Girls on the Run 5k

This past fall, Ella was a part of the Girls on the Run (GOTR) team at her school.  This program is for girls in 3rd through 8th grade and, through running games and activities, inspires them to be healthy, confident, and happy.  The girls meet with their teams and coaches twice a week for 12 weeks and the program culminates with a “celebratory 5k race”.  On December 1st, the whole family got up bright and early to drive up to Huntersville for the big event—the GOTR 5k.  At their practices, Tuesdays and Thursdays afterschool, the girls had been training for this event, but I don’t think they ever ran more than 2 miles at a single practice.  But, the practices had also taught the girls mental strength and confidence, enough to push them that extra mile.  Ella had to run the race with an adult, so I registered for the event—even though I had been doctoring knee issues the previous few months, I wasn’t going to let that get in the way of this special opportunity to bond with my daughter and, luckily, it turned out to not be much of an issue that day.  So, after some motivational chants and an inspirational speech by Molly Barker (founder of GOTR, which started here in Charlotte but is now in 200 cities across the U.S. and Canada), Ella and I set out on our 5k run.  At each mile marker Ella was awarded a string of beads to wear and then a medal at the finish line.  The race was huge, with thousands of participants, many of whom walked.  Every once in a while Ella would look around and get the idea that we should be walking, too, but then we’d talk about strength not just being for your body but also being of your mind, too, and we’d keep going.  We had to talk about pace setting a bit, too, because she tended to yo-yo with me quite a bit.  Once she saw that finish line, though, she bolted.  And, after the initial exhaustion passed, Ella was beaming with pride.  I think Ella could hardly believe she’d run “3.1” miles.  And I love that we did it together.

Before the race, some pictures form my camera and from friends:



It was a chilly morning and the GOTR staff had a cardio funk instructor on hand to warm everyone up with some dancing.  Ella and a few girls from her team loved it.  They danced to several songs, but this one was my favorite to watch.  :)

Girls on the Run 5K from Tricia Williams on Vimeo.

.
And some race pictures that our faithful supporters, Jonathan and Jack, captured.



{i obviously had still not spotted jonathan and jack—i was too focused on trying to find people we knew to run with and open spots between walkers so that we could run.  i think i was pointing out her coaches here.}



{we did it!}



{her coach, ms. lesiak}



{and one of her besties, julianna}