Girls on the Run at B.B. Harris

A dynamic new youth development program called “Girls on the Run” has third, fourth, and fifth grade girls all a buzz as they gather after school on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons at B.B. Harris Elementary School in Duluth to exercise and learn empowering lessons about self-respect and healthy living.

The idea sparked when B.B. Harris PTSA Co-President Courtney Bernardo was vacationing last summer with friends from North Carolina. While on the beach, Courtney’s girlfriend recommended a book by Girls on the Run founder Molly Barker. Her friend shared how the program was enthusiastically spreading across their state and encouraged Courtney to learn more about it. 

Courtney did just that. She bought Barker’s book and by the time she arrived back home, she had the information and determination she needed to start a program at B.B. Harris. “When I discovered what Girls on the Run was all about, I wanted my 10-year-old daughter to be a part of it. I tried to find a program nearby, but there wasn’t one. So, I sought approval from our principal (Dr. Lauri Burton) and the (Gwinnett County) school system, recruited two other coaches, attended training, and this spring we started Girls on the Run at B.B. Harris.”

Each afternoon starts with educational time where girls participate in lessons that focus on helping them learn to be true to themselves, avoid risky behaviors, live free from social stereotypes, and develop healthy lifestyles. After the lesson the exercise begins. They stretch, jump, relay, and run.

Most girls run at least one mile each afternoon as they train together for the Girls on the Run 5K. On April 30, the B.B. Harris team of 15 girls joined 2,000-plus other Girls on the Run participants in downtown Atlanta to test their endurance in the Girls on the Run 5K. All 15 B.B. Harris girls finished the run.

As this school year comes to a close, the inaugural Girls on the Run participants at B.B. Harris leave a legacy to encourage others to join in their fun next year. “If girls feel left out and want to have fun, they should come to Girls on the Run,” said third grader Lily Belcher. “We are like a family, but we don’t all have to share a bathroom.”

As a year-end service project, the girls bought and decorated new trash cans for the school’s playground. Their handprints decorate the trash cans to signify they had a hand in making a difference in their own world. 

Bernardo now wants to inspire other schools to follow suit. “Girls on the Run has benefited our girls tremendously by encouraging them to plug into a self cord and acknowledge their talents, strengths, intelligence and beauty.” As her older daughter Haley, a fifth grader, moves up to middle school next year, Courtney plans to start a Girls on the Run program at Duluth Middle School.

 Girls on the Run program founder Courtney Bernardo, r, runs with fourth grader Olivia Haley, c, and third grader Ava Trotter, l, as they train for the Girls on the Run 5K.