Sports

Shown is the starting line for the Girls on the Run Wondergirl Run in June.

Photo courtesy of Robyn Cutler

WEST AKRON — About 100 girls have participated in Girls on the Run activities in Akron in the past two years, and organizers say many of them keep coming back for more.

The program, for girls ages 8 to 11, helps participants train and prepare for a 5K run — and helps the girls learn about their physical, emotional, mental, social and spiritual well-being at the same time.

The Shaw Jewish Community Center (JCC) in West Akron sponsors the national program locally. Robyn Cutler, of West Akron, is an avid runner who serves as its director.

“We started with one site at the JCC and now we’ve got five in Summit County and three outside [of the county],” Cutler said.

Registration is currently open for the spring session, which will begin the first week of March. In the West Side Leader coverage area, sessions will take place at the Shaw JCC and the Northwest Family Recreation Center. They are open to all girls, as is a session at the Lake Anna YMCA in Barberton.

Sessions also will take place at Bath Elementary School and Old Trail School, but they are limited to students at those schools, Cutler said.

Each site is limited to 15 participants. The girls attend Girls on the Run sessions twice a week, with each meeting including physical activities and discussion.

“It’s self-esteem with a fitness component,” Cutler said. “We play fun games, discuss a pertinent topic and do a work out, such as running, jumping, skipping or hopping.”

The group meets for 12 weeks, and during that time prepares for the culmination of the session with a 5K run. This year, the run, which is open to the public as well, is scheduled for May 31.

Cutler, who has been part of the JCC program since it began two years ago, said she sees lots of positives from it.

“It’s a lot of fun,” she said. “They are enjoying the physical fitness aspect of it. They love doing the 5K. The confidence they get from that is tremendous. They enjoy working toward this goal.”

Many of the girls come back and complete the program a second time, she added.

“These girls are coming back to do it again and again,” she said. “They are craving a program like this that they can’t get in another venue.”

Runner Molly Barker began Girls on the Run in 1996 in North Carolina. Since then, the program has grown to more than 150 cities.

The national organization has developed the 12-week curriculum used at its local sites. According to its Web site, the Girls on the Run objective is to reduce the potential display of at-risk activities among its participants, resulting in fewer adolescent pregnancies and eating disorders, less depression and suicide attempts, as well as fewer substance/alcohol abuse problems and confrontations with the juvenile justice system.

Fees for the program are based on a sliding scale from $10 to $150, but Cutler stresses that no girls are turned away because of an inability to pay. In addition to the Girls on the Run curriculum, participants receive a T-shirt and water bottle, a healthy snack at each lesson, the help of two to three coaches, entry into the 5K run and a run T-shirt.

Cutler said coaches volunteer their time for the program. All coaches are female and undergo a background check, she added.

Registration for the spring session is currently taking place. Information and a registration form is available at the Shaw JCC, 750 White Pond Drive, or at www.shawjcc.org. For more information, call Cutler at (330) 607-4110.