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Girls on the Run teaches Steamboat students life lessons

Strawberry Park Elementary School students train Wednesday for the Girls on the Run 5K run on Saturday.
Matt Stensland

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — A group of 22 Strawberry Park Elementary School girls have put in the training and gained the necessary confidence.

They will need it Saturday when they participate in the annual Girls on the Run regional 5K run at the Strawberry Park campus.

For the past 10 weeks, the girls have been meeting with volunteer coaches twice a week for 80 minutes to train their muscles and lungs as well as their minds.



“A lot of life lessons like being respectful and grateful for what we have,” 9-year-old Emma Haubert said about what she learned during the sessions.

The training runs have incorporated lessons about confidence, communication, leadership and self-control.



“They have a lap goal each day, but the main goal is on the lesson, not the laps,” coach Sarah Boatright said.

Other coaches have included Katie Chase and Becky Slamal.

The girls also had to do a community outreach project.

They had four options, and they chose to thank the Steamboat Springs Police Department with gift bags.

The bags included an assortment of candy including Life Savers “to remind you of the many times that you have been one,” the girls said, and a Payday “because you’re not doing it for the money.”

There was also a paperclip in the bag “to help hold it all together.”

This is the first year most of the girls have participated in the after-school program.

“It’s fun, and it helps me become a better runner,” 9-year-old Kiley Iacovetto said. “You learn about being a passionate person.”

Some of the girls have participated in the culminating run, which heads out Strawberry Park.

“We get to see everybody that has done it,” 10-year-old Nadia Boatright said. “It’s just happy. All the work you’ve put in, and then you get a party.”

Last year, 430 girls participated in the run, which starts at 11 a.m.

To reach Matt Stensland, call 970-871-4247, email mstensland@SteamboatToday.com or follow him on Twitter @SBTStensland.


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