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MADISON, WI — July 13, 2005 — Ten weeks ago, 12-year-old Megan did not believe that she could compete in this Saturday's Race for the Cure 5K. That was before she participated in the inaugural group of Girls on the Run® of Dane County which launched in March. When she first learned about Girls on the Run, she had run only laps around her school's field — maybe a quarter mile, at most. After meeting twice a week after school since March 29, Megan and her 12 new friends anxiously await the crack of the starting gun at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 4, at the Alliant Energy Center.
Girls on the Run (GOTR®) is a non-profit prevention program that uses an interactive curriculum and running to encourage preteen girls to develop self respect and healthy lifestyles. The curricula address all aspects of a girl's development including her physical, emotional, mental, social and spiritual well-being. The lessons are aimed at providing the tools to avoid risky adolescent behaviors such as drug or alcohol use, early sexual activity and eating disorders/obesity.
"We plan to kick-off four sites in the fall of 2005, including a program in Stoughton," explains the GOTR Council Director. "We've been thrilled with the ways the first group of girls has reacted to and grown through the program. Their excitement, enthusiasm and encouragement of each other is electric!"
These 13 girls will participate in the Race for the Cure on Saturday, June 4, in Madison. None have run this far before but have been aware of this goal since they joined Girls on the Run. "I thought it was going to be running a lot of laps but it's not," explains Megan. "GOTR is a way to tie in feeling good about yourself, making good choices and training for a race." Families, friends and supporters of the program will congregate to cheer the girls to the finish line.
GOTR is the first of an entirely new genre of recreation programs. It combines physical training, namely preparing for a one mile or 3.1 mile running event, with warm-ups, team-building activities and workouts that focus on specific life-skills. These life-skills include how to get along within a group, how to assert yourself in a healthy manner, how to stop a gossip chain, and how to combat the negative and unattainable images put forth by the media.
Social worker Molly Barker founded the program in Charlotte, NC in 1996. Barker, a former competitive runner and Hawaii Ironman triathlete, created the program based on years of teaching and counseling troubled children and their families combined with her own love of athletics and what participation in sports can do for young girls. Starting with 13 girls in 1996, the program now boasts over 30,000 "graduates." GOTR programs exist in over 100 locations across the US and Canada, including five in Wisconsin. For more information, contact Julia Stanley at (608) 234-1958 or www.girlsontherundaneco.org.
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CONTACT:
Julia Stanley
(608) 234-1958
girlsontherundaneco@yahoo.com
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