Natick Dad Joins Girls On The Run Boston Marathon Team

NATICK, MA — A man from Natick is proudly a part of a Boston Marathon team called Girls on the Run.

On April 17, Michael Beville, a father of two, joins the 2017 Girls on the Run Greater Boston Marathon Team, made up of 15 runners who tackle the 26.2-mile course to "ensure that every local girl realizes her limitless potential."

According to the announcement, Girls on the Run is a life-changing, nonprofit program for girls in the third through eighth grade with a mission to inspire girls to be joyful, healthy, and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum which creatively integrates running.

“Having a daughter, I appreciate the need to guide young girls down the right path with the right support,” said Beville in a statement. “Girls need to know their strength and their power because the outside world can erode a girl’s a confidence and self-worth.”

This will be Beville’s second Boston Marathon—and he hopes to inspire his 7-year-old daughter who also loves to run: “She told me that when she has a bad day, she runs and it makes her feel better. I think it’s a gift for someone that young to have already found a constructive outlet,” Michael said in the press release. “I know that other kids don’t have the same opportunities available to them—that is why organizations like Girls on the Run are so important.”

Since 2010 Girls on the Run Greater Boston has reached more than 1,700 girls.

"Our goal is to never turn an interested girl away based on her family’s ability to pay for the program. Funds raised through the Boston Marathon Official Charity Program will go toward our scholarship fun to ensure that every interested girl is able to participate and will also help us to expand into more towns, schools, and community centers."

To contribute to the 2017 Girls on the Run Greater Boston Marathon Team and support our runners, the marathon team's page or contact Bethany McDonald at bethany.mcdonald@girlsontherun.org.

Photo submitted