On Friday night, Ryan attended his first Pure Barre class! My local studio hosted a “Bring On The Men” night and a few of my girlfriends and I brought our husbands. It was unbelievably hilarious and such a great time. I could not stop laughing on more than one occasion, especially because Pure Barre involves a lot of pointing and flexing of the feet and Ryan has flat feet that simply cannot point. We’ve joked about it before, but the class environment made it even more amusing!
Ryan was a great sport and said he has a brand new respect for the workout. He also mentioned that the 60-minute class flew by, which is probably what I love most about the workout. It always passes by in a flash!
Aside from the Friday night barre class, the other big highlight from our weekend was the Girls On The Run 5K!
Girls On The Run 5K
I have so many great things to share from this fun event, so buckle up. It’s time for the official race recap!
I am planning to do a comprehensive post about Girls On The Run (GOTR) and my experience as a coach in a future post, but here’s a quick overview of the program from the GOTR website:
I, along with two awesome co-coaches, coach a team of 6th – 8th grade girls through the Girls On The Run Iredell chapter.
(Me and Coach Rita!)
When I was first assigned to a middle school, I was rather apprehensive and worried the girls wouldn’t get into the program and think parts of it were silly, but I could not have been more wrong. Our girls were open-minded, enthusiastic and all about participating. Thank goodness!! Of course some lessons resonated more than others, but on the whole, we almost always had lively discussions and talkative girls.
After each lesson, we would head outside to the track for the running portion of practice where we slowly built up to a 5K distance. Saturday was the culmination of the girls’ hard work!
The official Girls On The Run 5K!
Unfortunately a good portion of our 17 girls couldn’t make it to the 5K (there was a school-related conflict for the 8th graders in band and a few of the girls who play basketball), but the girls who were able to come arrived bubbling over with nervous energy and excitement.
The 5K took place on Saturday morning at Catawba College in Salisbury. It was a chilly 30 degrees when Ryan and I arrived and we spent the 60 minutes or so we had before the start of the race chatting, visiting vendors and meeting the girls’ parents.
Eventually 9 a.m. rolled around and the kids fun run kicked off after we sang the National Anthem. Then it was time for us to line up! As a coach, you don’t have to run, but you definitely can! You can run on your own or as a “running buddy” for one of the girls on your team or a girl on another team who may need a running buddy. (Every GOTR girl is required to have a running buddy run with them on race day.)
I ended up running with one of our girls, V.
V and I lined up with all of the other girls from our team and their respective running buddies and waited for the horn to signal that it was time to start running!
After some excited chatter and a few jumping jacks to keep warm, it was time to go! I told V to tell me if/when she wanted to walk and assured her I was only there to keep her company and run at her pace. She ran a 47:00 practice 5K and wanted to beat her previous time, so that was her main goal.
We talked for most of the race and paused a few times for photos with the mile marker signs (and for a few untied shoelace incidents).
V did a great job and ran most of the first 1.5 miles. We started taking a few walking breaks after that, and her attitude was still very positive!
We later found out that as we were running, one of the girls from our team, M, crossed the finish line first out of all the girls running! GOTR is not about how fast you can run (every girl is given a bib with the number “1” on it and there’s no chip timing or awards), but we were still incredibly proud of M for her super-fast time! She came in second last year and really, really wanted to be first this year, so I was thrilled for her and her amazing accomplishment.
She is seriously crazy fast and Ryan said she finished around 20 minutes. Insane, right!?
One of the coolest things about M and her amazing running ability is hearing her teammates boast for her. They are all so, so proud of her talent and after we were done running, about half of our team came running up to me to tell me that M hit her goal. Such awesome support!
As V and I realized we were almost at the end of the race, I told her we were really close to beating 40 minutes and she said she wanted to run to the end. We ran around the track and through the finish line as the clock hit 40:02!
V was ecstatic that she beat her previous 5K time by almost 7 minutes and I loved hearing her chat with her teammates and share her excitement.
I was so proud of every single girl on our team for finishing the 5K and putting forth such a great effort on race day! It was the perfect ending to my first GOTR season and I truly, truly loved every minute.
And a big congratulations to all of the GOTR girls around the nation who ran in their 5K this weekend! You guys are rockstars!
***
For those who may be interested in participating in Girls On The Run in some capacity, you may click here to find a chapter near you. I cannot recommend getting involved with this program enough. It’s the best!
Disclaimer: Photo releases are signed by all GOTR girls’ parents and coaches are encouraged by GOTR to share photos to help spread the word about such an amazing organization.
Heather @ No Bologna Blog says
It is so inspiring to see how this program affects the girls who participate! I’m so excited about being a part of this next spring!!! 🙂
Julie says
so awesome you’re getting involved! hope you love it!
Erin @ Erin's Inside Job says
It looks like everything turned out really well! It’s a shame that not everyone was able to run, but overall it looks like a great time. I may look into helping out once the frigid Chicago winter passes us over 🙂
Amanda B says
Julie- The first time you posted about GOTR I was super interested and looked into my local chapter. I volunteered at their fall 5K to see what it was all about and it was amazing! The energy level from all the girls was awesome (despite the cold!). I am now going to be a coach for the spring, and I’m so excited! You will have to share some tips on workouts and other fun things you did. Thanks for the inspiration!
Julie says
this is so great! hope you love coaching, amanda! <3
Daisy- Fit Wanderlust Runner says
I think this is so amazing…you inspired me to look for one near me but unfortunately there isn’t one and it costs so much to just start one. If I had more time I would definitely try to raise money to start one in my area.
Jess says
It’s so wonderful that you give back to your new home in this way – looks like everyone had a great time!
Danica says
I volunteered with our local GIrls on the Run 5k last weekend – it was so fun! I LOVE the organization and all that they do.
Julie says
I thought Ryan might appreciate this link… 😉
http://www.dudesdigest.com/true-life-i-went-to-pure-barre-and-it-was-fucking-miserable/
livitant says
Wow, this is such a special story– I am inspired!!
thisthatandtheotherthang says
This is such an incredible program, Julie! You’ve inspired me to check out my local chapter of Girls On the Run and volunteer as a coach and/or running buddy! Thanks so much! 🙂
Fiona @ Get Fit Fiona says
Sounds like a great program. The kids must be so proud of themselves.
EmilyAnne says
That is such an amazing program. I would always run with my students in the states, but wish I would have done this program. Thanks for sharing. http://www.eatallovertheworld.weebly.com
balancedrd says
I want to get involved in Girls on the Run! It seems like such a great program 🙂 There aren’t any programs in my town, so I am trying to find a gym that would like to help me start the program! Thanks for sharing!
fitsickle says
This is so amazing!! I’ve been wanting to volunteer with GOTR for years and finally just moved to a city with a council… Super excited I’ll be a head coach in the spring! Reading your recaps and experiences has made me all the more excited! Think you’ll coach again?? Have a great night:)!
theannamatedlife says
I love the pictures of the 5K, but I want to see pictures of the “bring your man to barre” night! That sounds hilarious and fun! 🙂
Nikki S. says
You have inspired me to sign up to be a coach with our local GOTR!! Still waiting to hear back from them but I am so excited and cant wait to start working with the girls. Thanks for the motivation and inspiration, you’re truly amazing!!
Ash says
You’re amazing 🙂 great job!!
Wenchypoo says
I just signed up my niece for the spring program down in Phoenix–this was her Christmas present, since Mom and Dad couldn’t afford the entrance fee this time. I’m in Virginia.
Janelle says
Congratulations Julie. Such an amazing and inspiring organization.