Girls on the Run Pairs Fitness and Fun for 3rd-8th Grade Girls

Girls on the Run ® is a non-profit organization that inspires girls to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum which creatively integrates running.

During a recent practice, a team of 3rd through 8th grade girls at Beebe school in Naperville had a special guest, top fitness influencer Jen Hoeft! Jen (Makowski) Hoeft grew up in Naperville, Illinois playing soccer since the age of five. Voted as the top fitness influencer to know, she enthusiastically shares Girls on the Run’s vision for a world where every girl knows and activates her limitless potential and is free to boldly pursue her dreams. Jen served as a great role model for the girls, bringing her strength and enthusiasm to the day’s activities, and cheering the girls along the way.

Meeting twice a week in small teams, Girls on the Run teaches girls critical life skills through dynamic, interactive lessons and running games. The curriculum is taught by certified, volunteer coaches, who teach the girls how to understand themselves, value relationships and teamwork, and understand how they connect with and shape the world at large. Jen was fortunate enough to visit the day the Girls on the Run curriculum focused on joy, where the girls learned how they can help spread joy to others and recognize the things in their lives that bring them joy. The games were a blast, starting with the girls’ favorite,“Meatball”, where the girls take turns trying to make each other smile and laugh. The practice concluded with Jen and the girls running laps outside, and after each lap the girls wrote on a poster with colorful markers what brings them joy. Their comments were priceless! What a great group of girls at Beebe school, with great, dedicated coaches!

At each season's conclusion, the girls and their running buddies complete a celebratory 5K running event which gives them a tangible sense of achievement as well as a framework for setting and achieving life goals. The result—making the seemingly impossible, possible, and teaching girls that they can.

A new school year means another season of Girls on the Run! Registration is now open at www.gotrchicago.org. To see a list of participating sites for fall, go to https://www.gotrchicago.org/Our-Locations or to get the program started at a school/site near you this spring, visit https://www.gotrchicago.org/Start-Site.