By Laurie Miller

Not long ago, I had the opportunity to participate in a great program started by teachers Julie Cleave and Jessica Hoffmeister at Hallman Elementary School. It was called Running Buddies. Running Buddies paired women in the community with 4th and 5th grade girls at the school. We had talks on healthy habits and running and being active.

The girls practiced  twice a week and we came two times and ran around the neighborhood with them prior to running in June’s Solstice Run at Minto Brown Park. It was amazing to see how these young girls improved from the first time we ran together. A lot of the girls had never run before we met with them. And for almost all of them, this was their first race.

The program concluded in June when we ran together at the Solstice Run. They received timing chips and we all had official Hallman Running Buddy shirts. It was fun to see their smiles when they crossed the finish line and as parents and families cheered them on. You could see the sense of accomplishment in their faces. This program offered the girls an opportunity to participate in a sport that they will be able to continue in middle school and high school and through their life.

I really enjoyed my experience and hope to do it again next year. Among those in our group were members Brenda Boyce, Deb Lush, Jen Salazar and Group Ride Instructor, Jocelyn Becerrill.

I loved the fact that we were able to run with 4th and 5th grade girls, that they were able to do what they wanted, when they wanted. These girls are learning what fitness is all about. I believe this will help them as they mature and continue to strive for fitness and a healthy, active life.