipops and the girls would bring them to practice. I warned them, ‘You’ll get sick when you go running.’ Sure enough one of them threw up, so no more lollipops!”
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 The GOTR lessons turn into conversations about the girl’s bodies changing and what is going on in their lives.
They discuss positive body image, respect, standing up for yourself and gratitude.
Joy makes it clear that as the coach whatever is talked about stays in the group.
Girls on the Run Team
Imagine Hope Community Charter School “I’ve learned how resilient these girls are. Many come from hard circumstances and single-family homes. I’m so proud of their commitment and didn’t realize how much I was going to enjoy it.”
On 16 May 2010, 12 of Joy’s girls competed in their first GOTR 5k race at American University. For many it was a chance to experience a different world, as most of the girls had never been on a college campus. In another teaching moment, the girls could understand that college is in their future and a very attainable goal for them.
The goal was to have fun, be respectful, represent themselves as ladies and be a good example for their school and community. It was a hot day and the first time that the girls had run the full three miles. Joy was thrilled, “What a fun day, everyone was happy and cheering, having a good time and all the girls finished.”
One of Joy’s girls, 12-year-old Kaila, thought it was fun. “I started out slow then me and my friend started to run very fast. On the third lap I fell but I didn’t want anyone to pick me up.
 Most of the girls thought it was hard but it was fun to encourage others. We kept saying, ‘You can do it’.
When my stomach was hurting my friend said, ‘Let’s walk’. So we did and then ran again. Afterwards, I felt tired and sat on the grass.
I’m usually lazy and love to play video games. But I’m a hard worker at school and get great grades.
Running has helped me concentrate a bit more and I have more energy. I feel good about myself. If there is a GOTR program next year I’m going to do it!”
Girls on the Run team member Kaila.
To learn more about the Girls on the Run program or perhaps donate your time or money please visit their website, girlsontherun.org.
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