The Finish Line is Just the Beginning

This morning at 5:30 am, I arrived at Golden Gate Park for the Girls on the Run Spring 5K. Armed with Starbucks coffee, our race committee glided around the park, setting up flags and tents and tables. As cans of glitter hairspray were lined up in the activity tents and bananas were unbunched and flags were put together, there was a sense of excitement in the air. All of us knew that our frozen fingers and past four months of preparation were about to become worth it, before our eyes.

As girls began arriving and music began blaring, I was overcome with the most sincere gratitude to have found Girls on the Run - especially the Girls on the Run of the Bay Area team. There is nothing like a group of passionate, dedicated, and engaged women working to empower healthy, confident girls. 

This season, I hosted the Starting Line Facebook Live on the Girls on the Run of the Bay Area page. I have never seen girls so excited to start sprinting like I did this year (if you want to see what I mean, check out the video here.) These girls took off with power and finished strong. As the organization likes to say "The finish line is just the beginning" and it couldn't be more true. Once they crossed the finish line, these girls were strutting like they had hit the Miss America runway in Atlantic City. Their faces said it all - they felt strong, accomplished, and confident.

While I have been serving Girls on the Run for over two years now, this organization has given me more than I could have ever imagined. It's given me purpose - to always be a positive role model in my community for the girls I meet. It's given me confidence - in my own abilities and desires to make a difference. Most of all, it's given me joy. I always want to be working to inspire, educate, and encourage girls and this program has allowed me to do that. Thank you Girls on the Run for a phenomenal season - let's do it again this fall!