Allie is barreling around the traffic circle at her sister’s elementary school as fast as her little legs can go. After one lap, she stops in the middle of the pavement, and the big girls weave around her. "I’m tired," she
sighs, plopping down on the grass, only to pop back up again a few minutes later and set off after the pack.
One of the coaches runs by. "Shake it, sisters!" she says to the two girls in front of us. "I like to see you move it-move it."
We’re here to support big-sister Abby and her school’s chapter of Girls on the Run, a nonprofit character-development program with the goal of "educating and preparing girls for a lifetime of self-respect and healthy living." Over several weeks, girls in Grades 3-8 meet after school to explore topics such as bullying, healthy habits and the difference between inner and outer beauty while doing fun group activities and endurance runs designed to train them to run 3.1 miles. The program culminates with a non-competitive 5K race.
Girls on the Run builds on some of the things I love about running: the camaraderie of standing at a start line with people of all ages, sizes and abilities; the rush of crossing a finish line knowing you achieved a goal; the fun of running with a friend and being surprised at how quickly the miles go by. But the program is about much more than running. It’s also about believing in yourself, treating others kindly and with respect, learning to set goals and keep promises, and understanding what it means to be part of a team and a community.
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My sisters are two of the reasons I run. I’m the oldest, and I took up running first, but now they run farther and faster. Liz runs marathons, Katie competes in triathlons, and I’m running to catch up.
We live in different states and only see each other a few times a year, but no matter where we are _ geographically and in our very-different lives _ running is something we have in common. When my sisters come home, we run in my neighborhood; when I’m visiting them, we run in theirs.
Sometimes we’ll work a race into a family get-together; last year one of the highlights of my Thanksgiving was a "turkey trot" near Liz’s house in Towson, Md. Other times, the family get-togethers are built around the races. For the past two years, both sisters have driven several hours so we could all run in the Utica Boilermaker 15K. For the first time last year, all three of us ran in the Pit Run, along with my future brother-in-law, who ran with a ring in his pocket and surprised Katie with a marriage proposal on the stage during the awards ceremony.
There is something about running that bonds us: the quality of the time spent together, away from phones and kids and other distractions; running side by side, dripping sweat or melted snowflakes, talking about big stuff and little stuff, everything or nothing, and sometimes, just breathing.
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Girls on the Run is a sort of sisterhood.
Whether they are tall or short, fast or slow, shy or outgoing, these girls are all running toward the same goals _ to complete a 5K race, and to feel comfortable in their own skins. They run together in every session, as partners sometimes, as a group supporting one member sometimes, but always as individuals with unique talents and stories and goals, and the common motivation of knowing there are kindred spirits in front of them and behind them.
During endurance runs, they get a rubber band around their water bottle or a sticker on an index card for each tenth-of-a mile lap. On quiet reflection day, they are instructed to focus on all the things they are grateful for while they run. During relay races, they are boisterous, clapping and cheering and chanting the name of each girl as she sprints forward.
This is Abby’s second year. Watching her cross the finish line at last year’s Girls on the Run Family Fitness 5K, with her coach at her side and her teammates yelling her name, was one of my proudest moments as a mom.
This year, she will run the race on her 10th birthday, with her friends and
parents and the little sister who is always trying to catch up cheering her on.
I can’t think of a better way to celebrate.
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Lisa Miller is a freelance writer who lives in Oneonta. She can be reached at lisamiller44@hotmail.com.
Lisa Miller
On sisters, steps and solidarity
- Lisa Miller
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A view from above
Fire towers in the Catskill Mountains have always been destination points, built to capture some of the region’s best views. These sentinel stations served an important role for the earliest possible sightings of forest fires in the remote mountain ranges. But the fire towers and those who manned them fulfilled a multitude of other roles as well.
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Being a parent is a constant learning process
I am sitting cross-legged on the floor in the dressing room, waiting for Allie's dance number to be called. The cave girl costume has been donned, the jazz shoes double-tied, the hair pulled back, the requisite dab of lipstick applied.
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Healthy doesn't have to mean expensive
Half of Americans will be obese by 2030 if current trends continue, according to a report released last week in the British medical journal The Lancet.
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A family era ends with close of Potter series
As Harry Potter fans the world over flock to theaters for the final screenings of the final film in the eight-part series, I'm marking the end of an era myself, reading the last pages of the last book to my last child.
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Independent stores make up for loss of Borders
For many small communities, the Borders store at the nearest mall was the only place to browse and buy a variety of books, beyond the few titles offered in Walmart bestseller and bargain racks.
- Saturday, July 2, 2011
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Untethered from the cable box
I never imagined it would be so easy to be cable-free.
- Saturday, June 11, 2011
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On cells, sprouts and sodas
It figures. Six weeks after we dropped our landline, the World Health Organization issued a warning that radiation from cell phones might cause brain cancer. Meanwhile, the ultimate health food, organic bean sprouts, is being blamed for one of the deadliest E. coli outbreaks in recent history.
- Saturday, May 21, 2011
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End of the world as we know it? I feel fine
If you're reading this article after 6 p.m. and the ground is not shaking beneath your feet, then Harold Camping was wrong. Again.
- Sunday, May 1, 2011
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Song lyrics are an odd measure of attitudes
It was the third rainy weekend in a row, and I was scrolling through comments to a post by MSNBC blogger Melissa Dahl about a new study linking song lyrics to cultural changes.
- Saturday, April 9, 2011
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Parenting adventure takes a turn
On Friday, my 13-year-old daughter, Abby, will embark on the biggest adventure of her life.
- Saturday, March 19, 2011
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Japan devastation: Powerful reminder of our limitations
The images were surreal. People screaming from higher ground as they watched the relentless wave of brown water sweep up houses and topple power lines. Cars and boats floating like bath toys. Aerial photos of flattened villages, with crumpled roofs jutting out of the debris-laden landscape and orange-suited rescue workers like ants on a mountain of twigs.
- Saturday, February 26, 2011
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As food prices rise, sustainability makes more business sense
Frustration with high food prices is among the underlying causes of the unrest in the Middle East and North Africa, and a global food crisis may be brewing.
- Tuesday, February 8, 2011
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National agenda needed to advance green technology
In his State of the Union address, President Obama issued a call to action for Americans to "out-innovate" the rest of the world and build on our history of doing "big things." Green technology is the next big thing, and it's our best hope to reinvent ourselves as competitors in the global economy. But we won't get there without a comprehensive national agenda supported by all parties -- political, yes, but also businesses, consumers, educators and students.
- Saturday, January 15, 2011
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Shootings remind us of need to teach children to hope
They should have been chattering about spelling tests and Hannah Montana songs. But instead, the two second-graders in my backseat were talking about the shooting of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. They had heard about it at school and were commiserating over the "sad" and "creepy" news as we drove home for a play date.
- Friday, December 3, 2010
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Marketing tactics could get kids to eat healthy foods
In a new twist on the "Super Size Me" fast-food diet experiment, the executive director of the Washington State Potato Commission ate nothing but spuds for 60 days.
- Saturday, November 13, 2010
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'Oneonta 360' captures essence of our area
The fact that Oneonta's new branding campaign has generated so much controversy shows how passionately people feel about this place. One thing everyone might agree on is that the essence of Oneonta cannot be easily conveyed in a few words or a logo. However, photographer Stephen Joseph makes a fascinating attempt to capture it in his new book, "Oneonta 360." If you haven't seen it yet, stop by Huntington Library, where one two-page spread is on display each day.
- Saturday, October 23, 2010
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Stem cell research must move forward
Robert Edwards of Britain received the Nobel Prize in medicine earlier this month for research that led to the birth of the first "test-tube baby" in 1978. Hugely controversial 32 years ago, Edwards' work is now lauded as a medical breakthrough that has brought immeasurable joy to the families of the 4 million babies born through in vitro fertilization.
- Saturday, October 2, 2010
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Supersized salmon? No thanks
Davenport Garden Center owner Dennis Valente drizzled maple syrup over sweet potatoes in the cafeteria kitchen while a group of sixth-graders topped pizza crusts with pesto they'd made using basil from their school garden.
- Saturday, September 11, 2010
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Chobani yogurt: Nothing but good for the area
I'm in love with Chobani. True to its marketing slogan, this locally made, Greek-style yogurt is, indeed, "nothing but good." First of all, it's delicious: thick, creamy, fruity and sweet (but not too sweet).
- Saturday, August 21, 2010
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Summer is a perfect time to unplug
Last month, I wrote about the rewards of disconnecting from information technology during a weeklong family camping trip. Since then, I've picked blueberries, skipped rocks, curled up with my 6-year-old and a pile of books, walked in the woods, and spent a gorgeous day at the lake picnicking with friends and watching the kids swim.
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