GOTR Article (For Workshop)

Music could be heard ‘round Western’s Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan last Thursday evening as thousands of third through fifth grade girls, their faithful coaches, parents, and hundreds of community members prepared to run the 5K they’d been training for since March. Traffic was blocked from the far-most right lane of Stadium Drive, and proud parents, brothers, sisters, friends, teachers, and more lined the streets to cheer on their runners.

With a “fun hair” station provided for girls and coaches, pink, green, sparkling, and crowned heads littered the football field as the girls stretched and jived to the beat of the music breaking the hot air. Reminded often as they warmed up to drink water, the girls were all smiles as they marched out of the stadium to take their marks.

Among the many volunteers running alongside their teams was Jordan Earnest, a Kalamazoo College sophomore. Jordan was an assistant coach at Woods Lake Elementary. After 24 practices, Jordan was ready for her first Girls on the Run (GOTR) race.

The 24 practices are well organized, but not in the training for a 5K sense. “In all honesty,  our training process isn’t that official,” Jordan admitted, “It’s just based on - to get moving.” Jordan described the attitude of the program, “So we’re not necessarily - and it’s definitely a non-competitive, we’re not out to win anything, like, everyone gets a medal at the end. We don’t time anyone, anything like that.” When inquired about practice schedules, and whether or not the work-outs are rigorous, she said, “Some days, our activities are like, freeze-tag type things, or just about getting moving and being active, rather than like, ‘okay, we gotta run 15 laps today.’ ” 

While she talked about empowerment for the young girls, Jordan laughed as she remembered, “Which is like, kind of ironic, ‘cause the 5K is today, and I was like thinking the other day, I’m like, ‘oh, I should probably like, I should probably start running around campus a little bit more to get in shape for it. I’m like no!’ If they’re gonna - I’ve been training, training, in quotes, as much as they have, so.” The empowerment seems to reach more than just the third through fifth grade GOTR.

Girls on the Run has been studied since 2001 by Rita DiGioacchino DeBate, Ph. D., MPH, CHES. In reviewing academic research on girls and sports, Dr. DeBate found conflicting data concerning self-esteem and athletics. While girls involved in normal physical activity tend to have a higher sense of self-worth and are better able to avoid peer pressures, girls involved in sports that encourage a small build may be at higher risk of falling into the trap of eating disorders. Dr. DeBate’s research has helped those in charge of providing lessons for girls involved in GOTR which instill messages that might squash this tendency.

Jordan agrees with the ideas of prevention and positive influence, “I think it’s targeted as a prevention program, because it’s for girls third through fifth grade, and just like, just when they’re hitting puberty, and that’s I think when girls images of themselves start to change, around that age, or at least I remember it did for me, involved in athletics of that age.” Empowerment is a theme in which Jordan discusses frequently. “It’s supposed to integrate the physical activity - and it’s feeling empowered in different ways, so with the knowledge we talk about these things, but also pride ourselves with being healthy and being healthy girls.”