A 5k Experience Unlike Any Other

It’s a crisp afternoon in early December. Many kids head out of Broughal Middle School straight to the school buses. Their destination is home and their plan is to relax, play video games and have some fun. But a dedicated group of young women at this school will spend their afternoon differently. Led by an inspiring coach, they will complete a lesson out of the Girls on the Run curriculum and then head out for a run.

This has been the routine since late September for these young women. They have dedicated every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon to the Girls on the Run program. The United Way sponsors the GOTR program at Broughal Middle School and several others throughout the valley. Their sponsorship provides 12 young women the opportunity to learn about themselves through structured lessons while increasing their self -confidence and self-esteem. What is taught in the lesson often spills over into real life practice two days a week as these teammates push each other to run the steep hills that run parallel to their school. While pushing themselves all season, they have strengthened their bodies and prepared to run in the Candy Cane Classic in Bethlehem to wrap up their program.

On the Tuesday before the race, I have the opportunity to run with these young women and hear about their experience with Girls on the Run. I spend a great deal of time running with a charming sixth grader, who is the same age as my daughter, with a sweet smile and a quiet personality. The Candy Cane Classic on Saturday will be her first 5K, as well as the first race for many of her teammates. As we run, I ask her and her friends if they are excited for the race. One friend immediately says yes. She is excited to receive her first medal so that she doesn’t have to borrow the medals from her brother’s room. Aaliyah is excited but a bit nervous as she hasn’t run a race before. We spend a lot of time talking through what the race will be like and the need to go at your own pace when the gun goes off. She absorbs all of it and gives her smile of acknowledgment. She is getting ready.
 
While we are running, we also talk about what made the girls sign up for the program. A few of them cite the Coach as the motivator. Others mention that they had heard about the program from older girls in the school and they were eager to try it for themselves. When I ask them what lessons stood out for them during the program, they reference a special one that focused on the connection between mind, body and spirit.
 
The entire time we run I keep reflecting on how fortunate these young women are to have this program and to have learned what their bodies are capable of at such a young age. As a woman, I didn’t learn how to run until I was in my 40s. While I believe I was equipped with an adequate amount of self- confidence before I learned to run, I can tell you that I have developed greater respect and acceptance for my body since that time. It is very powerful for me to see these fantastic young women being taught intellectually about how strong and powerful they are through the curriculum of GOTR, while being given the opportunity to demonstrate that strength physically through the training.
 
At the end of the session on Tuesday, we wish the girls good luck as their teacher gives them instructions on where to meet and what time on Saturday morning. She hands out their long sleeve black t-shirts and they depart the classroom. As I am leaving, my new friend quietly asks me if I will be her running buddy on Saturday. Her invitation for me to join her in her first 5K simply makes my day, and I make plans to join her.
 
Fast forward to Race Day. It is an unusually warm December morning. The sun is shining as the van departs Broughal Middle School for the short drive to the Candy Cane Classic. The Broughal team is dressed in their long sleeve black GOTR shirts. The girls walk in the door to registration and soon meet up with their assigned running buddies. As they introduce themselves to the women who will run with them and encourage them through the streets of downtown Bethlehem, they stop occasionally at tables set up with fun activities. Many pick up headbands that have been made into deer antlers. The deer antlers accentuate the red dot noses that many choose at an accompanying table to look like Rudolph. The spirit is festive and the energy is high as girls and running buddies mingle and prepare for the race.

I meet up with my new friend at the Broughal table. Together, we join Angela, a running buddy, and head to the starting line. What happens next is one of my feel good stories of 2015. Angela and I travel the streets of Bethlehem with her. We adopt her pace and we follow her lead. When we need to take a short break to walk, we do. And we set goals with her. “Do you see the stop sign right there? When we reach the stop sign, we will start running again,” we say. She takes our coaching and we enjoy our time together. When we see the finish line in sight and the downhill slope to reach it, she is glowing. I run ahead a few feet to snap the photo of her crossing the finish line in her first 5K. She crosses in 42 minutes and she does it with a smile on her face. A smile of self-confidence and a smile of accomplishment, two incredible gifts given to her and her teammates from a program called Girls on the Run and a sponsor called the United Way.



Girls on the Run Lehigh Valley is a United Way funded program. Girls on the Run inspires girls to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum which creatively integrates running.