BREMERTON — Girls on the Run of West Sound is “really about empowering girls and building confidence through running,” said executive director Rachel Bearbower.

Girls on the Run is an after-school program for girls in third through eighth grade. The program lasts for 10 weeks, with two lessons a week, and occurs twice a year, in spring and fall.

Girls on the Run is a nation-wide nonprofit with the mission to “inspire girls to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun, experienced-based curriculum, which creatively integrates running,” according to the website, www.girlsontherunwestsound.org. It was started 20 years ago in North Carolina, and now comprises over 250 councils cross-country, Bearbower said.

In the West Sound area, with meeting sites from Tacoma to Poulsbo, the program is only a few years old. It was started in 2013, with their first season in 2014 with about 90 participants. Now, they’re on their fifth season, and participation is expected to include more than 200 girls.

“There’s interest, there’s a need for it, and it’s really incredible to see so many girls go through the program and see the transformations that they make over the 10 weeks,” Bearbower said.

Throughout the program, participants not only train for their first 5K run, but they also learn some important lessons, said Bearbower.

She said the curriculum is “really three parts.” The first is learning to understand who you are on the inside.

“The girls (learn to) understand who they are and what makes them special,” Bearbower explained.

Next is learning to value relationships, and how to choose your friends.

“I think it’s a really important thing for girls in third through fifth grade,” Bearbower said. “You can choose the best friends for you. You don’t have to be friends with someone because it’s the ‘cool’ thing to do, and (girls learn) to stand up for themselves, and teamwork.”

The third part, Bearbower said, is learning “how we connect with and shape the world at large.”

On top of training for a 5K run (which is about 3.1 miles) and learning life lessons, each team of about 15 girls completes a community impact project during the program.

To name a few project examples, Bearbower said, “We’ve seen the girls do everything from write letters to military members overseas to making dog beds for Kitsap Humane Society, cleaning up the area around the school or the site that they practice at.”

“In a short 10-week span, the girls have the opportunity to do a lot and learn about themselves,” she added, “and learn that they can really do anything.”

Bearbower said she grew up in Kitsap County, and is a product of the Central Kitsap School district. She said she was lucky that she had “parents and coaches and teachers who really fought for me and were amazing role models, and always had high expectations of me,” but she feels she also would have benefitted from a program like Girls on the Run.

“I think many women can say that it’s a truly empowering feeling when you know who you are and you surround yourself with really incredible people who build you up instead of … trying to tear you down,” Bearbower said. “That movement of women supporting each other is something that we need to embrace and allow to happen.

“The program is great for that development side of things, the development of character and those core values and really instilling those early on in life.”

A 2015 spring season of Girls on the Run participant tackles a 5K with her running buddy. Photo by: Logan Westom

Bearbower said that the physical aspect of the program is just as important.

“Getting girls out there and moving, they’re learning that they don’t necessarily have to be on a team or in organized sports activities to get exercise,” Bearbower said. “They can get out there and walk and run and do cartwheels.”

She said that it’s especially “important that kids learn how to be healthy at a young age” due to the increased “screen time” children are getting, a contributing factor to the rise in childhood obesity, Bearbower said.

At the end of the program, the participants get to show off what they’ve been training for in a 5K, which will be June 11 for the upcoming spring season. This is the first time, Bearbower said, that Girls on the Run of West Sound has hosted its own 5K. Each girl running does so with a “running buddy,” Bearbower said, a volunteer who sticks with the participant throughout the race, one of the many ways someone can volunteer and be involved with the program.

Another way is to be a Girls on the Run coach, a 10-week commitment. Bearbower said there are two or three coaches per 15-member teams.

“Sometimes I think the coaches learn more than the girls do, because these lessons are for girls of all ages,” Bearbower said. “They just adore you and you’re teaching these really, really cool things.”

For anyone who wishes to get involved, but doesn’t have the time to be a coach, there are also several committees, including community engagement, development, marketing, fundraising, financing and more. Word of mouth alone is a good way to help the program grow, Bearbower said.

And, of course, anyone is welcomed to donate to the 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

“We really do have a need for all sorts of support,” Bearbower said. “We’re a nonprofit, and we work really, really hard. Our main mission is to ensure that we’re never turning a girl away for an inability to pay the fee. We offer thousands of dollars in scholarships every season.

“Anyone who does qualify for scholarships … if they need shoes, running pants, T-shirts, we can help provide those things, so that the experience is a positive experience.”

The registration fee is $150, and “includes 20 uplifting lessons, a GOTR T-shirt, healthy snacks after every lesson, 5k race registration, an end of the season party, a finisher’s medal and more,” according to the website. Registration is currently open. The season starts April 4 in the Peninsula School District, and April 12 in every other school district in the region. Bearbower recommends registering early, as there are only 15 spaces per team, and they fill up quickly.

Visit www.girlsontherunwestsound.org to register, volunteer, donate or learn more about Girls on the Run of West Sound.

“It’s a metaphor for life,” Bearbower said. “We kind of have a slogan: ‘The finish line is just the beginning.’ ”