Girls on the Run-5K

"Toughness is in the soul and in the spirit, not in the muscles." - Alex Karras

My local running club the Badgerland Striders has been a long time partner of Girls on the Run (GOTR). They are an organization that works with 3rd to 5th grade girls with the goal of running a 5K.

I have wanted to volunteer with GOTR for some time. Now that I am unemployed I finally have the time. So I volunteered to be a community coach at Lincoln grade school.

That meant going through a background check and a day long training session.  I was surprised to learn that running is just a small part of the GOTR  20 lesson course.  We met twice a week.

Every week there was a different life lesson in things like gratitude, friendship, team work, positive self talk, bullying, media messages and building healthy habits.  The girls also learned dynamic stretches to start the workout and cool down stretches. Of course we spent about 30 minutes each session running. The girls would pick a goal of how many laps they would try to do on the playground course.  If they couldn't run they were encouraged to walk. Often we had activities and games to help keep them moving.

The best part of being a coach was meeting the girls. Every time I walked through the playground to get to the school, the kids would run up to meet me with smiles and hugs. They were bright, energetic and hard working. They worked wall as a team to help each other during practice.

The final part of the program was to be a 5K run at Miller Park stadium, the home of the Milwaukee Brewers.  The girls from all the programs in the city would be running along with the coaches and running buddies. Each girl is required to have a running buddy, either a family member or a coach.

We ended up with about 8 girls doing the run, along with coaches and family members.
We helped the girls pin on their numbers. Every girl had a "1" on their number and mine said "Coach".  The bag with the running numbers also had hair spray paint. We painted each other's hair purple and yellow.  That was lots of fun and added to the pre-race excitement.

It turns out that 1100 girls plus their running buddies did the event.  The race was a fun run and the goal was to finish.   There were four waves and soon our group was called to the start line.

We had hoped to stay together as a group, but four of the girls took off running like a shot. The coach and I each walked with the other girls.  The course is used for a number of running events at the stadium.  It is one loop and almost completely flat. A perfect course for a first race. We walked and the 3 miles went by really fast.  I got a chance to have a nice long talk with my athlete.

I was thrilled to see the girls that had run waiting at the finish line to cheer those of us that walked as we crossed the finish line.  I was so proud of how they all supported each other, not only during training, but on the big day as well. We all met back at our starting point for group pictures.

I hope that these girls learned some lessons that will serve them for years to come. I hope they had as much fun as I did working with them. I am not sure if I will do the fall session. It will depend on my work situation and I will be training for the New York marathon.  Working as a volunteer has certainly been the highlight of my time off from work.

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Chris Wodke

Founder & Manager Team CMT

www.run4cmt.com

Chris is a triathlete and long distance runner. She is a three time participant of the Boston Marathon.  In 2012 she finished 2nd at Boston in the Mobility Impaired Division. She was on the course in 2013 when the bombs exploded.

She has appeared three times at the Paratriathlon National Triathlon Sprint Championship. She was the 2012 and 2014 National Champion Paratriathlon Open Division Champion.

In 2014 she was the PC Open Champion at the Duathlon National Championship and at the Aqua bike National Championship in 2016. She represented Team USA at the Aquathon ITU World Championship in Chicago in 2015 and at the World championship in Cozumel in 2016.  

 In 2014 she represented the U.S. as a paratriathlete at the Pan-American Triathlon Championship in Dallas, Texas.  She has won state championships in cycling and triathlon as a senior Olympian. In 2017 she placed 2^nd in her age group at the Winter Triathlon National Championship, earning a spot on Team USA for the World Championship.

She travels around the country raising awareness of CMT.

She is the author of the book, “Running for My Life” that details her experience as a CMT affected athlete and the book “Soup Sundays, A Journey Toward Healthy Eating”.

http://www.henschelhausbooks.com/catalog/memoir-biography/215-running-for-my-life-winning-for-cmt-9781595982827.html

You may visit her author page at:
http://www.amazon.com/Christine-Wodke/e/B00IJ02HX6

Team CMT is a group of athletes and supporters working to raise awareness and to find a cure for CMT. We have 213 members in 39 states. We also have members in Australia, England, Scotland, Canada, Vietnam, Turkey, Finland, France, Ireland, Poland, Iran, Norway and Sweden. If you wish to join us visit our web site; www.run4cmt.com or www.hnf-cure.org

CMT or Charcot-Marie-Tooth is the most commonly inherited peripheral neuropathy. It affects over 155,000 Americans (as many as MS).  It is a disease of the nerves that control the muscles. It is slowly progressive, causing loss of normal function and or sensation in the lower legs/feet and arms/hands.

Symptoms include; muscle wasting in the lower legs and feet leading to foot drop, poor balance and gait problems Atrophy in the hands causes difficulty with manual dexterity.

Structural foot deformities such as high arches and hammer toes are common.

Poor tolerance for cool or cold temperatures and many people have chronically cold hands and feet.

Additional symptoms may include fatigue, sleep apnea, breathing difficulties and hearing loss.

Additional Link

Follow CMT affected Paratriathlete Timmy Dixon
http://cmtamputee.wordpress.com/

Follow CMT Author Chris Steinke
https://cmtandmesite.wordpress.com/2017/01/30/what-is-charcot-marie-tooth-disease/

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