Girls on the Run St. Louis

Girls on the Run St. Louis inspires girls to be joyful, healthy, and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum that creatively integrates running. The intentional curriculum places an emphasis on the development of competence, confidence, connection, character, caring, and contribution in young girls. Trained and qualified coaches deliver the life skills curriculum during out-of-school times by guiding small teams of girls through lessons that promote social emotional learning concurrently with physical activity. The program culminates with girls positively impacting their communities through a service project and completing a celebratory, non-competitive 5k event. Data from Washington University in St. Louis shows us that more than 97% of girls have grown in their self-esteem as a result of participation in the program.

Since its inception in 2002, Girls on the Run St. Louis has positively impacted the lives of over 75,000 girls. The Girls on the Run curriculum, the ONLY physical activity-based, positive youth development program in the St. Louis region, is delivered each fall and spring season at over 400 participating school and community sites. Program participants are in third to eighth grade and come from a variety of public, private, parochial, charter and independent schools, and community sites (ex. Boys and Girls Clubs) across twenty-three counties in eastern Missouri and western Illinois. In a typical year, we serve over 4,500 girls and train over 1,500 volunteer coaches.

Girls on the Run was recently included as a top research-based program in a Social-Emotional Learning Guide developed by researchers at Harvard University. The research concluded that, "much more than a running program, Girls on the Run is designed to inspire girls to recognize their inner strength and celebrate what makes them one of a kind." It was also commended by the National Afterschool Association (NAA) as one of the most influential after-school programs in Health & Wellness and, in 2019, recognized as a featured Bright Spot organization in the U.S. Health and Human Services' National Youth Sports Strategy. In 2020, Girls on the Run was selected as a U.S. National Youth Sports Strategy Champion. Additionally, our bi-annual 5k event is the largest timed 5k race in Missouri and the tenth largest in the United States.