“ What? Sixteen laps?” I said as coach Michele explained in the first day of Girls on the Run that our goal is that we would eventually be able to to run 5K which is equivalent to 16 laps! “How will I be able to run 16 laps” I feared.  It was my mom’s idea to put me in Girls on the Run and I did not like that at all at the beginning. I had not like running and was not excited about having to run 16 laps. The only reason I agreed to participate was that my two best friends, Abby and Libby, would be on the team.  At first, Abby encouraged me a lot to keep running more and more. Later I encouraged Libby, ran with her, told her to keep her pace, and helped her to finish 9 laps.  After the first few weeks of practice, I was able to run more laps. I started with 1 lap, then 2 laps, then 3 laps . . . 8, . . . 12, . . . then 1 day 16 laps!  Gradually my fear for running 5K disappeared.  On the day of 5K run, my mom ran with me. At one point, my mom wanted to rest and told me, “Sarah, you go ahead.” I told her “Mom, come on and run with me.” She and I finished 5K together. We were very happy.  Even though I am little, I learned that I could encourage and help kids and adults. “Girls on the Run is so much fun, Girls on the Run is number one!” We said this in each practice and we learned strong body, strong mind and smarter brain. Girls on the Run helped me to be more fearless.