About Girls Gone Gazelle
“I don’t chase boys, I pass them!”
Welcome to Girls Gone Gazelle! Curious to know who we are? Well, we are a non-profit, all-girls running club for girls 9 to 13. We’ve trained in Halifax and Dartmouth primarily since 2012. In 2020, we expanded to include locations in Port Hood and Port Hawkesbury, Cape Breton. And in 2021 we expanded even further to our first out-of-province chapter in Leader, Saskatchewan.
The club was founded by running enthusiast Stacy Chesnutt (“Coach Stacy”) who you can reach directly at [email protected] to give girls an opportunity to participate in a non-competitive running group that creates an a love of physical activity. We have built a safe and respectful environment that helps girls gain self-esteem and knowledge of exercise, while learning to run up to 5K.
“Thanks so much for this incredible program and all the support and encouragement you have shown my daughter. It’s so great to see her confidence growing with her running.”
Why Running?
Girls Gone Gazelle Run Club gives girls an opportunity to participate in a non-competitive running group that creates an enjoyment of physical activity.
With childhood obesity on the rise, the goal of Girls Gone Gazelle Run Club is to help young girls become active before junior high. By incorporating regular cardiovascular activity between the ages of 9-13 we hope to increase the probability of them staying active through their teen years, thereby reducing the chance of weight related issues during puberty and giving them a healthy outlet.
We believe that joining Girls Gone Gazelle Run Club will not only create memorable childhood experiences and life-long friendships, but also develop self-confidence and effective stress management techniques while connecting with positive role models in the form of adult female runners and guest speakers. Before society has a chance to tell the girls what they can and can’t do, we tell them they can do anything if they prepare for it and work hard. Even if the girls don’t stick with running we know that their confidence is boosted by the program and the exposure to female captains, pilots, architects, scientists, doctors and more.
Locally, members of the club can be found training on the indoor track at the Dartmouth Sportsplex, in Shubie Park, around Sullivan’s Pond, around the Halifax Commons and at the Canada Games Centre. Thanks to the enthusiasm and hard work of local leadHERs you can also find Gazelles training out of province. Each run club follows a learn-to-run program created by “Coach Stacy” Chesnutt that is designed for children and promotes confidence, body acceptance and socialization.