What the Kickstart Running Program means to me

On May 2 2010, the girls of the Kickstart running program participated in the Sporting Life 10K run. The leaders and volunteers in the program were proud of the girls for their hard work and for meeting their goals. There were lots of friends and family out to support them too!

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Check out the pics here

In the words of the young ladies themselves, here is what the running program has meant to them.

What the running program did for me is it made me a better runner. And it's made me feel better and made me happier. Now I like to run. Some days I just want to get up and run for fun. It made me love life and be nicer to people. I will tell my friends about the Running Club and tell them to join.
By Mya

The running program made me feel much more confident about running long distances. I never thought I could ever run 10km because it felt so long, but with everyone to talk to and get to know, the hard parts went by quickly. The race was so much fun becaues there were so many people and we got t-shirts and bib numbers. The training is a lot of fun because you are running in places you know, so you feel safe and interested. You start our running 1's and 1's (1 minute running, 1 minute walking) and keep progressing by one more minute running each week until you are at 10's and 1's (10 minutes running, 1 minute walking).
By Tessa

When I started the running club, I thought I would get better at running for a long time because my body is not fit for long distance, just short distance. When I started running, my lungs would hurt, but now they don't. I found the training for running helpful because Maddie (our trainer) would teach us how to pace ourselves. I love running and I appreciate that Anna, Maddie and all the Junior League women helped me achieve my running goal to run 10km. Thank you.
By Tyra

What I liked about running was the amount of exercise you could get. Also the energy you have after, which helps because in a marathon, you need a lot of energy. Running helps give more energy every run. But what I didn't like is how tiring it can be but it pays off. People who cheer you on are just trying to boost your confidence which also helps when you run. Running increases your health a lot which is very good. Also it was so fun and it's amazing how I felt after running.
By Ashley

Running club has made me a better runner. Now I want to just get up and run because I have been trained how to pace myself. When we first started running, we would always sprint, because we thought we could run as far as possible, but when Maddie (our trainer) told ua all about pacing ourselves, we did better and better and we did not get so tired afterwards. I have always loved running ever since I was younger - ever since I was younger, I would try to run my fastest for a long distance, but now I have mastered pacing myself. Thank you Anna, Maddie and all the Junior League women for making me a better runner!!!!!!
By Sula

The running program made me feel more self-confident because there were a lot of people cheering us on, and helping us along the way. Before I didn't run long distances, because I neverk knew I could do it. I joined the running program because my friends talked me into it. I didn't want to join, but now I'm glad I did. At first I thought we were just going to run, non-stop. Then they told us we were going to work up to 10's (10 mins running) and 1's (1 min running). We started at 1 and 1's and worked our way up to 10's and 1's. I was very excited on teh day of the race, and nervous. 10k felt like a very long way, but it went by very quickly. It felt very different running with a lot of other people, but I liked it. There were a lot of people cheering us on and encouraging us. The running program got me more active, and I started to participate in more sports. I look up to all the Junior League women, Anna and Maddie (running instructor). The race is something I'll always look back and remember.
By Mary-Ann