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On a crisp fall afternoon, nearly a dozen "tween" girls had the chance to stretch, run, and sign out library books about a curious aristocratic girl in 17th-century Korea - all while playing outside in a Steele Creek neighborhood park.
They're members of the Fit Girls, part of a national running and reading program with a chapter at the Steele Creek Public Library. Organizers say this is the first time the program has come to North Carolina.
The effort combines books, discussions about the strong female characters in them, and running training for girls in grades 4 through 6. The six-week program ends Saturday with the girls running - in lime-green shirts - in the Dowd YMCA 5K race in uptown Charlotte.
The running-and-reading adventure has taken the girls through mysteries, fantasies and nonfiction books - not to mention relays and lap running to build endurance for Saturday's 3.1-mile race.
It's been fun for 9-year-old running newbie Larissa Huch, who attends Winget Park Elementary School. She joined with her fellow fourth-grade pal Shanice Marte, 9, who runs a lot.
"It gives you energy for the week," Larissa said, as her running mates were still going strong with a post-practice game of freeze tag while waiting for parents to pick them up.
Shanice likes how the girls can talk about books they've read on their own, too, like the American Girl series. Fifth-grader Casey Snyder, 10, said the group has made her want to read more: "It interests us in more and different types of books."
The reading list, which features more than a dozen books and series, includes "Seesaw Girl" by Linda Sue Park, about the wealthy Korean girl who wants to explore life outside her family's inner court; the Nancy Drew series, featuring the adventures of the amateur detective; and "Moon Runner" by Carolyn Marsden, about Mina, a self-professed "girlie-girl" who turns out to excel at track.
Steele Creek Library librarians Jennifer France and Jill Mueller co-coach the Fit Girls, who have been meeting twice a week at Thomas McAllister Winget Park in southwestern Mecklenburg. (On rainy days, they meet at the library on Steele Creek Road.)
"We wear them out with activities at the beginning, and then we sit down and talk about books," said France, a lifelong runner who wanted to share the sport with youngsters. She researched how to start Fit Girls in Charlotte after reading about the program in Runner's World magazine.
Fit Girls founder Sarah Nixon, a runner, librarian and community outreach advocate, started the program in Massachusetts as a way of combining all those worlds to build girls' self-esteem and promote regular reading habits.
"Just the idea of exercising your mind and your body helps build confidence and self esteem that will help you in the long run, and teach you skills you can use for the rest of your life," France said.
Running races like the Dowd 5K gets girls involved in their communities, and the events usually support causes, too.
"The motto is to have a healthy body, mind and heart," France said.
A recent practice started on the park basketball courts. Boys playing their own pickup game at an adjacent court glanced over occasionally as the Fit Girls loudly applauded each other for sharing personal moments matching a thought-provoking quote: "It's better to be a lion for a day than a sheep all your life."
After a goofy relay competition requiring the girls to run with oversized boxer shorts over their clothes, the team headed to the soccer field, working up a sweat while completing as many laps as they could run and walk. Coach "Miss Jill" made sure she was the last one in by coaxing others: "You can't let me beat you, girl!"
After Miss Jenny doled out snacks of water and granola bars, the girls headed back to the basketball court to fill out their running logs, check out books, and take turns talking about stories they've already read.
"It's wonderful to see the girls who are the athletes take a hold of a book and just love it, and can't wait to tell you what it's about," Mueller said.
