Yesterday, Bella Moran (Fitness Coach at Lancaster) came into my office looking a little nervous. Bella was about to drive to Hallman Elementary School to talk to a group of fourth-grade girls about running.

I told Bella she would do just fine. She did. Later that afternoon, Bella came back into the office and told me and Brock about the experience.

“I forgot how little kids watch everything you do. I went there to help them all train for a 5K. To the kids, talking about a 5K is like talking about an Ultra-Marathon. I think they are excited, though. At first, it was hard to get them moving, but once they did, they had a great time. We played a relay game where they had to run back and forth to pick up puzzle pieces. The first team to put the puzzle together won. Oh, gosh, they loved that one.”

Bella had a central message for the 23 girls in the group. Bella told them to “run like a girl.”

“I told them that I run like a girl and that I’m proud of that. I told them that sometimes I fall, that my ponytail will whip me in the face sometimes. But, I just keep running like a girl. I remember seeing older kids coming into my classes and thinking they were so big and awesome.” Bella is certain that the girls took to the message and it meant a lot coming from an adult who works at Courthouse Fitness.

Bella made a bookmark for every girl. The bookmarks were decorated with pink shoelaces and read “Run Like A Girl.” The bookmark included a few pieces of advice. “Eat often. Drink water. Just Be You.”

“Girls go through this struggle when they grow up. They battle between being a girly girl or a Tomboy. To them, there is no in-between. But, I told them to be the best version of themselves that they can be. I told them that they can be athletic and active and still be a girl. That’s a powerful thing for girls of any age to hear.”