Giving Bay Area Girls the Confidence to Say “I Can”

The girls of Girls on the Run Bay Area spend 10 weeks training for a 5K. It isn’t timed. They aren’t running to win. They’re running because the psychologists and educators who wrote the curriculum understand that self-esteem and movement rise together. When a girl discovers she can run three miles, she also discovers the confidence and inner strength to explore all the other important things she can accomplish. 

Girls on the Run Bay Area, founded in 2002, now serves about 1,900 girls and female-identifying youth a year, on some 126 teams at schools and parks across five counties, from Marin to San Mateo. Twice a week after school, more than 400 dedicated volunteer coaches lead the laps and the positive life lessons.

The heart of the program is the uplifting lessons all centered on positive self-achievement, which take place over 10 weeks and cover the self, the team, and the community. Underneath it all is the drive to alter the message about how girls talk to themselves. “Girls tend to do negative self-talk. ‘I’ll never be able to do that. I can’t run a 5K,’” says Catherine Muriel, the organization’s executive director. “Boys do that a lot less.” So coaches teach girls to trade “but” for “yet.” I can’t run a 5K, “yet.”

Two-thirds of participants come from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds. The program is offered on a sliding scale to ensure there are no economic barriers to participating. Families pay as little as $40, but if that is a hardship, they can join the program for free. And if a girl does not have a safe pair of running shoes, Girls on the Run Bay Area will provide a pair. Proper running bras are provided as well, courtesy of another nonprofit. 

The 5K Nobody Times

Every season ends at Marina Park in San Leandro at the joyful 5K event. In front of thousands of well-wishers cheering them on, every girl comes. Every girl runs. Nobody is timed. Everybody finishes and wins a medal. It is a complete sense of accomplishment. An uplifting group culmination of learning “yes, they can.” 

Emily Zada, development and operations director, remembers a third grader, Ami, new to the country, with English as her second language. “It didn’t take long for her coaches and teammates to make her feel at home. Through every practice, they encouraged her to keep going, helping her discover the power of teamwork, confidence, and perseverance… Ami crossed the finish line of her first 5K with a smile on her face and a newfound belief in herself.” 

Fathers cry with pride at the finish line. “Thank you,” one told Muriel. “She’s just a different person now.” Muriel hears that often, along with mothers telling her, “I wish I’d had this program when I was young.”