Nancy Feinstein said there was no program like Girls on the Run when she or her daughter were in elementary school – but she wishes there was.
“We really work to inspire girls, to celebrate what makes them unique,” Feinstein, Girls on the Run board chair, said.
The nationwide program for girls in grades three through six follows a 10-week curriculum that focuses on building a lifetime appreciation for fitness and health, Feinstein said.
At the end of the program, the girls participate in an untimed 5K. The spring season’s Long Island 5K was held at Hofstra University on Saturday.
“Turnout was insane. There was over 700 people there,” Feinstein said. “I feel like we’re just on the verge of exploding across Long Island right now, so we’re just trying to keep up with the demand.”
Feinstein, a Roslyn Heights resident, is a mother of three and also sits on the Herricks Board of Education.
She started coaching the district’s second team, for Center Street School students, six years ago.
Currently, Herricks has six teams based out of Center Street, Searingtown, Denton and the Herricks Middle School.
Other districts in the area, including East Williston and Mineola, also have Girls on the Run teams.
East Williston Superintendent Elaine Kanas and Herricks teacher Deirdre Bambrick-Oriani are also Girls on the Run Long Island board members.
Enrollment in the program hasn’t been a problem, Feinstein said, but the program could use more volunteers to help out.
In addition to full-time and part-time coaches, volunteers can help with the two 5K races each year.
Community members can also volunteer to be running buddies, Feinstein said.
Each girl is required to run with a buddy during the race.
Although the rule may have stemmed from safety concerns, the buddy aspect has become a huge part of the program, Feinstein said.
Often times, girls will run with a parent as a buddy, Feinstein said.
“Sometimes, the girl ends up encouraging the parent,” Feinstein said, rather than the other way around.
Even though the program centers on running, Feinstein said she compares it more to Girl Scouts than an after-school sport.
The lessons give girls tools to help them communicate and cope during a time that’s often stressful for children and pre-teens, Feinstein said.
(Photo courtesy of Nancy Feinstein)
“We just try and let these girls know that they have all this potential and they can change the world and hopefully inspire them to go out and do things … because making friends, it becomes really complicated when you leave elementary school,” Feinstein said.
The program meets twice a week after school and teaches lessons that children don’t learn in the classroom, Feinstein said.
“You focus on cooperating with people and team building, and they’re also learning how to interact with adults and parents and teachers,” Feinstein said.
The program also emphasizes a healthy lifestyle based on how a person feels, not looks, Feinstein said.
The health-centered, self-esteem boost is a message that Feinstein said almost each lesson and discussion comes back to.
“It’s crazy, they’re so young, [some are] 8 years old,” Feinstein said. “But I feel it’s very important for them to understand that they have their own strengths and they have to know how to stand up for themselves and other people.”
