KATHLEEN CANNON: Hi. Thank you very much for inviting me.
INTERVIEWER: For those who don’t know, what is Girls on the Run?
KATHLEEN CANNON: Oh, Girls on the Run is fantastic. It’s girls in grades three to eight, a magical age group, where we work together in small teams of eight to 20 girls in that age window, to train for a 5K over the course of 20 lessons , so 10 weeks, twice a week after school, anywhere in Minnesota.
So running is involved, but we like to say that’s not the point at all, where there’s a lot of social-emotional learning led by volunteer coaches. So we have lessons and activities that incorporate running, but are really about what it means to have a healthy friendship or standing up for yourself or responding to peer pressure, that sort of thing. So it’s non-competitive, but it ends with this festive 5K.
INTERVIEWER: And those girls didn’t run, did they? I mean, they’re not really athletes.
KATHLEEN CANON: [LAUGHS] No. Some certainly are. We like to say that moving forward is a rhythm. And so we’ll have girls doing cartwheels for most of the 5K or taking it nice and slow. And we say, hey, personal best. All rhythms are welcome. And all abilities are welcome. So I would say some are athletes, but a lot of them…this is one of the first times they sweat.
INTERVIEWER: Wow. Good for them to be out. So it’s not–
KATHLEEN CANNON: I know.
INTERVIEWER: –the first year– because I definitely wouldn’t. This isn’t the first year you’ve provided gear like shoes and hijabs to the girls who wear them. When did it become clear what you had to do to get some of this gear?
KATHLEEN CANNON: Yeah. Well, we quickly realized that if we know every girl can benefit from Girls on the Run, how are we going to make sure they can? And part of that starts with identifying barriers to access. And we have all these girls who would like to participate. They grow fast. And maybe they’re running around in rain boots or their sister’s used flip flops or something. And understand, OK, if we can provide you with new shoes and pants and a sports hijab so you don’t have to worry about what you’re wearing and can really focus on what matters like people around you and how you feel about your body and what kinds of goals you want to set for yourself today, we know that makes a huge difference.
And make everyone feel welcome, they will feel that sense of belonging. And so we realized, well, this is a problem we can solve. If we know it’s a barrier to access, let’s see what we can do. We like to tell our volunteers and also the girls in the program that you really need to give your best and we will take care of the rest. And so it’s a way of showing that it’s true.
INTERVIEWER: By the way, a sports hijab, for people who are unfamiliar, talk about it and how many girls are using it in your program.
KATHLEEN CANNON: Yeah. This is the word for the Muslim headscarf that many Muslim girls will wear. And so our sports hijabs…we work with the local company called Kalsoni. They have a Girls on the Run logo on the side of the sports hijab. And we have just under 100 Muslim girls across Minnesota who have applied for a sports hijab. So often they may hesitate if they don’t have access to modest sportswear or if they’re like, OK, I want to do this sport, but does it align with my religious values? And tell every girl when she signs up hey if you need a sports hijab we can provide one we know that makes a huge difference to make sure everyone knows it belongs.
INTERVIEWER: By the way, you are talking about equipment. But I have questions about time and transportation which can also be issues for some families.
KATHLEEN CANNON: Yes, always. One way we try to help with this is to hold Girls on the Run practice in places where the girls are already so that getting them home can be its own challenge, but usually the practice takes place just after school for 90 minutes, so where girls are already in communities they already know with friends their own age and led by trusted adults.
And we’re trying to offer different days of the week and different times after school to help it work for more and more family schedules. But I would say transportation…it’s a perpetual problem. We do our best to crack the code, but it’s certainly complicated to get children where they need to be to participate in these types of activities.
INTERVIEWER: That’s true. That’s – we’re talking about the metropolitan area here as well as the state of Minnesota. And you distribute clothes in all these places, don’t you?
KATHLEEN CANNON: Yeah.
INTERVIEWER: So…
KATHLEEN CANNON: We distribute clothing in Duluth, Rochester, Grand Marais and really everywhere. Largely centered in the subway, but Girls on the Run’s statewide reach is exciting.
INTERVIEWER: Great. You know, we had someone on the show yesterday. We were talking about this TikTok craze where you have a video of yourself and you talk about what you ate during the day. And we had one person on the air who is worried about how this could be fueling eating disorders. So I’m wondering how do you make sure the girls in your program develop a healthy relationship with exercise?
KATHLEEN CANNON: Oh, that’s such an important question. And we know girls – I mean, all of us, really, but especially girls that age, between 8 and 13, are so impressionable, aren’t we? They are exactly the ones who look around and say, OK, what messages am I getting from people around me about how I should behave or what they expect of me or what it is okay to put in my body, that kind of stuff.
So, first of all, we provide a healthy snack at every practice. And food is fuel, so we’re not celebrating with food or saying, oh, here’s a reward if you go really far today, or push yourself, you get double. We just say, hey, this helps us move our body. So we start with a healthy snack. And then we also have a lot of lessons about eating our healthy rhythm, what does it mean to say, OK, how do I treat my body? And how can I balance unhealthy activities with healthier ones? Part of it involves eating, but part of it involves movement. And that largely involves rest.
I think those kinds of open conversations, helping girls understand, OK, what’s important to me? And if I don’t feel well, why? And how can I change that? Or who do I contact if I have questions about what is OK and what is not, or what is appropriate and what is not? Like, all of this is really trying to give them the tools to head into adolescence and beyond. They know that other people are watching over them and that they have what they need within them to choose their own adventure in an empowering way.
INTERVIEWER: Kathleen, before you go, tell us about a success story. Do you have a daughter who maybe hasn’t done a lot of physical activity, maybe she’s gone so far as to run a marathon?
KATHLEEN CANON: [LAUGHS] I don’t know what happens until a marathon, although I’m sure we have a few. But I would say that we achieve success at Girls on the Run in different ways. I’m thinking of a girl, and it’s been a few years now, who crossed the finish line at our Girls on the Run 5K with her dad. And all the girls in the program are participating — like, they’re doing the 5K with an adult running buddy by their side.
And as they crossed the finish line, she shouted, I did it! I am a doer! His father laughed and said, well, what do you mean? And she said, well, I always thought I was more of an observer. And the idea that they cross the finish line and say, OK, I’m not just an observer in life. I am a participant. As I can be the one who gets this medal, who enters the leadership, who used my voice today. I would say it’s one of the best success stories.
INTERVIEWER: Oh, I’m glad to hear that. Well, that was fun. Thank you very much for joining us, and good luck.
KATHLEEN CANNON: Thank you very much.
INTERVIEWER: Oh, before I go, I…just a quick question here. I know that spring registrations are closed. And so if people are listening, they might want to sign up their girlfriend, you know? What do people need to do to register for fall programs?
KATHLEEN CANNON: Oh yeah. Visit our website. This is GOTRMN.org for Girls On The Run Minnesota. And there are so many ways to get involved, even before the fall program. We have 5K in June where we need lots of volunteers. We have a summer program called Camp Girls on the Run which takes place in July. And then registration for our fall season opens August 1st.
So if that sounds like the kind of thing for you, get in touch. It’s never too late or too early to start a conversation. Because there’s so much good work happening across the state, and we’d love for anyone interested to get involved.
INTERVIEWER: Great. Alright Kathleen. Thank you so much.
KATHLEEN CANNON: Thank you very much. Bye Bye.
INTERVIEWER: Kathleen Cannon is Executive Director of Girls on the Run Minnesota.