How Girls On The Run Began

Girls on the Run® was established in 1996 in Charlotte, North Carolina with the help of thirteen brave girls. Twenty-six girls came the next season, then seventy-five. In 2000, Girls on the Run International, a 501(c)3 organization, was born.

What started with one school has grown to 225 councils in 49 states and the District of Columbia. With the help of over 98,000 volunteers, Girls on the Run served over 179,000 girls in 2015, including its millionth girl! In the same year, Girls on the Run hosted more than 350 end-of-season 5k events across the United States, making the Girls on the Run 5k series the largest in the country, and launched a new middle school program, Heart & Sole, which is dedicated to the unique needs of adolescent girls.

Girls on the Run has been featured by national media outlets including People, Runner’s World, Redbook,Women’s Day, O Magazine, Women's Running, SELF Magazine, Glamour, Shape, Marie Claire, Parenting,Running Times, CNN, MSNBC, ABC News, NBC News, NPR, ESPN and FOX Sports.

National Partners for Girls on the Run International include Athleta, Cigna, FOX Sport Supports, Gamma Phi Beta, SmartWool and ASICS.

The true success of the program, however, is not told in the numbers, but rather in the words of the girls who participate. “Girls on the Run made me realize that I am the boss of my brain.” “I know that whatever I set my mind to do, I can do.”  “At Girls on the Run I learned how to be comfortable in my own skin!” 

That is success.