These Amherst girls are on the move

Thursday, November 26, 2009

By DEAN SHALHOUP

Staff Writer

AMHERST – Nobody but Emily Grudzien could see anything, so they all had to trust her verbal instructions and follow them closely if they had any hope of getting where they wanted to go.

“Right ... now left!” shouted the grinning fifth-grader, her blonde hair blowing across her face as she ran. “Straight ... OK, now turn.”

Emily and her 11 fellow Amherst Middle School fifth-graders were, for the time being, an amoeba, so they had to move up and down the field as a single organism – the ultimate teamwork exercise.

The girls are part of Girls on the Run, a national physical, social, and emotional wellness program for girls ages 8 to 13 that debuted this fall in Amherst. There are two 12-member teams in town, the fifth-grade squad and one made up of third- and fourth -graders from Clark-Wilkins school.

Now the girls and their coaches are already looking forward to next year, after celebrating the end of their inaugural season last Sunday by joining about a dozen other New Hampshire GOTR squads in a 5K run in the town of Newfields.

The non-profit organization was founded nationally by Molly Barker in Charlotte, N.C., in 1996, as a 10-week, spring and fall extracurricular program of fun and uplifting workouts that nationally involves more than 40,000 girls each year. The New Hampshire Girls on the Run chapter (GOTR-NH) was formed in 2001.

In Amherst, parent Mary Ellen Redway first brought the idea to other parents last year, and by spring, GOTR-NH director and field trainer Jen Hubbell was conducting training for several volunteer coaches, said Mary Lou Mullens, a Souhegan School Board member and coach who works with the fifth-grade team.

It is designed to promote self-awareness, confidence, and emotional and physical development along with instilling the importance of teamwork and strong sense of community, Mullens said.

The Amherst teams’ inaugural season comes to an end Sunday, when the girls, along with any family or friends who wish to participate, take part in a statewide Girls on the Run 5K in Newfields, a small town outside Exeter.

During the season, each session starts in a classroom, where the girls drink bottled water and enjoy healthy snacks while answering questions or playing “warmup” games, depending on the day’s schedule.

This day, Mullens asked such things as, “what do you like, and what don’t you like, about Girls on the Run?”

Most “don’t likes” centered, almost predictably, on the quality and volume of the snacks – these are healthy snacks, remember. One girl wasn’t wild about the bright orange on their team shirts.

The “likes,” not surprisingly, brought more thoughtful responses.

“I like it because it makes you look inside yourself, to find your own inner beauty,” said Anna Redway.

“I like it because I get to meet new people and make new friends,” said Ariana Infanti.

For Emily, it’s the warmup games she likes best, while Olivia Mullens’ favorite parts are the snacks – “and it makes me a better runner.”

The program was an instant hit, said Kathy Earley, a school nurse, parent, and another volunteer coach. “We really believe in what this program offers, especially from a teamwork and health standpoint,” she said.

Meanwhile, the “amoeba” was given yet another requirement – everyone had to hop on one foot. “You’ll really need to cooperate with each other now,” Mullens told the girls.

For more information on the program, go to www.girlsontherun.org or contact info@girlsontherun.org.

Dean Shalhoup can be reached at 673-3100 Ext. 31 or dshalhoup@cabinet.com.