It’s early on a Saturday morning in June and most elementary school students would still be in bed given the choice. Yet hundreds of girls across of the state are lining up to run a 5k race; a culmination of their hard work and training over the past two months to celebrate the end of the Girls on the Run spring season. A sea of sapphire shirts moves in waves; jittering girls jumping up and down matching with their hair bows and tattoos excited to get started.                                   

Girls on the Run ^® is an experiential learning, non-profit prevention program for girls in grades 3-5, with a Girls on Track program for girls in grades 6-8. “We inspire girls to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum which creatively integrates running.” The 10-week program follows a national curriculum focused on building self-esteem and improving emotional and physical health with training for a 3.1 mile (5K) event.  Participants learn how to make healthy decisions, resolve conflict, and get along in a group. We envision a world where every girl knows and activates her limitless potential and is free to boldly pursue her dreams.                                                                                                                                         

Parsippany has been fostering the physical and mental wellbeing of adolescent females for several years with girls returning to the program in both the fall and the spring. Under the direction of a dedicated staff of trained volunteer coaches, the girls engaged in lessons about friendships, peer pressure, gossip, and emotional wellbeing while preparing to complete a 5k. Most recently, the one of the Parsippany teams wrote letters to wounded soldiers and collected canned goods that were donated to the Morristown Community Soup Kitchen as their community action project. Girls and families alike see the benefits of the program. Says Geri Kruger of her granddaughter: “she enjoyed it so much and from the experience I saw a wonderful young lady evolve. I was impressed with the coaches and the time they took with the girls.”                  

Registration for the fall season opens on August 1st at www.girlsontherunnj.org. All program sites meet twice a week for 1 hour and 15 minutes per session with sites in Berkeley Heights, Florham Park, Clark, Madison, Maplewood, Millburn, Montclair, Morris Plains, Morristown, Summit, Union, Westfield, Parsippany, Hopewell, Princeton, Hamilton, Bordentown, West Windsor and East Windsor. Residency is not required. The program cost is $185 per girl and is available regardless of family income. Please contact us at info@girlsontherunnj.org to request financial assistance. Session dates are approximately 9/10- 11/20.    You can also follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GOTRNJ or Twitter at GOTR_NJ.                                                                                                                                          Girls on the Run of NJ East is an Independent Council of Girls on the Run^® International, which has a network of more than 150 Girls on the Run councils across the United States and Canada. Our program is proudly sponsored nationally by Athleta, Secret and Goody.