Thursday, February 7, 2013

Girls on the Run: Local students train for 5k, absorb other lessons along the way


May 11, 2008 

Surrounded by 14 third- and fourth-graders and two Highland Creek Elementary School teachers, fourth-grader Stephanie Wisnewski eagerly talks about participating in Girls on the Run.

"Girls on the Run is a fun and exciting program that helps girls be better people in the world," she said. "By loving ourselves, we get self-confidence. We talk about drugs, alcohol and smoking, and learn how bad they are for us. We can tell others and help stop them from taking drugs, getting sick, and dying from them. I thought I could help a lot of people if I learned about it."

Fourth-grade teacher Marcy Sanders and third-grade teacher Lauren Snyder are teaching the principles of the program, whose mission is "to educate and prepare girls for a lifetime of self-respect and healthy living."

Founded in 1996 by Molly Barker, a Charlotte native, social worker, and four-time Ironman triathlete, Girls on the Run Charlotte has 60 sites in Charlotte. It is an affiliate of Girls on the Run International, with 100 locations across the United States and Canada. To find out how to join, go to http://www.gotrcharlotte.org/.

The program serves girls in third through eighth grades and meets twice a week after school, for eight-week sessions. Local schools typically host fall and spring sessions for girls who participate in healthy living education and train for a 5K run.

The activity is also rewarding for the teachers. Snyder said she was not a runner when she started co-facilitating Girls on the Run. She thought it would be a good way to exercise while working with students, getting to know them outside of the classroom and teaching them about healthy living.
Sanders agrees.

"You see the girls in a different light and setting," she said. "The girls feel free and confident to express themselves. As the session goes on, you watch the girls reap the rewards of exercising, making new friends, and teaching their peers. It is also motivating for me because it forces me to change my clothes and get out there and run."

The girls in the Highland Creek Elementary group crowd together to talk further about what they're learning.

Kayla Bass, Tori Pocta and Taylor Scovel discuss peer pressure.

"When you go somewhere with your friends and they want you to do something you don't want to do, don't do it," Taylor says. "They probably aren't good friends anyway."
Stephanie Wisnewski says she likes the running program.

"The teachers say, `OK, 10 more minutes, 5 or 6 laps left,' " Stephanie says. " They really push us. That really helps us. Girls on the Run is fun and healthy."

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