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

If you’re anything like me, afterwards you feel incredibly guilty for that skipped workout, and end up wishing you’d just done it.

When your heels are dragging and the couch is calling, here are some of the best ways to get out there anyway:

• Plan ahead.  If you want to work out in the morning, lay out all your clothes and gear the night before.  Anything extra you have to do in the morning just gives you more time to make excuses and bargain with yourself!  If you’re hoping to hit the gym or the trails after work, pack your bag and put it in your car or by the door the night before.
• Enlist a buddy.  Make plans with a friend to meet for a morning run, evening swim, or fitness class at the gym.  Knowing that someone else is counting on you might be just the encouragement you need to get going.
• Get dressed for your workout.  If you’re debating whether you should work out or not, get dressed.  Put on your favorite running clothes and pull on your shoes.  Once you’re dressed and ready to go, it’s a little easier to get out the door.

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.

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

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.

“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.

Running makes me a more positive “girl on the run” girl.  Running also makes me feel strong, beautiful and more energetic — ready to do something to help the world and make a difference.  Running has made me realize that I can do ANYTHING big or small, as long as I put my mind to it and have support from my family and friends.  Running has proven to me that it does not matter what size or body type you have.  If I can do it, so can you!  Running makes me be me, it makes me Brenda!!!!

This spring, we asked our program participants to tell us what running makes them.  We got some wonderful answers from our girls!  This post is our Running Makes You contest winner, Brenda, and part of a series of Running Makes You posts.

Before tonight, I never really understood what people meant when they  referred to a “humbling experience.”  People always used that phrase to  talk about a time when they were recognized or praised, and I’d think, “How does  receiving acknowledgment make you morehumble?  Shouldn’t it be  the opposite?”  Now I think I understand.  As I look around the room  at the other nine Ten Outstanding Young Persons award recipients, I realize my  work is just beginning.  I am honored to be in such incredible  company.  Thank you to the Illinois Jaycees, the Illinois JCI Senate, and  the Illinois Jaycee Charitable Foundation for this honor, the Crystal Lake  Jaycees for nominating me, and to my family for being here to celebrate with me  tonight.

When I signed up for my first Girls on the Run 5k, I wasn’t looking for some  life-changing experience.  To be honest, I signed up just after finishing  my first marathon.  I’d been doing a lot of couch-surfing and indulging in  a lot of Cheetos and ice cream.

So some girlfriends and I headed out on race day, expecting a typical 5k,  maybe with a girl-focus.

We arrived to find rows and rows of bright pink banners, each bearing a  school’s name.  Little girls were everywhere, in pink, tiaras, feather  boas, sparkles, and running shoes, smiles plastered on their faces.  This  was no regular 5k.  This was a celebration.

I made a beeline for the “Program Information” tent to find out more.   There, I learned that the 5k is the end of a 12-week process.  All of these  girls had been learning about healthy choices, positive self-image, fostering  good relationships with others, and giving back to their community.   Training for a 5k was the avenue for these lessons.

A fifth grade teacher at the time, my only question was, “How do I sign  up?!”  Not surprisingly, there was so much demand for the program that they  were not accepting new sites at that time.

Naturally, I did what any rule-following person would do.  I started a  rogue Girls on the Run group.  I didn’t have the fancy lessons, but I had  seven girls who were ridiculously excited about their first 5k in Chicago.   One of those girls, Gabi, recently sent me an essay that she wrote about that  first group.  Gabi writes, “I remember the feeling of finally being able to  run outside after a long, freezing, Chicago winter. Though it was still cold,  and at times, rainy, the weather could not affect anyone’s good mood. We just  ran and ran, all the while singing and laughing. When one girl felt tired, the  whole group slowed down to walk with her. When any one member felt like she  couldn’t keep going, like she didn’t belong, we showed her that she was strong  enough.”

The following year, those girls were determined to have a real site at our  school, with a banner.  Their determination only made mine stronger.   The office staff still makes fun of me for submitting a typed cover letter with  the simple application.

That spring, I began the Girls on the Run program at my school.  I  watched girls come alive.  They applied the lessons we learned on the track  to conflicts in the classroom and at recess.  The girls in the program  stood taller, became leaders, and believed in themselves.  As eleven-year  old Olivia put it, “Girls on the Run makes me have self-confidence. I feel like  nothing can stop me and that I am invincible! I feel as if I am the best I can  be.  I feel beautiful, confident, free.”

It only took one season of coaching Girls on the Run to know with all my  heart that I needed to be more involved with the organization.

Girls on the Run has changed me.  I am happier and more fulfilled than I  have ever been.  Each girl I coach teaches me something.  I am  inspired when I watch the older girls use what they learn to become mentors to  the younger girls.  I am amazed when an eight year old can articulate why  people might choose to be friends with someone who is popular, but mean, and how  she’s going to avoid that.  But most of all, I get teary when each girl  crosses the finish line and realizes that she can accomplish anything she sets  her mind to.

Howard Thurman once said, “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you  come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come  alive.”  The Jaycees organization is full of young people who come alive by  doing things for others.  Thank you again for choosing me as one of your  Ten Outstanding Young People for 2011.

• Race for Sincere Hearts: Palatine, May 28 at 9:00 am.  For more information or to register, click here.
• Hope for the Hungry 5k/10k: Libertyville, May 28 at 8:30 am.  For more information or to register, click here.
• Western Springs Tower Trot 5k/10k: Western Springs, May 28 at 8:30 am.  For more information or to register, click here.

Feeling more like cycling than running?  Check out Bike the Drive and go cycling on Lake Shore Drive on Sunday morning!

• Trot for Theresa 5k: Palatine, May 21 at 8:00 am.  For more information or to register, click here.
• Lew Blond 5k Memorial Run/Walk: Northbrook, May 21 at 8:00 am.  There is also a 1 mile race that begins at 9:15!  For more information or to register, click here.
• Alivio y Salud 5k Run for Health: Chicago, May 21 at 8:00 am.  For more information or to register, click here.
• Run to Alexian Field: Schaumburg, May 21 at 7:00 am.  For more information or to register, click here.