By Jen Myers

Theressa Muteba and Giada Phillips rounded the corner onto Victor Street and began to sprint to the finish line. They did it. Fifteen laps around Centralville’s Greenhalge Elementary School – 5K completed.

Sweaty and tired, the girls collected their 15th lap band from Greenhalge Family Liaison Abby Phillips, grabbed their water bottles, and then instead of resting or bragging about their victory, jumped right back onto the course to run and walk alongside their peers who still had several laps to complete.

Today is not about individual achievement – it is about finishing the race as a team. It is about motivating and cheering each other on and banding together to reach a collective goal.

These girls are part of the Greenhalge’s Girls on the Run team, a group of 19 third and fourth graders who are training for a 5K and learning life lessons along the way.

Girls on the Run is a national nonprofit that has created an after-school program for girls of all sizes, shapes, and abilities. While the end goal is to run a 5K, the program focuses on both physical and emotional health, building the girls’ self-esteem and helping provide the building blocks they need to make good life choices as they head into middle school and beyond.

“I like how everyone motivates us and instead of hearing any negative comments it is always positive,” said Giada Phillips. “We know we can do this. I’m glad I joined Girls on the Run.”

The Pyne Arts Magnet and Sullivan Middle Schools also have Girls on the Run teams, but this is the program’s first year at the Greenhalge and the only program in the district for elementary school students.

Greenhalge Social Worker Darcie Coleman said an email went out last school year to all of the district’s social workers regarding the program and she knew it had been successful at the Pyne, so she looked into starting a chapter at the Greenhalge.

“It looked like a good opportunity both for providing physical wellness, girl empowerment, and mental wellness,” she said. “I call it Girl Scouts for Runners.”

Finding coaches for the program was no problem – the Greenhalge already had a ringer or two – special education teacher Meg Sisson is a marathon runner and third-grade teachers Paige Villano and Paula Dwire can be found running the streets of Lowell afterschool to unwind. They were joined by English Language Learner teacher Taryn Terwilliger.

All summer the coaches prepared to kick-off the program in the fall, taking CPR training, completing in-person prep work, and building out the curriculum. Federal ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funds were used to cover the coaches’ stipends.

Coleman said the first day of the program they realized they had a problem they hadn’t prepared for – the girls didn’t have sneakers. They were running in flip flops and construction boots. Girls on the Run provided each girl with a water bottle and a new pair of Nike sneakers, which they keep at school.

Girls on the Run fits in perfectly with Lowell Public Schools’ Community Schools Strategy of raising student success through on-site connections with outside partners, programs, and resources.

“The program has a great social emotional learning component to it, giving it a great mix of the support and lessons girls need at this age and at the same time getting their bodies moving,” said Villano. “Some of the lessons we have done include how to be a good friend, choosing friends, and looking at identity – the things that make us unique and the things we have in common in order to build strong connections.”

The team building and bonding aspect of the program can also lead to some much-needed silliness. The girls decided they needed to come up with a catch phrase that is only for them, something to yell out to motivate and encourage each other. They landed on “Handsome Shrek!”

“So, sometimes we just run around Lowell yelling ‘Handsome Shrek’,” Villano laughed.

Villano said getting out and running or walking after school gives the girls an opportunity to release the tensions of the day and de-escalate any bad feelings they are having before going home.

Team member Jaylani Isaac agrees.

“If I am having a bad day or I’m feeling sad in class, I know I can come out here after school and be happy,” she said.

As they trained on Nov. 1, moving up Victor Street, down Ennell Street and around the school, the unofficial Greenhalge Cheerleaders – teacher Joy Flanders and a group of students in the after-school program stood outside and cheered on their friends, offering high-fives, and words of encouragement.

A poster created by Jazmin Pichazaca said it all: “No time limit. No speed limit. No dream limit. Wow.”

The Lowell Girls on the Run teams will be joining other teams from around Greater Boston for an end of the season 5K celebration at Hormel Stadium in Medford on Sunday Nov. 20.