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Superheroes In Training by Bridgid Gallagher / Photo by Brian Alexander

“Do you guys see this tube of toothpaste?” Eleven girls sit in a circle on the gym floor and watch as one of their coaches uncaps the miniature tube in her hand. It’s after school hours, but Loyal Heights Elementary School is still buzzing with students attending sports practices and club meetings. Most of the hubbub has moved outside for the moment, and the girls on the gym floor are focused on their coach.

A collective gasp races through the girls as Coach Jen removes the cap and begins to squeeze the toothpaste onto her finger.

“If I squeeze it out...,” she starts to say.

“You can’t put it back in!”

“No,” answers Coach Jen. “If I try to put it back in, it’s very difficult to do, which is similar to gossiping because once you say something about someone, if it’s hurtful or bad, it’s really hard to take it back.”

Jen looks around the circle to see all eleven sets of eyes watching her.

“And now I have toothpaste on my finger.”

A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO ATHLETICS

If you’re thinking this isn’t your average after-school activity, you’re right. These girls are participants in Girls on the Run (GOTR), an athletic program for third- to fifth-grade girls that combines training for a 5K (3.1 mile) running event with discussions on issues that range from cooperation and bullying to today’s topic: gossip.

After an active version of the game “Telephone,” the girls stretch while their coaches ask them what they can do to stop gossip. The smallest girl in the group offers, “You can say, ‘No. I’m not going to tell anyone else and I’m not going to join your gossip.’ Gossiping might be funny to you, but it’s not funny to the person who it’s about.”

More girls weigh in on the topic before they all head outside for a scavenger hunt that involves running laps, finding something pretty (Coach Erica) and jumping rope. The girls stop for sips of water and encouragement, but seem happy to be playing outside. It’s this activity time that attracts many girls to GOTR.

“The first time I did GOTR I felt like I didn’t want to do it because I was kind of nervous,” says eight-year-old Fiona. “Then the coach, she told me about what we were going to do that day and it sounded really, really fun. So I decided to do it.”

THE GIRL BOX

Living in the “girl box” is how GOTR founder Molly Barker describes what occurs when girls suppress their individuality and pretend to be who they think others want them to be. Barker, a four-time Ironman triathlete, seeks to give young women the tools and support they need to express themselves.

Influenced by her own experiences with the “girl box,” Barker joined with licensed clinical social worker Dori Luke to develop a program that combined training girls to run a 5K while discussing issues related to self-esteem. The 13-girl pilot group was successful and, in 2000, GOTR International became a 501(c)(3) organization. According to academic evaluations conducted by Dr. Rita DeBate, GOTR participants experienced an increase in self-esteem, body size satisfaction and healthy behavior.

Now, GOTR can be found at 160 sites in the United States and Canada, serving over 60,000 girls annually. GOTR came to the Seattle area in 2002, and has since grown to 22 sites.
Puget Sound GOTR Program Coordinator, Amber Swim, considers GOTR a prevention program that helps girls prepare for adolescence. “When girls are put into that box,” she says, “it doesn’t lead to very happy, healthy, contented women. Our goal is to help girls get through adolescence without being in that girl box.”

According to University of Washington doctoral candidate Patricia Russell, whose dissertation is on preventing problem behaviors in at-risk youth, the age-group GOTR targets is especially vulnerable. “The tweens in our society are bombarded with negative imagery of what young adolescent women are supposed to look like.” Russell says. “Having a pro-social and nurturing environment for them to go to and learn more about themselves could have enormous positive developmental effects.”

Not only are the girls open to listening to adult role models, but they are also old enough to have experienced some of the topics of discussion. “It’s real stuff in their lives,” says Swim. “Even at this age.”

GET INVOLVED

GOTR offers volunteers the opportunity to connect with girls in a fun environment, while helping them avoid the “girl box.” Swim recommends the experience. “It’s a really fun, meaningful way to shape the next generation of women,” she says. “GOTR combines my three favorite things: being active, kids, and women and girl empowerment.”

Coach Megan, an event planner in the educational field, has seen girls blossom during her first season as a GOTR coach. “Girls who had no interest in running whatsoever at first are now running and trying to get better,” she says.

Megan became involved with GOTR when she volunteered to be a running buddy for a 5K. She was paired with a young participant and joined her for a practice run, then provided her with the support and encouragement she needed to finish the run.

This season’s 5K will take place on May 22 at Seward Park. The run will have a superhero theme, and all interested superheroes (men and women) are invited.

The 5K may be the culminating event for the 10-week GOTR season, but some girls don’t relish the idea of losing their twice-a-week practices. “I’m kind of nervous and I’m kind of excited,” shares eight-year-old Ruby. “I’m not so nervous because it’s not really a race because it’s like what we do here. I’m going to be sad because it’ll be the last practice.”

Bridgid Gallagher is a freelance writer and will be running with the other superheroes in the New Balance Girls on the Run 5K.

LEARN MORE

The New Balance Girls on the Run 5K will be held on Saturday, May 22, at Seward Park in Seattle. To register, visit www.girlsrun.org/5k or call 206-528-2118. (Superhero capes are encouraged!)

For more information on how to enroll in Girls on the Run, visit the Puget Sound GOTR Web site at www.girlsrun.org.

If you are interested in volunteering to be a coach or a running buddy for the 5K, contact Amber Swim at amber@girlsrun.org.

©Copyright 2010, Caliope Publishing Company