For a lot of youngsters, running laps around a field can feel like a chore.<\/p>\n
Not so for a group of girls at Sunnycrest Elementary School in Kent.<\/p>\n
For 10 weeks, the students gathered two afternoons each week to stretch and put in the laps around the playfield at their school.<\/p>\n
Sure it was hard, and they sweated. But there was something extra special that kept them going.<\/p>\n
Each other.<\/p>\n
\u201cMostly I like I running here. I love just hanging out with other people,\u201d said third-grader Marcia Martinez, as she made her way around the field on a warm May afternoon, with a gaggle of other girls.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I wasn\u2019t here, I\u2019d be home sleeping.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martinez is one of 12 Sunnycrest girls who are participants in Girls On the Run. It\u2019s a national program that encourages elementary-aged girls to discover a love for running and exercise. Organizers are hopeful that once set at such a critical age, that love of physical activity and respect for their bodies will stay with them for a lifetime.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur mission is through the power of running, to educate and prepare girls for a lifetime of self respect and healthy living,\u201d said Chelsea Hodgson, an Americorps volunteer who is helping bring the program to a number of elementary schools in King and Snohomish counties. Sunnycrest Elementary, which is part of the Federal Way School District is \u201cour first one in Kent,\u201d Hodgson said.<\/p>\n
Hanging out with the Sunnycrest runners on that warm May afternoon, it was quick to get a sense of how the program worked.<\/p>\n
For starters, it\u2019s just for girls.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re loving it because there are no boys allowed,\u201d said Megan Kruse, a physical-education teacher at the school who helped to implement the program at Sunnycrest.<\/p>\n
The reason for the kibosh on boys, she explained, is to stress the noncompetitive nature of the program. In the age group Girls On the Run covers – third- through fifth-graders – it\u2019s just better to focus on the girls and stress the fun of the activity, as opposed to who\u2019s coming in first.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re all winners if they can complete a 5-k (a distance of 3.1 miles) or do their best,\u201d Kruse said.<\/p>\n
The 5K run Kruse was referring to was the Girls on the Run 5K, which took place May 22 at Seattle\u2019s Seward Park. The event was organized as the culmination of the 10-week running program, and the Sunnycrest crew was scheduled to participate in it as well, with a healthy-sized cheering section of school staffers and their families.<\/p>\n
But on that earlier day in May, the practice session began with a snack, then stretching and having a talk, before the laps began.<\/p>\n
The topic of discussion was healthy choices.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaking healthy choices. We\u2019ve talked about that a lot, haven\u2019t we?\u201d Kruse asked her young charges, a number of whom had chimed in about treating people with respect, living up to promises, and describing the different kinds of \u201ccommunities\u201d in their lives. (A hint: they decided communities can be as small as the class you\u2019re in, or as large as the state you live in.)<\/p>\n
With snacks, talks and stretching out of the way, the group walked down to the playground, where their field awaited them. They ran or walked at different paces, always with a friend or two – nobody was alone. For each lap they covered, they were rewarded with their choice of a hair tie or a sticker.<\/p>\n
The girls noted it was work, but it was fun.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m excited and kinda nervous,\u201d said Maxine Burt, 8, a third-grader, of the 5K run they were going to do. She also pointed out how hot it was on this day, and the fact she was wearing a couple of T-shirts.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m kinda sweaty – see?\u201d<\/p>\n
But Burt said they all helped each other when the going was hard.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf their legs are hurting, we help them,\u201d she said. \u201cWe encourage them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kaylee Walker, 11, is a fifth-grader in the program.<\/p>\n
While she\u2019s pretty athletic, playing basketball, baseball and soccer, the program is still a challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hardest part is sharing my feelings with the other girls,\u201d Walker said, of the discussion time they have before the workouts begin. \u201cBut you get used to it after a while.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walker\u2019s friend McKensie Johnson, 10, a fifth-grader, said the best of the program was \u201cmeeting new friends and getting better endurance.\u201d<\/p>\n
The hardest part?<\/p>\n
\u201cTrying to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martinez, embarking on another lap with a new colorful sticker, said she really liked getting to know her teachers better.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to spend more time with the teachers,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s an element of the program that Kruse finds herself enjoying, as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been able to know these girls on a whole new level,\u201d she said, taking a break from handing out hair ties.<\/p>\n
Her fellow teacher, Beth Rankin, who also is helping out with the program, noticed how much the girls are opening up – to teachers and to each other.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen a huge change,\u201dshe said. \u201cI\u2019ve seen a lot of girls come out of their shell. It\u2019s been a really freeing, really fun day.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For a lot of youngsters, running laps around a field can feel like a chore.
\nNot so for a group of girls at Sunnycrest Elementary School in Kent.
\nFor 10 weeks, the students gathered two afternoons each week to stretch and put in the laps around the playfield at their school.
\nSure it was hard, and they sweated. But there was something extra special that kept them going.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":217,"featured_media":17642,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-17641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17641"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/217"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17641"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17641\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17641"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=17641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}