moving.forward

Sometimes, you just gotta keep moving forward.

I knew it wouldn't take me long to get to this post...because this post is about a new organization that is near to my heart. Girls on the Run. I mentioned it briefly in my first post, but now I want to go more in depth about what it is and why it has so much meaning to me--as a woman, as a runner, as a girl who once was (and sometimes still is) stuck in the "girl box."

Girls on the Run seeks to educate and prepare girls for a lifetime of self-respect and healthy living. Simply put--it helps girls get out of the "girl box"--a place where girls are valued more for their outward appearance than their character inside. Through a 12 week research-based curriculum designed to promote physical, emotional and social development that also combines training for a 3.1 mile (5K) run, Girls on the Run provides girls with the tools they need to make healthy decisions and form positive self-images.

When I first heard about this program, I was intrigued. Then, I had the pleasure of attending a training at the national headquarters in Charlotte, NC, and I was hooked. Sure, there are all the statistics and research-based evidence that indicates that this program has helped thousands of girls feel better about themselves (and, hopefully, prevented the onset of at-risk behaviors in the teen and young adult years), but what I think I love the most about this program is that it truly is more than a running program. In fact, the girls don't even have to run at all. All Molly (the creator of this awesome organization) wants girls to do is simply "move forward."

And that concept is so magnificent and so powerful and so difficult all at the same time. And that is what has been on my mind today, especially because the whole idea of "moving forward" was a part of this morning's sermon--a message about moving forward and trusting in God's grace even when the life we are living is not at all the one we planned. Now, I could write for pages about this one topic alone, and I will write in future posts about how my running is another way for me to connect spiritually...but I want to get back to the Girls on the Run concept of moving forward and why it's so important (and magnificent and powerful and difficult all at the same time).

There is moving forward in the physical sense--the girls simply moving--dancing, skipping, walking, jumping, running. This is exercise. This is fun. This is powerful.

And then there is moving forward in the mental sense--the girls learning how to move past the hurtful words that may have been said earlier that day or that less than stellar grade on a math test that they studied so hard for.

Moving forward is the key--Girls on the Run teaches girls just that--to move forward, no matter what. No matter if that day has been horrible. No matter if they can't run a lap as fast as their best friend. No matter if they don't feel as tall, skinny, funny, smart, athletic as they want to be. It's all about developing the emotional and physical tools they need to move forward, to see themselves as beautiful and significant no matter what, and to carry that concept with them later in life--no matter the challenges or peer pressure they may face as they get older.

One of the best pieces of advice I ever received as a runner came from my husband, himself a former college athlete. He told me simply this, "Everyone has bad runs. You've just got to realize that and focus on the next one." Running is about 10% physical and 90% mental in my opinion, so this was one of the hardest bits of advice for me to learn and start following. But it has helped. As a runner, I have to be able to put the "bad" runs behind me and focus on what's next. I have to be able to move forward because without doing so, I would have quit a long time ago. I would have stopped challenging my mind and my body because it just would have been too hard.

And that's a lesson for all of us--how often do we struggle with moving forward when we overhear someone talking about us behind our back? or get snubbed by the "in" crowd? or realize the scale seems to have added 5 pounds since last Thursday? Whether you are a young woman, in your golden years or somewhere in between, this resonates with you. Because even when we are no longer pre-teen girls, we still face some of those same struggles.

And running, for me, is what helps break those struggles down so they are much less potent. That is why I believe in the power of Girls on the Run. If I can bring this gift of running and self-reflection to a young girl, imagine the impact.

Imagine a world full of confident, self-respecting girls and women.

Imagine.

And so that's today's message, friends. Move forward. Skip. Jump. Dance. Leap. Run. Whatever you do. Just move forward.

Happy trails,

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