Girls on the run and in the news

I had my 2 minutes of fame on the Seattle local news!

And by 2 minutes, I mean a spit-second: at minute 3:47 in the video.*

In December, I volunteered to run in a 5K "race" with a 10-year-old girl in a program called Girls on the Run.

Each girl in the program is assigned an adult volunteer "running buddy" who runs with her for one dress rehearsal race and for the race day itself. I was able to get involved because one of the elementary schools that hosts the program is near where I work.

I loved being a "running buddy" because my girl was awesome. Running - and lots of walking - with her was a blast because she is so precocious and chatty.

For the race day, I got us matching hot pink earmuffs to wear, and they were quite the crowd-pleaser.  I am pretty sure that is what got us the cameo in the news.

The goal of the program is to build confidence in young girls by helping them to achieve a challenging goal, and I was so glad to be a part of it.

I think my girl and I will team up again for another Girls on the Run race in the spring. I'm already plotting a good earmuff substitute. 

*Don't be deterred by the length of the video; the segment about Girls on the Run is only the first half of the news story.