It's not every day you see 90 runners in an event and every one has the
number 1 attached to her T-shirt. But these are the WonderGirls.
"You can't lose if you're all number 1," said a grandmother watching
Saturday's culminating event for Girls on the Run, an after-school
program in six local elementary and middle schools.
The 5k run, which capped 12 weeks of training, involved all of the local
clubs and dozens of their relatives, teachers and other supporters.
"It feels good," said Fallon Soto, 9, a student at Olympic Elementary.
"You can run around, feel the breeze, and just have fun."
""She was so excited she wanted to get here at 7:30 this morning," said
Fallon's grandmother, Josie Sullivan. "This is so great, especially
nowadays when children are so inactive. They can interact with each
other and learn to get along."
Saturday was a big blast for Girls on the Run, the local chapter of a
national program that builds self esteem and healthy habits in young
girls.
First off, they were participating in a WonderGirls event, one of 10
scheduled around the country this May 10.
Secondly, the woman who founded Girls on the Run International came all
the way from the East Coast to cheer them on.
Olympic school nurse JoLee Ford, who started the local group and with
registered dietitian Peggy Norman grew it to six schools in four years,
successfully invited Molly Barker of Charlotte, NC, to this WonderGirls
run.
"I came to support JoLee and the efforts being made here to really grow
and reach more girls with our mission," said Barker, an Ironman
triathlete who started running when she was 15 and launched Girls on the
Run in 1996.
On Friday, Barker visited two middle school groups, then joined the
Olympic School girls on the track, where they did their laps before
surrounding her to shout out their Girls on the Run cheers.
We! Are! The girls on the run!
We're just coming -- to run, run, run!
"I'm not sure what y'all are feeding these girls," Barker quipped. "They
are the most affectionate, warmest group I have ever met."
The Olympic girls also showed their spirit when they bid goodbye to
"Peppy Peggy" Norman, who recently moved to Tacoma. They presented her
with a big poster they'd made and swarmed around, hugging her.
Saturday, all the Girls on the Run clubs donned pink T-shirts and
gathered at Longview Memorial Stadium, where Longview Mayor Kurt
Anagnostou proclaimed May 10 to be "Girls on the Run Day in the State of
Washington."
Molly Barker stood in a sea of pink while two middle school runners led
a chant:
Self-confidence is what we preach!
Love yourself is what we teach!
Love yourself, don't look back,
We --- are --- girls on track!
The Mark Morris Pep Band played brassy tributes, and the runners took
off beneath a huge balloon arch. They ran one lap in the stadium before
heading for Lake Sacajawea.
Bruce Fischer, who snapped photos of his 11-year-old daughter Anastasia
when she completed Saturday's course, said he has watched her improve as
a runner.
"She's faster than me now," Fischer said. "And she's much more
interested in healthy eating. She comes home and tells us what we all
should be eating."
Beau and Marlene Hughes watched their two daughters, 9-year-old Destiny
Hughes and her sister, Grace Hughes, 15, take part. Marlene said Girls
on the Run is a great thing for both sisters, including Grace, who is a
special needs child.
When the runners returned to the stadium for their final lap, Megan
Pelton was among the first to finish, running alongside her dad.
"That's her best time, 26:29," Dennis Pelton said, while Megan adjusted
her WonderGirls ribbon and medal and got a big kiss from her mom,
Gretchen.
"So many kids today don't do anything outside," Dennis said. "For the
schools to support this program, it's really good."
Bri Quick, 9, ate an orange after the run. "I'm really really tired,"
she said. "It was hard, but I kept on running."
There were lots of Girls on the Run when they broke from the starting
line at Longview Memorial Stadium on Saturday morning.
Monticello Middle School students Katie Dozier, 12, left, and Annie
Conover, 12, kicked it in at the finish line as they finished just ahead
of Longview Police chief Alex Perez.
Jill Buccola, center, who works at Olympic Elementary School, has no
children running, but she regularly joins all the others who come to
support the runners.
The national founder of Girls on the Run, Molly Barker, center, cheered
for the girls from the start of the run through its finish at Longview
Memorial Stadium.
After she ran the "best time she's ever done" according to her father's
cell phone timer, Megan Pelton, 12, got balloons and a kiss from her
mother Gretchen Pelton, while her father Dennis Pelton, who ran with
Megan stood by.
Article from Daily News by: Cathy Zimmerman