Cranberry elementary school girls in long run
CRANBERRY TWP — Girls at Haine Elementary School like to run.
Girls on the Run, a national organization with a chapter based at the school, teaches girls in grades 3 through 5 life lessons while introducing them to endurance running.
It has operated at the school for more than 10 years. This year's program was a success and is always popular, though coach Heather Clark says the group could use more community volunteers to be coaches, so they can accept more girls next year.
The program runs three times per week after school for 12 weeks from the beginning of March to mid-May.
The activities and curriculum are based on guidelines set by the national organization, based in North Carolina. Clark was joined by assistant coaches Pam Kristoff and Kris Poloyac this year. With three coaches they had to cap participation at 21 to abide with a 7 to 1 rule.
The girls run during each session, but there is also an emphasis on positive messages like the negative effects of gossiping and bullying, self esteem and body image.
“They love it, they love the camaraderie. It's a really positive environment. It's not a lot of pressure, some sports are so demanding, but this is a little less intense,” Clark said.
Part of the curriculum is that each year the group chooses a charitable cause to support. The group this year chose Gleaner's Food Bank at St. Ferdinand Church. They were supposed to collect 10 nonperishable food items each, but the group ended up with a much larger donation, she said.
At the end of the 12 weeks each group participates in a 5K event, which was held this year on May 15 at Hartwood Acres in Allegheny County.
Some of the girls could only run for about one minute at a time at the beginning of the program, but by the end they were all able to walk or run the entire 5 kilometers, Clark said.
Kim Leonard of Cranberry has been a coach of the Girls on the Run group at Center Elementary in Hampton Township, Allegheny County for the past 14 years.
“It's applicable to what they are experiencing at this time in their lives. It's so important that they stay active and feel good about themselves. Everybody is different and unique and they should embrace that and not listen to the stereotypes,” she said.
Leonard said her daughter Chloe, 10, participated this year for the first time with the group at Haine.
“She loved it. She would always hear me speak about it and she came to a couple session when she was 5 or 6, so hearing the same concepts that affect her in her daily life, she can actually apply some of those skills,” she said.
For information on Girls on the Run programs in Western Pennsylvania, visit gotrmagee.org.
