It may have been chilly outside, but we ROCKED the New Balance Girls on the Run 5K.  All of the girls had an absolute blast.  A culmination of a season of fun and laughter, self-confidence boosting lessons, and a little bit of running, too.

I’m not sure what the BEST part of the morning was – because there were so many great moments – but these three stand out:

1) Our troop got called up on stage to give the crowd an ENERGY AWARD!

2) After the race, GOTR founder Molly Barker came over and talked to our girls.  They were absolutely star struck.  If you are an 8 year old going through the GOTR program, you know who Molly is, and the fact that Molly makes an appearance at our 5K is a very, very big deal (GOTR headquarters is in Charlotte).  And honestly, I consider Molly a celebrity, too!  To think that she had one great idea – to create a running program for elementary school girls – and managed to make it into something THIS HUGE is stunning.  Over 250,000 girls have gone through the GOTR program all over the country since Molly started off with less than a dozen girls at a local Charlotte school in the late 1990s.  Pretty amazing.

3) Although time is not a big deal at GOTR events (the goal is to finish and have fun), one of our girls was the VERY FIRST GIRL out of 3,000 girls to cross the finish line.  She smoked past the tape in 22:50!  That is an average of a 7:20-minute mile.   Hello, speedster!  Her dad said that he could barely keep up with her.  Watch out for her in the Olympics.

All in all, a very, very memorable day, indeed.

The 5K itself was well-organized and fun.  The girls were given beads at Mile 1 and 2, had a water station at Mile 1.5, and the last half mile was all downhill – I think this layout really made the race fly by.

Over 3,000 girls finished and nearly 4,000 family members attended – it was a BIG EVENT!

Every girl runs with a running buddy, and although most girls run with their parents, some girls run with the coaches.  I had to keep my eye on two girls (very nerve-wracking – but I didn’t lose anyone!), and together, we finished in about 39 minutes. 

And now – I’m crashing in bed, with a heart filled with joy.  The girls love GOTR so much, but I love coaching with the Husband even more.  It’s been such a positive and fulfilling experience for us, both as individuals and as a couple.

Here’s to many more seasons of Girls on the Run 5Ks! 

Psst!  Wanna get involved with GOTR?  There are many ways to do so beyond coaching!  Check it out.