Miles in her own shoes
Local chapter of non-profit helps young girls build character and run farther than ever before
A black tablecloth concealed a pyramid of boxes decorated with balloons in the Group Exercise room at the Tri-County YMCA in Ferdinand.
Audrey Werner, program coordinator for the Dubois County chapter of the Girls on the Run national organization, tucked the cloth in at its corners as 28 young girls and their coaches entered the room, screaming with excitement.
“It’s gonna feel like everyone’s birthday,” Werner said.
Minutes later, empty shoe boxes lay scattered around the floor. The shoes they contained
were now sitting on their new owners’ heads or masquerading as phones in their hands. But
it wasn’t long until those shoes were on each pair of young girls’ feet.
“Some of them just keep looking at their shoes, like, wow, what are these?” Jen Lusk, volunteer coach for one of the Ferdinand chapters, said. “We’re girls, and girls are known
for liking shoes – it’s a good day when you get new shoes!”
But stilettos these were not. Rather, they were brand new Asics running shoes, colored with hot pink stripes. Rick Begle, owner of Sports Garden in Jasper provided the shoes, paid for by donations from Ronald McDonald House Charities and local community members.
“Some of them have never had athletic running shoes,” Lusk said. Girls on the Run, an international nonprofit, is a youth development program designed for girls in 3rd-5th grade.
For 20 years, the national organization that originated in Charlotte, North Carolina has been working to educate girls on many issues such as peer pressure, healthy choices, and community contribution through several activities, the overarching one being a two-month long training for a final 5K celebratory race at the program’s end. Audrey Werner and Sarah Leonard co-founded the local Dubois County Chapter last year, and now in its second year, the chapter services eight teams of 124 participants. Ten head, assistant and substitute coaches serve the two Ferdinand chapters.
Sarah Leonard, Council Director for the Dubois County branch, said she got the idea while listening to an organization representative give a talk in North Carolina. “I just could not shake the program out of my head,” she said.
After she and her family moved to Jasper, she met with Audrey Werner and more like-minded people, and together they started the Dubois County GOTR chapter.
“It wasn’t until I met them that the idea got its legs,” Leonard said. “I might have been the spark, but the whole community was the flame.”
Ferdinand chapters are made up of students from Ferdinand, Pine Ridge and Cedar Crest — all busing in after school. The TriCounty YMCA has hosted the Ferdinand Chapters’ practices every Tuesday and Thursday for the past month as the girls ready for their 5K and learn to get along with their peers.
Recently, each team sat down in a circle and played a game where a girl grabbed a ball of yarn, held onto a section and passed it on, demonstrating how fast rumors could spread.
Before that, the teams engaged in an activity where they tried to put toothpaste back into
tubes (representing how hard it is to take back an action). Activities like these show the girls problems they will face while growing up.
The girls learned much from these lessons.
“If maybe somebody’s not as wealthy as you or doesn’t have as nice of clothes, don’t tease them— respect them,” 4th grader Avery Schneider shared one lesson she’d learned so far.
After their ethics lesson is over, the girls started stretching in preparation for their running activity.
That day, the runners had a scavenger hunt incorporated with their practice run. At prior sessions the GOTR runners had run laps or held water bottle fights to make running more fun and improve their endurance.
So far, Schneider has run more than a mile already and hopes to complete the 5K at the end. Fourth grader Ava Fletcher hopes to shave a minute off her 10-minute mile.
“Every week, you think they’re going to grumble about running,” Lusk explains. “Never. They’ve never grumbled.”
The culminating 5K event will take place on April 30 at Jasper Middle School beginning at 9 a.m., open to the public. The event will offer stations such as a spray crazy hair booth, a place to make signs, and a chalkboard with blank space to fill in with inspirational statements.
Lusk volunteered for the organization hoping to inspire her young charges and build their self-esteem.
She feels anyone can make a difference in these young women’s lives by mentorin them during these activities and beyond, and that what they need most are role models.
“Girls on the Run!” Werner chanted prior to the shoes’ unveiling.
“So much fun!” each girl shouted back, jumping up and down, the floor trembling underneath their growing feet.
To find more information or register to help with GOTR, visit girlsontherun.org. For further questions, contact Audrey Werner at 812-631-3278 or Sarah Leonard at 812-631-8444
