Thursday, October 1, 2015

Train now to join us for Be-YOU-tiful 5K!

Get ready for Face the Race 2015!  

On September 14, 2015 our 8th year of the community program presented by The Junior League of Midland, Inc. began with huge success and we are looking forward to another wonderful year.  This is our second year mentoring at all four public Midland Junior High Schools – Abell, Alamo, Goddard and San Jacinto – and we have grown in numbers again.  It was so exciting to see all the girls at the first session, some coming for their second year, ready to begin!

Over the summer, our committee met and began working on this year’s program, our Be-YOU-tiful 5K theme. The program will consist of 8 weeks of sessions with the junior high girls and their mentors.  At every session, we get together and have an ice breaker, where the girls get to know each other and their mentors even closer.  Next we have a speaker come in and discuss different topics. For the last half hour, we train for the 5K race that will be run on November 7th.  Some of the topics we discuss range from healthy eating, relationships, hygiene and our bodies, bullying, and several others.  The girls really love getting to talk about these things in a private setting, and with women who help them feel comfortable.  It is such a great bonding experience. 

For the training part, we use an app called C25K. It is free and anyone can download it on their phones.  The first week starts out alternating 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes, then you build up to the last week where you jog the full 30 minutes.  So it really is for all fitness levels and everyone can join in on the fun.  We encourage the girls to train more during the week, since you have the app right on your phone!  It would even be a great way for families to train and run this 5K race together.

One of the best parts for the participants, who complete the Face the Race program, is they will receive a pair of running shoes, a race T-shirt, a pair of athletic shorts and several other goodies.  A participant has completed the program if they have attended 6 of the 8 training sessions.

Face the Race is such a rewarding experience. Mentors see these girls grow so much over two months and reach a goal they have been striving for together.  They create bonds with other girls they may not have ever had the chance of meeting in a big school and create great relationships with the mentors.  The girls build confidence and learn many new things along the way. Their faces when they cross the finish line on race day are priceless!

Mark your calendars for this year’s race held at Scharbauer Sports Complex, November 7, 2015 at 9 a.m.! It is open and the community is encouraged to come.  Why not start training today, to join us!

We look forward to seeing all you Be-YOU-tiful people at the race!


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