Girls on the Run-Chicago 5k

To our GOTRC Community:

All of us here at Girls on the Run-Chicago deeply regret the many failures that led to the girls, coaches, running buddies and family members who were unable to run in the 5K on Saturday.

We have heard from many of you about your experience and appreciate the time you have taken to express your frustrations and share your stories. What you experienced was unacceptable. And the information you have provided to us is, and will continue to be, extremely important as we move forward with future planning.

While we know nothing will truly erase the disappointments of the day, we want to remedy the situation by offering a full 5k refund and a new race experience to those who were unable to participate. All girls, coaches, running buddies and family members who were not able to run will receive a full race refund. In addition, we have partnered with five area 5ks to offer the girls and their buddies the chance to have a race-day experience.

We will cover the cost of entry into any one of these partner races and will have volunteers and staff on site to paint faces, “happy” their hair and make sure each girl gets her medal. We will also work with our school partners to determine what bus fees for individual riders need to be refunded via check.

To arrange for the refund and/or alternative 5K, please click here and we will respond with next steps. For the Race Against Hate event, please know that registration will close at 5pm CST on Tuesday, June 11.

• Gigi’s Playhouse 5k in Barrington, IL on June 9
• Zion Park District 5k in Zion, IL on June 15
• Race Against Hate 5k in Evanston, IL on June 16
• Chicago Women’s Half Marathon/5k in Grant Park on June 23
• Lake County YWCA ywalkforward 5k in Libertyville, IL on June 23

Many of you have asked what happened and how to prevent this in the future. As we work with the race management company contracted for Saturday’s 5k, the details of how these mistakes occurred and what changes must be made to ensure this never happens again will be identified. But we know that where we failed most was in our contingency planning and in our communication to you all. And for that, we are truly sorry.

Please continue to reach out to us at info@gotrchicago.org, where our staff is reviewing all of your feedback and responding as soon as possible.

Finally, I want to offer a heartfelt thanks to all the adults in the lives of our girls. Our coaches, site coordinators, parents and school staff have done all of the heavy lifting in these past few days in helping our girls and each other process disappointment and heartbreak. Everyone here at Girls on the Run-Chicago is inspired by the ways you have helped your girls, and how you have come together to offer alternative 5K experiences. If you have one planned, please let us know how we can help. The spirit of Girls on the Run lives within each one of you. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Kris Smart, Executive Director, Girls on the Run-Chicago

Volunteer. And be a superhero.

Two superhero volunteers (author, Kally Hanifin on the right) at the Girls on the Run 5k in Boston.

by Kally Hanifin

This will be my third year running the Chicago Marathon, and my first year running as a SoleMate with Girls on the Run. Although Chicago was my first marathon and feels very much like my home course, I live in Boston. I felt like I should get to know the organization in my own city, and I’m so glad I did.

It’s a weird time to be a runner in Boston. I signed up to volunteer at the Girls on the Run 5k months earlier, but the date fell just two weeks after the day of the Boston Marathon, and much of my conversation with the other volunteers that morning was about where we were that fateful day. All of us had been there, at some point on the course, cheering. Such is the nature of runners. When we aren’t running the race, we want to volunteer. When we can’t volunteer, we cheer. The communal, supportive spirit of the sport is what I like best about it.

The morning of the 5K, I arrived on the esplanade, donning my fluorescent pink Cheer Squad shirt, and took my spot at the Happy Hair table just in time for the enormous swarm of girls to overtake us. By far, the most popular request was for the colored hair spray. I did stripes, mohawks, blue to orange ombre, silver polka dots. I had no idea I had such skill with a hair spray can, but all of my works of art trotted away happily. Some brave coaches also allowed their runners to color their hair for them. In less than an hour, there was not a single head of human colored hair left.

Amidst the din, I chatted and laughed with my fellow volunteers, and by the end of the day, learned at which other races we would be volunteering together. We traded contact information and made plans for future waterstop hijinks. It was easily the most fun I’ve had volunteering, but it also felt good to be around other Boston runners during a time when we were trying to get our bearings back.

Overall, as an experience: A+. And now you have the chance to do the same. Volunteer at the Girls on the Run-Chicago 5k on June 1st. Because Lynda Carter ain’t got nothin’ on you.

Cross the line

By Alice Kovacik

This Sunday I’m going to do something I’ve never done before. I’m going to run an 8K. Now, a 4.97 mile race might not seem like much to a seasoned marathoner or a veteran triathlete, but for me, the girl who used to cry in anticipation of the mile run in gym class, Sunday is a big day.

Much like the girls who participate in Girls on the Run, my journey to race day has been an invaluable lesson in hard work fueled by an unwavering commitment to achieve a single goal: cross the finish line.

It sounds simple, but it’s not. Training has required a redefinition of my relationship with running, one rooted in self-efficacy rather than self-doubt. I’ve learned that it doesn’t really matter how fast I go, as long as I keep going. Early mornings, sore muscles, and hard-fought endurance have drowned out the little voice that keeps insisting, “You’re not a runner, Alice.”

Early last month, I ran four consecutive miles for the first time. I had to stop myself from sharing this milestone with complete strangers while walking to the grocery store or riding the El to work. I waited eagerly for friends and co-workers to ask about my weekend so I could tell them about my run. “I ran four miles on Saturday — without stopping!” I felt compelled to include that last phrase for those familiar with the details of my rocky relationship with running. It wasn’t even race day and I felt like a million bucks.

I may never run a marathon, but I’m grateful to have experienced the feeling of accomplishment that comes with transforming one very slow, painful mile into two, and with a lot of determination, into four. This weekend, I’ll wind through downtown Chicago to make it five.

I’m running the Shamrock Shuffle because it’s something I told myself I could never do, and I’m finding that it’s pretty empowering to prove yourself wrong.

I am a Girl on the Run.

“Mommy” she said, “Sometimes Barbies are just Barbies.”

“Yes,” I said, “But this Barbie told the others that she is a loner, and then she used mean words, and then she announced no one accepts her.”

“No one accepts her because she is different. She likes different stuff than the other Barbies.”

“But don’t you see, my Barbie keeps saying she does like her and wants to be friends.  So my Barbie is now sad, because her friend is so busy worrying about other girls, she doesn’t notice the girls who like her for herself.”

“Hum…” she said.

“Knock knock” I say, as my Barbie approaches the jewelry box home of her Barbie.

“Yes?” comes the tiny voice.

“Hi, it is me Lightning Barbie.  I was wondering if you wanted to come out and have coffee with me.”

“Okay” says the tiny voice, and then her Barbie emerges from the box and together they march down the bed to the imaginary coffee shop.   As play continues, the Monster High Girls and the Princesses join the Barbies and make a club of girls who accept each other as they are and celebrate their differences.

Sometimes play is just play.  Sometimes it is not.  Sometimes as we grow up we try on ideas and ways to interact with each other through our imagination.   My daughter is in the 3^rd grade.  She and her peers are dealing with issues of identity, gender expectations, personal relationships, and what it means to be a friend.  

Part of what they are learning is how to be at peace with their differences.  Part of what they are struggling with is the idea that you can be interested in something else but still be friends.  Sometimes your friend does something best, and sometimes you do.   What they struggle with is what many of us well into our lives struggle with – how to respect one ’s self; and how to respect others.

This week thousands of girls across Chicagoland are becoming girls on the run for the first time.  In their practices they will get to know each other and start the process of becoming a team.   As the week progresses, our second lesson is a gift that once learned, can benefit a girl (or a boy for that matter) for the rest of her life.

It is about promises. 

It is a promise to respect yourself and others.

And although our promises seem simple on the page and easy when things are going well, it is when life presents you with a challenge, when they are hardest to live every day, is when they become so much more important.

I respect others by:

• Being honest.
• Obeying authority.
• Being encouraging and helpful.
• Listening well and not spreading gossip.
• Respecting other people’s things.
• Showing gratitude for what others do for me.
• Serving my community.

I respect myself by:

• Standing up for myself and my values.
• Making responsible choices.
• Always trying my best.
• Expressing my feelings.
• Being positive.
• Exercising regularly and eating and sleeping well.
• Completing my schoolwork.

With respect to self and others our girls gain confidence that they are ok as they are and provides understanding that if you demonstrate respect – you deserve respect in kind.  Once internalized, expecting respect from those around you makes it harder to accept friendships and relationships in your life where this is absent.   And we abandon the notion of allowing “nice” and “accommodating” to stand in for the genuine respect we deserve and should demonstrate.

Think about the list above.  How would our lives change if this week we made the same promises our girls will make?  How would the world change if this is how we all showed up each day?

I promise to respect myself and others.   I am a girl on the run.

Run with a purpose

By Kris Smart, Executive Director

Toeing the line in Grant Park is like no other place on earth, especially when the start line looming in the distance says “Bank of America Chicago Marathon”. It has been my blessing over the last two years to be on Columbus Drive walking over the crumpled up sweatshirts and t-shirts of my fellow Chicagoans, moving forward with 45,000 of my close personal friends toward the beginning of such a life-changing and magnificent journey with Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run“ as our soundtrack.

Each year, the excitement and nervousness well deep in my spine. But as I begin my slow march to start, the feeling becomes an overwhelming calm, knowing I am doing something for myself, but also that I will be completing a 26.2 mile journey in service of others.

In those final moments before we start, I think about my singlet–who I wear it for, and how her words “Smell You Later” ironed on to the back give me the strength of purpose to continue forward. This is not something that I aim to do just for myself but for those in whose name I run, and for my daughter, age 8, who will be at miles 11 and 19 and at the finish in her Adventure Time hat with her big purple microphone cheering me and the whole city on.

Run with a purpose, I think. Run for something larger than me. Run for her, so that she will see that her mom can do something extraordinary, something that even a few years ago, she would have thought out of her reach.

The gun goes off long before I cross the threshold, and we joke that the Elite runners must have blown through the first 5k already. As we come alongside the Art Institute, I take my throw-away gloves off, fold them together and toss them to the side of the road, hoping they find a new home on the hands of someone in need, and I begin to run.

This is an amazing city. You don’t quite know how remarkable it is until you run through the streets and neighborhoods. In a cab or on the sidewalk surrounded by cars, you do not appreciate the silence, the true canyon lands of State Street, Jackson and LaSalle. Only on foot do you notice the rolling hills that are in Lincoln Park near the zoo. On Marathon Day, Boystown comes alive and provides energy at mile 8 that you need to keep you going to mile 10, where there is Elvis.

At mile 11, I see my daughter. She holds up her sign, cheers me on and tells me she is so proud. I go through the city past the Sears Tower. Out west through Charity Row in my charity runner singlet – everyone cheers just for you – no matter if you raised money to support their mission or another cause – everyone cheers just for you, and they call your name, and let you know you are more than halfway there.

The course extends out like a ribbon to the United Center, then back through Little Italy and Greektown. It’s the neighborhoods and diversity that make the city so great. People in lawn chairs sit on the sidewalk outside their houses with cowbells and make shift water stations, cheering.

Along Ashland it is desolate, but I know Pilsen is next so I pick up the pace. I want to see the colors and hear the music; I want to see my daughter’s face. She is there with my husband, ringing her own bell. She asks if I want a peanut butter sandwich. I grab it, along with a kiss and continue forward.

The streets are thick with volunteers at the aid stations, all smiles, with bands playing and piñatas. I move forward, excited at the prospect of what I get to see. We run through an industrial area, that once was empty but now the street is lined with people – somehow knowing exactly where runners need a lift, and I am lifted by their cheers all the way to Chinatown. Through the gate, I am recognized by a bystander I do not know, but I stop to get a hug and take a photo.

Under the freeway into Bridgeport, it starts to hurt; there is a throbbing pain in my leg that gets worse when I walk, so I don’t. I run. Sox Park is in the distance, and some older ladies on Wentworth Avenue are sitting in folding chairs, drinking beer and shouting “You just keep going!”

At the turn onto Michigan Avenue, a man stands at the apex of the corner; he is preaching “You are amazing. You’ve got this. I know you hurt. I know it has been a long way. I know it. You got this. You are going to finish.” I do hurt. It has been a long way. But I got this. I am going to finish.

Throughout the day, people run up beside me and ask “Who are you running for?” or “Tell me your story.” And I do. I explain the words on the back of my jersey, what they mean, how it feels to run for someone other than myself. I talk and then listen, because people who ask have a story themselves, and having a few minutes to run alongside another person helps the miles click by. 

Up Michigan Avenue I look for the blue fencing, and I always misjudge when it will come into view. It is farther away than I think it should be. Finally, I see flags line the course and a huge video screen at the end of the block. The cheering starts to get louder and I see the sign for Roosevelt Road.

That turn means my journey, started many months before, years even, is about to come to an end. I run up the hill even though my leg hurts and my body is tired. I run toward the 26-mile mark, and turn onto Columbus Drive once again. I pick up speed (although the photos say otherwise) and look for the faces in the crowd that belong to me as I cross the finish.

The moment at the end is joy, relief, and peace.

A smile crosses my face; I feel elated.

“Never again” I say, and I mean it for up to 45 minutes, maybe a whole hour, before I recall how it feels to run through these streets and I long for that feeling again, just once more, maybe if I train harder I can knock off a few minutes from my time.

Run for someone. Every day that I lace up my shoes, head out on a run weaving in and out of my neighborhood towards my beloved lake to the frozen beaches, I run for me. But on Marathon Day, I run for something larger than myself.

I run for her.

As you think about your own journey remember that you don’t have to go it alone. You can bring along the hopes and the aspirations of another. You can make your journey one that lasts beyond a single day or year. You can create in someone else the feeling that they can do what they set out to do – that the world is not one constrained by limits.

Running a marathon is hard; I am telling you right now, it is hard work. But running a marathon for someone else, well, that makes the work just a little bit easier, and the medal shine a little bit brighter.

The Bank of America Chicago Marathon is like no other race in the world. It is Chicago. It is our neighborhoods. It is our streets. It is not as flat as people would lead you to believe. And it is a life-changing, amazing journey.

If you choose to take this journey, I hope you will consider running for Girls on the Run- Chicago as one of our SoleMates. Raising money for Girls on the Run means that with every step you take towards your finish line, you are helping girls receive scholarships that allow them to participate in our program so they can reach their own personal goals and aspirations.

Registration for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon opens on February 19 at noon. Contact Cindy to sign up as a SoleMate, and we will be there for you with our Adventure Time hats and our giant purple microphones cheering you on all the way to the finish line.

SoleMates Will Change Your Life Too

On October 9, 2011, 45,000 runners will lace up their shoes for one incredible event: The Bank of America Chicago Marathon. The race is sold out, but you still have until June 30th to become one of those runners by running with Girls on the Run.

Girls on the Run – SoleMates is proud to be a charity partner of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, and the 5375 girls who completed our fabulous after school program this year need you to run for them! Your race will help more girls become joyful, healthy and confident through Girls on the Run. Please visit our SoleMates website for more information about special incentives for our runners.  AND, between now and June 30th, the race entry fee is only $26! 

 Becoming a SoleMate will change your life too. You can find out more about SoleMates and what it brings to runners in these posts:

As If You Needed Another Reason to Join SoleMates: SoleMates Incentives

Running Makes Me Awesome by Charlotte Schultz, Program & Charity Athlete Coordinator 

Running Makes Me Feel Invincible by Tiffany Choi, SoleMate 

Running Makes Me Free by Suzanne Martin, SoleMate 

Running Makes Me Uplifted by Sarah Broderick, SoleMate 

Running Makes Me Tough by Lauren Kaminsky, SoleMate

Lessons From the Girls by Cindy Firman, SoleMate

Running Makes Me Grateful by Katie Gillman, SoleMate

Running Makes Me Grateful

by Katie Gillman, SoleMate

Running makes me grateful – for my health, for my family and friends, and for my community.

No matter the distance of each training run or race, my heart is always filled with gratitude by the end.  Every step is driven by my legs, my heart, and an array of other muscles.  Without this foundation the first step would be impossible.

Each time I lace up my shoes, I’m reminded of the support and love of my family and friends – inspiring me to get back out there.  After my first strides I begin to feel gratitude for each relationship I value in my life.  When did I last speak to my family? How was my husband’s day?  Do I have any visits planned with friends?  How can I give as much value as I receive from each of these relationships?

From here, my mind usually drifts to gratitude for my community while I appreciate the peaceful nature, wailing taxi cabs or cheers from the sports teams at the lakefront, depending on my route.  I consider what I can do to make my community healthier, happier and stronger – giving back a little of what this world class city has provided to me.

It was at this point in 2010 when I made the commitment to become a Girls on the Run Chicago SoleMate.  After one year, a ½ marathon race and more than $1,700 in fundraising support from family and friends – I’m grateful for my running, Girls on the Run and the ability to make a difference in the lives of young girls throughout Chicagoland.

A letter from our Executive Director

Dear Girls on the Run – Chicago community:

Offering our Girls on the Run Chicago (GOTRC) participants, their coaches and families, and community runners a positive race experience is significant part of fulfilling our mission. On Saturday, thousands of girls, their running buddies and community runners crossed the finish line, high fiving and hugging while receiving their race medals.   Unfortunately, some runners’ experience was not as positive as it should have been.

In planning the Girls on the Run program and the race, the girls’ and runners’ safety is always our top priority.   While we took great measures to prepare for the anticipated heat, the morning ended up hotter and more humid than anyone expected, and water supplies were depleted by the time the runners in the later waves came through.  In determining the race needs, we anticipated one serving (6 oz.) of water for each runner at the start, two additional 6 oz servings on the course at one aid station and one-16 oz. bottle of water, plus one-20 oz. bottle of Gatorade per runner at the finish.   This is far more than we have ever gone through in the past.  Unfortunately, these supplies were depleted at a faster pace than we have ever experienced, as runners in the earlier waves took far more fluids than expected and spectators took fluids that were intended for our runners. As we realized that water was running short, we supplemented our supplies through local vendors and by offering water bottles to be filled at water fountains.  Unfortunately, we were not able to provide each runner with the fluids we had planned to provide.   We deeply regret that all runners didn’t have the resources that those in the earlier waves had and that this impacted their overall race experience.

We are learning from this experience and have already begun to put strategies in place to better prepare ourselves for potentially extreme conditions at future GOTRC events.  These strategies include increasing the number of aid stations on course and adding additional cooling stations with water-misters and/or cold sponges if the weather makes them appropriate.   While we cannot undo what occurred on Saturday, please be assured that we are taking what we learned very seriously.

Over the past eleven years, more than 20,000 girls have participated in the GOTRC program, which provides the girls with important life skills that inspire them to believe in themselves and make wise decisions.  Along with the program, we have hosted 11 races and 38,255 runners have safely crossed the finish line.  We look forward to putting on the fall program and our future races with a renewed commitment to ensuring that all runners have a positive experience – throughout the GOTRC program and on race day.  We hope that you have benefited from the GOTRC program and that you will continue to believe in our program and participate in years to come.  If you have any additional comments, questions or concerns, please contact me directly at 773-342-1250 or barmstrong@gotrchicago.org.

Sincerely,

Betsy Armstrong
Executive Director
Girls on the Run – Chicago

Upcoming GOTRC Events!

We’ll see you at the New Balance Girls on the Run – Chicago 5k presented by McDonalds tomorrow, but you may be wondering, “What’s next?  How can I stay connected to Girls on the Run?”

We’re glad you asked!  We have several fun upcoming events and ways to get involved.

SoleMates Kick-off Party

On Wednesday, June 15 join us from 7:00 – 9:00 pm at Accelerated Rehabilitation, 1509 S Michigan Ave, Chicago for our SoleMates kick-off party.  The event features a short program, complete with raffle prizes, appetizers, and beverages.  Best of all, Accelerated Rehab will provide stretching, mini-massage, and mini-gait analysis.  Interested in learning more about SoleMates or getting an entry to the SOLD OUT Chicago Marathon?  Find out more here.

Associate Board Bags Tournament

Any good at bags?  It doesn’t really matter.  Just like we teach our program participants, it’s just important that you try your best!  Join us at John Barleycorn in Wrigleyville on Thursday, June 23.  Whether you’re a die-hard bags competitor, an enthusiastic amateur or a spirited cheerleader on the sidelines, you’ll enjoy an action-packed evening while helping make a difference in the lives of girls in the Chicagoland area. A team pass, $80, entitles you and your partner entry into the bags tournament and 3 hours of open bar.  To register or for more information click here.

THE Chicago Area Weekend Race: June 4

The New Balance Girls on the Run – Chicago 5k presented by McDonalds is almost here!  We can’t wait to watch our nearly 4,500 program participants cross the finish line at Montrose Harbor on June 4.  The race begins at 9:00, but we encourage you to get there early!  We expect 10,000 runners this year.

“After participating in the Girls on the Run Spring 5K, these girls know that they have the power to accomplish anything they put their minds to,” said Betsy Armstrong, Executive Director. “It is amazing to see the families and friends from neighborhoods all across Chicagoland celebrating this achievement together as they cross the finish line.”

The New Balance Girls on the Run-Chicago Spring 5K presented by McDonalds is the capstone of the girls’ spring after-school program during which they spent 12 weeks learning skills that help them to develop the confidence and character they need to become strong and healthy women.  All finishers will receive a special finisher’s medal, goody bag and t-shirt, and proceeds go to expanding the programs across the Chicagoland area.

“Girls on the Run doesn’t say that you have to be the fastest, the most popular, or the biggest. It just tells you to be you,” said Gigi Arnieri, fourth grader at Holy Family Catholic Academy.  “This is my second year at Girls on the Run and I have accomplished many things that I never thought that I would be able to do. These accomplishments include running 3.1 mile-long races!”

The course starts and ends at Montrose Harbor Beach House, located at 4400 N. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago.  Parking is available in the Montrose Harbor Avenue parking lots east of Lake Shore Drive.  We strongly recommend carpooling, using public transportation, or riding your bicycle to the event.  To register for the race or for more information go to www.gotrchicago.org or email info@gotrchicago.org.