For the after-school club Girls on the Run, it's not just about running - it's also about self- confidence, emotional health and having good relationships with friends.
North and East Elementary joined the "Girls on the Run" family this year, beginning their involvement with a nationally recognized program designed to encourage young girls and emphasize the connection between physical and mental health.
JC healthy schools coordinator Kelsey Chrisman, who helps oversee the program, said it's about making sure students are "feeling good about themselves inside and out."
The program has been in Callaway Hills, Thorpe Gordon, and South elementary schools in the past, but is new to North and East elementary schools. Belair and Callaway Hills hope to participate in the program in the spring.
Girls on the Run is not simply a track and field practice.
"Their curriculum creatively integrates running into the program," Chrisman said.
A typical practice, coached by the healthy schools building champion and his or her team of staff members, begins with a five-minute snack provided by the program, followed by a short time to talk about the girls' days.
After talking about their days, coaches will go through a lesson with the girls, with subjects ranging from understanding their emotions to how to value friendship. Then they head outside to warm up and begin the run, which lasts around 30 minutes.
"It really focuses on the whole girl," Chrisman said of the program. "I know it has the word 'run' in it, so people think that's all it is, but to be honest, that's a small piece."
Chrisman said they try to find ways to make it fun.
"We do fun ways of keeping track of your laps if it's a lap day - beads on a bracelet - and then these kids find out at the end they ran like 2 miles or something, but they didn't even know it," she said.
And it doesn't have to be running - Chrisman said they encourage the girls to do whatever they like, be it running, walking, skipping, jumping or dancing, as long as they're being physically active and participating.
The program is designed to help connect the physical and emotional health of the girls, something Chrisman said can be vitally important in adolescence.
"I think Girls on the Run also catches girls at a very critical age and stage where we can strengthen their self-confidence, and how to build healthy relationships with other friends," Chrisman said.
At the end of a practice, girls will do a cool-down and receive their "homework," usually a task like saying "hi" to a teammate throughout the week. The girls report back in about their assignment during the next practice.
"It's fun to listen to a third-grader say, 'Oh, I said hi to the fifth-grader at the water fountain,' or in the hallway, and that third- and fifth-grader would have never acknowledged each other otherwise," Chrisman said.
Chrisman said a lot of activities are designed to encourage teamwork. Teams range from eight to 20 girls; she estimated East Elementary has eight girls participating, while North has 12.
It's a valuable experience for the coaches, as well. Chrisman said coaches often join because they want to get some exercise after school.
"There is nothing wrong with wanting to get your own little physical activity on," Chrisman said. "And then they turn into loving it even more because of what it's teaching the girls."
Chrisman called the program "invaluable."
"I believe it can transform girls' lives just in that aspect of increased self-confidence and developing healthier relationships with each other," she said.