Guest Post: Bethany from Runner Bee

Today we have the lovely Bethany from Runner Bee stopping by.  I am so happy to have her here to share with you something she is very passionate about!
Side note: Bethany is Sidney's mom aka Floyd's girlfriend. Oh la la!

Hey, I'm Bethany from Runner Bee and I am so excited to be here with my first ever guest blog post!

I was excited - and panicked - when Sarah asked me to do a guest post. What should I write about it? Although I pretend to be crafty, I am not the creative genius that Sarah is - my last project sat half completed on my kitchen table for a month before I finally decided to get rid of it. The finished product always looks way better in my head than in reality. I really enjoy cooking, but I just use other people's recipes and don't often alter them very much.

 

So, why not write about something I am passionate about? That made it easy - Girls on the Run!

 

I first learned of Girls on the Run (GOTR) in the early summer of 2006. I loved the concept behind it and decided to run my first marathon (Chicago) to raise money for GOTR as a member of Team Tiara (now Solemates). I then joined the Race Committee, and finally became a coach.

 

GOTR is a 12 week program designed to teach girls in the 3rd - 8th grades life lessons along with helping them develop a positive attitude towards exercise and leading a healthy lifestyle. The girls learn how to stand up for themselves, the dangers of bullying, the importance of quiet "me" time and much much more. All of the lessons involve running games. Over the 12 weeks they train for a 5K - for most of them it is their first 5K race. We encourage them to keep moving forward - run, walk, skip, hop, jump - as long as they keep moving, it doesn't matter how!

 

The race is indescribable. On Saturday May 7 we had our race down at Paul Brown Stadium. Roads were closed and the DJ played the Cupid Shuffle and Cha Cha Slide as hundreds of girls danced in the street. They had their face and hair painted, matching shirts, and huge smiles on their faces. Moms, dads, grandparents, siblings and friends all came to cheer the girls on. This is not a race for time, but a race to show these 8-12 year old girls that they can achieve their goal.   

 

The Cincinnati chapter started in 2005 with 12 girls and now reaches over 1900 girls annually. Wow!

 

Every group of girls I have coached has impacted me. It is amazing to watch them come together as a team and each grow individually. They are truly inspiring. Coaching is often the best part of my week and has helped me grow as a person in many ways as well.

 

Check out GOTR and see if there is a chapter near you - after all, it's the volunteers that make this possible!


Thanks again to Bethany.  The work you do with those girls is beyond admirable!