To say Girlstrong is going strong would be an understatement.
It started five years ago with about 20 participants. During Thursday’s run at Tudhope Park, almost 800 young girls took part.
“We’re trying to keep up with the growth and maintain the integrity of the program,” said Patti Freeman, a retired Uptergrove Public School teacher who started Girlstrong with Couchiching Heights Public School teacher Diane Barr.
The three-kilometre run has become so popular, organizers had to hold two sessions Thursday.
Couchiching Heights student Hannah MacKenzie, 11, was cheering on fellow participants as they were approaching the finish line. She did so because others cheered her on, too — a gesture she appreciated.
“It can make you feel good, especially if you don’t feel good about yourself,” MacKenzie said.
Her classmate, Molly Absalom, agreed.
“Everyone cheers you on, including people you don’t know,” she said, adding the event also gets girls active and gives them an opportunity to make new friends.
That’s what it’s all about, said Freeman. Actually, it’s about a lot more. Girlstrong is an acronym: goal setting, individuality, respect, leadership, strength, teamwork, resilience, optimism, nutrition, growth.
“It’s really important that it’s non-competitive,” Freeman said. “We want them to do some running and learn about themselves.”
Girlstrong is a six-week program, which sees students in grades 3 to 8 at participating schools take part in weekly sessions that include running, games and discussion, all leading up to the main event.
Thirty-two schools in Orillia and area take part, and 10 in the Alliston area have also come on board. A separate run for those schools will take place this weekend.
A supportive, inclusive, non-competitive event such as Girlstrong is needed in these times, Freeman said.
“I don’t think there’s enough of that out there today. You have to make teams. You get cut from teams. Here, everyone has that opportunity to have that sense of achievement.”
The community is catching on, too, with local businesses offering to sponsor the event. Freeman thanked the sponsors and volunteers who stepped up this year.
Find out more about the program at girlstrong.ca.
