Girls on the Run comes to Newtown Square!

This Spring, a new and exciting opportunity for young girls is coming to our local community. A Girls on the Run team is forming at the Ellis Preserve in Newtown Square.

Girls on the Run is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a world where every girl knows and activates her limitless potential and is free to boldly pursue her dreams. Using an intentional curriculum that integrates physical activity, trained coaches teach girls critical life skills and strategies they can apply to all aspects of their lives.

Each practice begins with a lesson & activity, centers on running, and ends with reflection. The new team will meet at Ellis Athletic Center in Newtown Square and is for girls in 3rd to 5th grade. It is a 10-week season that includes a community service project and culminates in a 5k race.

Girls on the Run was established in 1996 in Charlotte, North Carolina by Molly Barker. Girls on the run has grown to over 200 councils in 50 states, serving nearly 180,000 girls in 2015. The Montgomery & Delaware Counties Council was formed by Tracy Ashdale, who coached her first local team in 2007.

Ellis Preserve was developed and continues to be developed with community in mind. It's a place where people want to work, play, and live. Ellis Preserve was initially home to Ellis College, which was formed as a school for fatherless girls in 1922, thanks to the estate left by Charles E. Ellis. It educated hundreds of girls from 1922-1977. With such a rich history of the betterment of girls, it is a wonderful location for this new Girls on the Run team.

Registration for the new team opens in November 2019, with registration closing in December. The season begins on March 3rd, 2020. The annual 5k is scheduled for Saturday, May 30 at Montgomery County Community College and is open to the public.