First of all, we love to run. So ok, we are driven by passion here – but on a serious note, girls are natural runners. When they are young, they learn to walk and then… they learn to run. They find joy in races to the finish line, or sprints across the playground – so what we want to do is help them harness that joy and teach them how to run safely.

But what’s the reason we teach our girls to run? It’s not just about physical fitness, although that is an important part of it… we’re building confidence and courage.

Watching the transformation of our Gazelle’s over the course of the run club is something that I hold so close to my heart, it’s why I do what I do, why our coaches give their time, and why parents are so excited to get their girls involved.

Let’s talk a little about confidence… so, if you’ve ever been to a leadership session, or watched one of many YouTube videos on confidence – you’ll know all about how smiling, making eye contact, and standing tall with hands on the hips can help increase confidence.. but what about physical exercise?

By running with our Gazelle’s, we’re actually helping them:

• Reduce their anxiety (exercise helps create new brain cells and patterns to calm the brain)
• Improve their self-esteem, we see this first hand, and there have been tons of studies on it!
• Boost their mood – Did you know after 5 minutes of exercise, your body actually gets happier!
• Learn to set goals, and feel amazing when they achieve them (we run together at Sole Sisters!)
• Help them sleep – running helps our Gazelle’s sleep sound through the night, which helps them in every aspect of their day
• Get outdoors, experience our beautiful city and breath in fresh air as they run

At the end of every run club, you can see our Gazelle’s stand a little taller, smile a little more and walk with a little more swagger. Now, gotta dash, after all that talk of running, we feel like going for a run ourselves!