Girls on the Run Utah uses running to help girls find confidence

SALT LAKE CITY — Lots of people come to Sugar House Park to get away from it all for a little while.

A group of girls was among them Friday morning, but what they were hoping to get away from could be a little harder to leave behind.

"In a world where being a girl is being told what to do, how to act, how to think, Girls on the Run exists to teach girls that you can be more than just that," said Brooke Chamberlain, who is a coordinator with the group. "You can use your voice. You can be strong. You can accomplish hard things."

Girls on the Run Utah is an eight-week program for girls in third through eighth grade that meets twice a week for 90-minute sessions.

The non-profit program combines running and physical activity with lessons about confidence, friendship, emotions, and learning how to handle difficult situations.

About 2,000 girls participate in programs across Utah.

"Giving girls a voice, helping them find their voice, helping them relate to each other in a way that's uplifting and empowering, at a time when that's what they really need," said Jessica Erickson, program manager for Girls on the Run Utah.

Erickson said those lessons come during an important time in a girl's development.

"We actually have a curriculum that we use that is all research-backed and based around empowering girls at an age where their self-esteem starts to drop dramatically," she said. "At the same time, their physical activity drops starting in around third grade."

The curriculum gives girls a place to talk about things happening at school, at home, and with friends while also learning to use physical activity as a way to relieve stress and feel strong.

For the girls who are going through the program, they feel as if things that seemed tough before don't seem as tough now.

"For confidence, it helps me feel strong to do hard things," said 10-year-old Maddie Badger.

"It's really fun and you can get your courage up," said 10-year-old Lucy Hoopes.

"It makes me feel like I can do hard things," said 9-year-old Sloane Sanchez. "Like I can believe in myself, and I can run faster than I usually do or anything."

Sloane also said Girls on the Run has also become a place she knows she can turn to when those hard things have nothing to do with running.

"If I'm having a bad day, I can just go to Girls on the Run, and the coaches and everyone else at Girls on the Run will cheer me up," she said.

Organizers feel that's part of the lesson, that if you tell a girl often enough that she can do hard things, and give her a place where others believe it too, eventually she may start believing it herself.

"If you don't feel confident, that means you might not feel good about yourself, and when you get to feel confident, you'll be happy," said 10-year-old Cicily Beck.

Erickson said that's especially important because Girls on the Run isn't trying to produce elite runners.

"It's so much more than running," she said. "We're not training D1 athletes, although there may be some who come from our program, but we're teaching girls to use their bodies in a way that will serve them all throughout their lives."

Making sure girls have access to those lessons, regardless of what their families can afford, is another part of the organization's mission.

"We want every single person that wants to do the program to be able to do the program, whether their family can financially support it or not," said Chamberlain.

Erickson said financial assistance is available and Girls on the Run Utah does not turn girls away for financial reasons.

She said the organization serves many Title I schools and families for whom the cost of organized sports can be a barrier.

That is also why Girls on the Run Utah signed up to participate in the Miller Sports + EntertainmentUtah Youth Sports Giving Day.

The statewide fundraising campaign is designed to support nonprofit organizations that use sports to serve children while removing financial barriers that can keep families from participating.

More than 80 youth sports nonprofits across Utah have signed up to participate.

For Girls on the Run Utah, Erickson said matching donations available through the campaign could help the organization reach even more girls.

"Being a part of the Utah Sports Giving Day is huge for us because that dollar-to-dollar match makes a huge difference for us," she said. "Every dollar goes towards making sure that every girl can participate."

The public fundraising campaign begins in September.

For Chamberlain, however, what those donations ultimately provide isn't measured only by how many miles a girl can run.

"Girls on the Run is less about crossing the finish line," she said. "It's about what you learn on the way there."

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