Our Girl on the Run

Olivia participated in a program this fall called Girls on the Run. It is a national program for preteen girls that uses running as a way to promote not only physical health, but also promotes emotional, social, spiritual and mental health. Olivia attended two days each week after school and ultimately trained to run a 5k (3.1 miles), which she did yesterday. There were 470 girls registered in the Greater Lansing area, and about 30 or 40 from Olivia's school. It ended up being very cold and windy (after several days of beautiful weather), but I didn't hear one complaint from Olivia. She did so great. My parents were there, and they and Philip stayed near the start/finish area. My niece Sarah, her boyfriend Ryan, and my friend Jennifer went to a different area in the woods so that she would have people cheering her on in more than one place. The course was two loops around a lake at one of our local parks. When she came around the second time, she came flying by like a sprinter! I think she kicked it in because she knew that we would be there, but it was so cute. She looked like a pro as you can see in the picture below. There was no time clock, but she came in somewhere in the middle of the pack. It was a really great experience for her and a fun time for all of us.


You go girl!


Walking through the water station


Great job Olivia!