Members of the Batavia team of Girls on the Run get ready for practice on Nov. 17 at Batavia Elementary School. The team joined nearly 3,000 area girls and their family members Nov. 21 for the Girls on the Run Greater Cincinnati 5K.

Members of the Batavia team of Girls on the Run get ready for practice on Nov. 17 at Batavia Elementary School. The team joined nearly 3,000 area girls and their family members Nov. 21 for the Girls on the Run Greater Cincinnati 5K.
By Megan Alley
Sun staff

The Batavia team of Girls on the Run joined nearly 3,000 area girls and their family members Nov. 21 for the Girls on the Run Greater Cincinnati 5K.

The race was held at Sawyer Point in Cincinnati.

The mission of Girls on the Run, which is an international organization, is to inspire girls to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum which creatively integrates running, according to the Girls on the Run website.

The program is designed to allow every girl to recognize her inner strength and inspires girls to define their lives on their own terms, according to Colleen Price, head coach for the Batavia team. This is the second year that Batavia has had a Girls on the Run team.

“Lessons encourage positive emotional, social, mental and physical development while the physical activity aspect woven into the program is designed to inspire an appreciation of fitness and builds habits that lead to a lifetime of health,” said Price in an email. “At the end of the program, the girls participate in a 5K event that gives them a tangible understanding of the confidence that comes through accomplishment as well as a framework for setting and achieving life goals.”

She added, “Crossing the finish line is a defining moment when the girls realize that even the seemingly impossible is possible.”

The Batavia team has been practicing two nights a week since Oct. 30.

Abby Jayne, age 11, and Alyssa Green, age 8, are both part of the nine-member Batavia team.

Jayne, who ran with Girls on the Run last year and has already participated in three 5Ks, said she enjoys the excitement of running.

“I just love how many people run just to do it for fun or for a certain cause,” she said.

Jayne said the experience of running with Girls on the Run has been fun.

“Everyone encourages everyone else,” she said. “Our goal is to finish [the run] in a short amount of time, but not too short to where we lose energy.”

This is Green’s first time running a 5K.

“I’m feeling sort of nervous,” she said. “But I’m going to try my best.”

She added, “It doesn’t really matter if you win the race, it just matters if you have fun and being with all your friends.”

She said her favorite part of the training has been running around with all her friends and getting to meet new people.

“I feel happy when I’m running, because I’m getting exercise, and it helps me be better at my other sports,” Green said.

Jayne and Green both said running has helped them in soccer and basketball.

“It makes me go faster and gives me more touch,” Jayne explained.

Both girls said they plan to keep running.

“I’m definitely going to do cross country,” Jayne said.