KING COUNTY, Wash. — This weekend, 1,200 girls from around the Puget Sound region will complete a goal they've been working toward for the past eight weeks: finish a 5K.
This week on Mindful Headlines, KING 5 News Anchor Jessica Janner Castro highlights the Girls on the Run of Puget Sound. The after-school program aims to inspire girls to build confidence, make connections, and learn social and emotional skills paired with physical activities.
"What I think is so cool is incorporating life skills and this movement together," said Izzy Geronimo, events and outreach manager for Girls on the Run of Puget Sound. "So we have different lessons. For example, one is like a stop and go, so you go when you hear something nice, and you stop when something's a little challenging, or you hear something from a peer that you don't necessarily like."
The program for girls in third through fifth grade encourages healthy habits for life. It reaches kids from Shoreline to Puyallup to North Bend at about 80 different locations.
At the beginning of the program, the girls set an intention to run a 5K, and they also set goals for how many laps they will complete at the beginning of each practice. As the program goes on, participants focus on their personal growth as they work toward the final event.
"No one coaches other participants, so it's your own personal goal, and it's so great to see girls... just always increasing their goals," said Geronimo.
Girls don't have to be athletes or enjoy running to participate in the program.
"It's just all about learning these life skills, and then the movement is the fun part of it," said Geronimo. "If you're not a runner, that's totally fine. We have girls who walk the 5K, girls who skip the 5K, they don't time it."
This year is Girls on the Run's 20th-anniversary celebration. It also marks the program's first big event since 2019.
“A lot of families have come back to us saying they’re so glad that this program came back,” said Geronimo.
Girls on the Run and the season-end 5K run is always in need of volunteers. To help, click here.
