By Staff
Text and photos by Kerry Whipple Bean
Hair flying behind them, a dozen girls raced across the field behind the YMCA, screaming with what sounded a lot like joy.
It was a game their running coach, Rebecca Jordan, used as a breathing exercise, but the excited yells exemplified how the girls felt about their four-day running camp.
Or, put more simply by Abbie Sessions, she enjoyed the camp “because I love to run.”
The “Go Girls Go!” running camp included warmups, yoga and daily laps, but Jordan and Vivian Layton also included lessons about self-esteem and other values, as well as a healthy snack to help the girls keep their strength up.
And Layton is hoping the girls keep the running up, too, now that camp is over.
She has invited each girl to come to the YMCA twice a week, where they will sign in and follow a running regimen from Jordan.
The idea, Layton said, is to keep the girls running and see if interest builds for a girls running club.
Jordan is training now for the Chicago Marathon, at which she will raise money for Girls on the Run running clubs.