Girls on the Run
A line dance broke out to the tune blaring over the loud speakers and established a bit of rhythmic order to the group of 700 girls gathered to participate in Traverse City’s Girls on the Run 5K event. The young ladies 12 and under had been meeting in small groups from their respective elementary schools for the past few months to prepare for this moment. A few curious girls made their way over to Dawn, Ann and I and said that they liked our bright green Priority Health outfits. They wanted to know our names; why the tires on our bikes were so skinny; why the pedals looked so funny; could they take our bikes for a spin and why were we here anyway?! We happily fielded questions until they were called to the start.
Dawn and Ann were to lead the pack around the course and I was to stay behind the group to be sure that no one went astray.
And then…they were off. Dawn and Ann reported a steady clip at the front, while my experience was more interpersonal at the back.
As we rounded the first bend, one girl turned to her friend, who was enacting an exaggerated verge of collapse from exhaustion, and exclaimed,” You are my bestest friend and I will carry you to the end if I have to…”. This was enough encouragement and the two surged ahead hand in hand.
The next group to bring up the rear was older. One member glanced over her shoulder at me and exasperated clued me in…”Do you mind…we are trying to have some girl talk!”. “Oh…Sorry….”, I dropped back a few more feet. “How is this?” “Mmmm…. Keep going...”, they urged. “We really can’t have you eavesdropping. “ More whispers and giggles and then the clandestine clique apparently still not satisfied, picked up the pace and disappeared into the crowd.
The pack was really strung out now and two of the youngest dropped back, stopping from time to time to smell the lilacs and pick dandelions and daisies “for their Moms”. They skipped and frolicked, squealing with excitement to read the signs marking the distance along the way. Word had it that there was ice cream waiting at the end. One asked the other what their favorite flavor was and the other answered with the name of an ice cream store. “No silly, not the store, you need to pick one kind.” An hour later, I asked them if they were having fun and they assured me that they were. But the best part, they said, was getting together with their friends twice a week to train. Clearly, they did not want this to come to an end. The good news is that with the new friendships formed in their not quite double digit years, it was more of a beginning than an end.
Once the celebratory tent was in sight, those last two girls on the run, clutching their bouquets, made a break for it.
