REGION — Girls on the Run, a national youth program that provides girls with tools to develop confidence, kindness and decision-making skills, is becoming a tradition for Oxford Hills students in the third, fourth and fifth grades.

Educators who have signed on to coach teams in their respective schools report the only things keeping the program from expanding are securing volunteer coaching assistants able to commit to 90-minute after school practices once or twice a week.

Paris Elementary School’s Girls on the Run team, with each girl’s running buddy and team coaches, at their season-ending 5K race in Brunswick last fall. Supplied photo

Almost 60 girls from Guy E. Rowe Elementary, Paris Elementary and Oxford Elementary schools have enrolled to participate in the program since last fall.

According to Program Manager Anne Merkel GOTR had to shut down because of the pandemic but restarted two years ago and now numbers have rebounded.

“Girls on the Run started in Portland in 2012, with 12 participants,” Merkel told the Advertiser Democrat last week. “By 2019 we had 1,036 kids taking part in 12 of Maine’s counties.”

Public health mandates made it impossible to carry on the program for two years but it came back in fall of 2021, with 220 girls taking part. This year, Merkel said more than 800 have enrolled between South Berwick and Madawaska, with at least another 200 expected for the fall season.

Valerie Lucas, a social worker at Rowe, is coordinating the Norway school’s program. Rowe had participants before the pandemic but this spring marks its return.

“There was a need [for coaches] expressed at the beginning of the school year,” Lucas said. “I learned more about it and thought it’s right in line with the work I’m trying to do here already.”

The girls meet twice a week after school. Lucas is assisted by three coworkers, school nurse Heidi Darling and two ed techs, Shannon Martel and Daecia Coron.

With multiple grades coming from multiple classrooms, an early goal for the girls is to engage with peers they may not know well, or even at all. Practices provide a structured environment to build new friendships and learn how others apply their methods toward the same curriculum.

Each session starts with a “get on board” discussion and then warm-up and strengthening, followed by about 30 minutes of running. The girls then regather to process and reflect on their goals and results.

“This is based on personal goals, not competition,” Merkel stressed. “Each girl logs how many laps they’ve done. They build on their activities week to week.”

Lucas noted that running is part of the program but it’s not necessarily required. Some have goals for walking. She has one student who prefers to dance. In the end, GOTR is about mindfulness and personal achievement.

At PES, fifth-grade teacher Keeley Baldridge is the lead coach and the school is in its second season. Baldridge established the GOTR back in 2020 with seven participants but had to wait until fall of 2021 to get things running. By then student interest had doubled, with 14 wanting to sign up.

The last season, registrations doubled again to 28. Unfortunately, there were not enough volunteers available and eight girls were not able to participate.

Baldridge’s assistant coaches were teachers Sara Estes, Molly McCormick and Deb Toothaker, and PES social worker Kelsey Patrick. She is anxious to get more volunteers involved so no girl has to be disappointed.

“When I started GOTR here, I really had to encourage girls to sign up,” Baldridge said. “Then there was a waiting list, and I could only take the first 20 registrations. If we had more coaches we might have been able to start a second team.”

The positive impacts that participating in GOTR has on girls is easy for the coaches to see, and the girls recognize it themselves.

Said Lizzie Christmas, 9, of PES, “I loved my experience with Girls on the Run, especially meeting new people, running together and setting new fitness goals. I enjoyed running with partners and competing in the 5K with my dad! My basketball fitness improved after being in the program. Thank you to all my Girls on the Run coaches and see you next fall!”

“Girls on the run was awesome because I got to learn about having a healthy body and mind with my teachers and friends,” said Mahala Balcom, 9, of PES. “If I didn’t do GOTR I would have never known what a real healthy mind was. I would have never thought I could run 3.1 miles. I can’t wait to do it again every year.”

“I remember one of the lessons was focused on empathy,” said Kylie Galasso, a fifth-grader at OES. “I use empathy a lot whenever someone is down. The ‘I feel statements’ [I learned] help me communicate effectively so people can understand me better.

“It changed my mentality of the way I think of things and deal with certain situations. It has helped me be more empathetic and think more about other people.”

“GOTR has been incredible for our students,” said Baldridge. “It took a lot of work to set it up but now there is so much interest.”

While it is expected that some kids may take time to get used to the lessons and engaging with others in a new activity, Baldridge said for one of her students the challenge was that her expectations for herself were very high. Through her GOTR experience last fall she learned that perfectionism is not necessary to achieving growth. Back for the spring season, Baldridge has observed that this student is emerging as a supportive leader for her newer teammates.

Merkel said that independent surveys about participating in GOTR shows that 97% of the girls have learned critical life skills, decision making and conflict resolution and helping others. The same number reported that they are comfortable being themselves when participating in the lessons and activities. And among the girls who did not identify as physically active when starting with GOTR, 40% became more active.

Oxford Elementary School teachers Taylor Nicholas (left) and Caitlyn Flaherty, who are also coaching the school’s Girls on the Run team. Nicole Carter / Advertiser Democrat

At OES, GOTR’s lead coaches are Taylor Nicholas and Caitlyn Flaherty, and they have two assistants, Oliva Sharrow and Saroya Wronoski. Also ready to kick off GOTR in 2020, the school’s initial team had 12 girls enrolled before the season was cancelled. Last year 15 participated, and this spring there are 20 on the team.

It’s not just the kids who learn through GOTR.

“Our first season was wonderful,” said Nicholas. “I was very new to the program so I wasn’t really sure about lessons with workouts. But the girls learned about self-love, friendships, problem-solving and self-confidence.”

“The training process was awesome and the curriculum is really helpful,” Lucas said. “It walks coaches through the lesson, the themes we teach and also about social-emotional learning. We teach the skills and incorporate the running into that.”

After 20 sessions of training, GOTR culminates with a 5K “race” where participants from all over the state come to a joint meet. This year it will be held at Brunswick Landing in Brunswick for the second time.

“When I crossed the finish line, it was like I knew it was the end of the race but it was also the end of the GOTR season. It made me think of everything I worked on and made it a really special moment for me,” said Galasso. “I recommend GOTR to all girls because once you get older, there is a lot more you need to learn about yourself. GOTR helps you learn more about your mind and your feelings. It taught me to care about myself and love myself more.”

Girls on the Run is open to girls in third, fourth and fifth grades. The registration fee is $160, however there are four income-based financial options available. People can also choose to donate to GOTR in several ways, from volunteering to multi-tiered sponsorships, or making a donation to pay for an individual’s registration. More information about GOTR and its associated one-week summer camp in Saco, or its sister programs, Heart & Sole for girls in grades six, seven and eight, or Junior Coach for girls 16-18 may be found at girlsontherunmaine.org.