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Girls on the Run coming to Hollis this fall

HOLLIS – For Noreen Polus and Danielle Scott, Girls on the Run is an opportunity to get back to doing what they love: spending time with young people.

For the local girls who participate in the program, however, the women hope it will be a chance to learn more about themselves, build confidence and incorporate exercise in their daily lives.

Many communities around the state, including Amherst and Bedford, have chapters of the program, and for the first time ever, Girls on the Run is coming to Hollis this fall.

Girls on the Run is an international nonprofit organization that aims to build self-esteem and confidence in young girls through a 10-week curriculum that integrates running and training for a 5K with games and other educational activities.

Locally, the Hollis Women’s Club will be coaching and supporting the program, with Polus and Scott acting as the program’s first coaches. During the fall, they will be able to coach a team of up to 12 girls, working with them to train for the statewide Girls on the Run road race in November.

Both Polus and Scott said they are avid exercisers and enjoy walking and running. They hope to instill this same love of activity in local children, but said the program is about a lot more than just training.

“We’re really excited about the opportunity to enhance the lives of young girls in the community,” Polus said Tuesday. “It’s really an effort to try to reach out to young girls before they’re really experiencing a lot of peer pressure.”
Scott agreed, and said that showing a young girl she can set a goal, like completing a 5K race, and achieve it can go a long way toward building confidence. That confidence, Scott added, can help the girl later in life, when saying no to pressures or even just trying to get ahead in their life or career.

Polus said that idea may be the most important thing the participants get out of the program.

“To set a goal and accomplish it, that gives them the feeling that I can do this, I’m empowered,” she said.

It was what the program aims to teach the girls involved that first drew the Hollis Women’s Club to Girls on the Run, the women said.

Current club president Lori Dwyer said she first heard about the program during a meeting in 2010 with other area Women’s Clubs and that she was immediately drawn to the idea of bringing it to Hollis.

“It really spoke to issues close to me and got me jazzed about the program,” Dwyer said Tuesday.

She invited the state’s Girls on the Run director to a meeting of the local Women’s Club soon after first hearing about it and then again this winter, and said many club members, including Polus and Scott were inspired to bring the program to the town this fall.

“It addresses issues we have in our schools, like anorexia and peer pressure,” she said. “We thought this could be useful in this town.”

Since the winter, Polus and Scott have been going through Girls on the Run training, CPR classes and background checks to prepare to be coaches this fall.

They said they believe the program will be popular in the community and have high hopes for its ability to grow throughout the years. While they will only be able to have one team this fall, of between eight and 12 girls, they hope to run the program again in the spring with two teams, if possible.

“As the girls involved get excited, we’re hoping word will spread,” Scott said.

And Scott said she hopes the desire to volunteer with the program will also spread once it gets going. While the Women’s Club will likely volunteer to help the day of the 5K race, more coaches may be needed in the spring or next year.

The women said they’re confident the program will be beneficial for anyone involved.

“A lot of our motivation to do this is that we miss kids,” Polus said. “We’re probably going to get out of it just as much as the kids will.”

The program begins Sept. 5, and will be held twice weekly from 3:05 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. Registration begins July 18 at 7 p.m. online and costs $129 for the 10-week program. Cost includes snack during each session, program T-shirt, race entry, and an end of the season celebration.

Girls on the Run can provide scholarships, as well as a multi-child discount for families registering more than one girl. For more information on the program or scholarship information, call Executive Director Jen Hubbell at 778-1389.

Danielle Curtis can be reached at 594-6557 or dcurtis@nashuatelegraph.com. Also follow Curtis on Twitter (Telegraph_DC).