The Story of GOTR
Molly Barker, MSW, a 4-time Hawaii Ironman triathlete, created GOTR® in Charlotte, NC, in 1996. Molly began running at the age of 15 - an age when she found herself stuck in the "girl box," a place where only girls who are a certain size with a certain beauty are popular. Where girls who want to fit in have to mold their bodies and their personalities to fit the requirements of the box.
Molly kept running. Years later, on July 7, 1993, she took off on a sunset run and found the inspiration that grew into Girls on the Run®. Using her background in counseling and teaching, along with research on adolescent issues, she developed the earliest version of the curriculum with the help of 13 intrepid girls at Charlotte Country Day School. The next session 26 girls showed up, then 75, and so the program grew.
In 1998 Runner's World, a national running magazine, awarded Molly its "Golden Shoe Award" for contributions to the community through running. That brief mention in Runner's World brought Molly calls from across the country and Canada. In 2000 Molly decided to share her brainchild with the world, and Girls on the Run, International,® a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, was born.
Today, there are Girls on the Run® programs throughout the United States and Canada. People, Runner’s World and ESPN have recently featured the programs.
"In 28 years, I'll be 70 and my daughter Helen will be 32," says Molly. "If we have anything to say about it, she will never have to climb out of that girl box because Girls on the Run® is going to shatter it so that girls can be comfortable simply being themselves." Molly Barker, Founder of Girls on the Run
Visit the Girls on the Run International Website 