Registration for Girls on the Run begins Aug. 10

Posted Aug. 5, 2015 at 4:48 p.m.

BOONE—Local girls in grades 3 through 8 are invited to participate in Girls on the Run of the High Country (GOTR-HC). Registration for the fall semester will begin online Aug.10 at http://gotr.appstate.edu and the program will begin the week of Sept. 8.

Since launching in 2009, Girls on the Run of the High Country has served more than 800 girls. Through a curriculum that includes fun team activities and running games, the program teaches life skills like trying your best, standing up for yourself and developing healthy friendships. Participants leave the 12-week program emotionally and physically enriched.

The Girls on the Run curriculum is taught by certified, volunteer coaches who encourage each girl to understand and celebrate herself, value healthy relationships and realize her power to impact the world. The fall season will culminate with the celebratory ZAP Fitness GOTR 5k on Dec. 6 that will unleash confidence through accomplishment, providing participants with a lifelong memory of setting and achieving a big goal.

“At its heart, Girls on the Run is about inspiring girls to be joyful, healthy and confident. With knowledge of the inner strength and resilience they possess, they can go on to build lives of substance and meaning,” said GOTR-HC director Mary Sheryl Horine. “Imagine the impact that almost 1,000 girls from the High Country combined with over one million girls nationally will have—and are already having—on their communities and the world at large.”

Each local group is open to 15 students and will meet twice per week for an hour and fifteen minutes. The groups will meet at the following elementary schools in Watauga County: Hardin Park, Green Valley, Parkway, Blowing Rock and Mabel. The Ashe County GOTR school site is at Westwood Elementary and Alleghany County has its first site at Sparta Elementary School. Girls from Wilkes County may participate at Boomer Ferguson, Ronda Clingman, Moravian Falls, Mulberry, North Wilkes Elementary and North Wilkes Middle School. Girls from any school, in addition to those who are home-schooled, may enroll in any of the sessions at the various sites.

Girls on the Run of the High Country is hosted and made possible by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Institute of Health and Human Services in the Appalachian State University Beaver College of Health Sciences. Founding donors include ZAP Fitness, the Appalachian Regional Healthcare System’s Wellness Center, Dianne DaVant and Associates, Chip and Amanda Williamson, Rob and Jackie Dyer of the Best Cellar/Inn at Ragged Gardens, High Country Energy Solutions, the Walter J. Hoyt Family, Mast General Store, John and Faye Cooper, Dentist Offices of Mayhew, Scheffler, Conn and Hardaway, Larry and Mary Ellen Horine, Gaines Kiker Silversmith/Goldsmith, Jay and Michelle Johnson and Boone Drugs Inc.

Girls on the Run of the High Country also receives grant funding support through the Women’s Fund of the High Country and the Mountain Electric Cooperative.

To register or for more information, visit http://gotr.appstate.edu or contact Mary Sheryl Horine at Appalachian’s Institute for Health and Human Services at 828-252-7557 or [email protected]. For more information about the Beaver College of Health Sciences and its commitment to improving the health and wellness of surrounding communities, visit http://healthsciences.appstate.edu.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, cost-effective education. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.