One afternoon in 1996, 13 girls gathered in Charlotte, N.C., for the first Girls on the Run practice. There was no national organization yet. No 5K series. No network of councils bringing the program to communities across the country. There was just an idea and a group of girls willing to give it a try.
One of those 13 girls was Katherine Edelshain.
Today, as Girls on the Run celebrates its 30th anniversary and more than 2.8 million girls have experienced the impact of the program, Katherine can look back at those first practices and recognize how what seemed like an ordinary after-school activity became a formative experience.
We caught up with Katherine to talk about what she remembers, what stayed with her, and what she would tell her 10-year-old self if she could go back to that very first practice.
“Trust that this is going to be fun and matter in your life.”
At 10 years old, Katherine had no idea she was part of the beginning of something that would eventually reach millions of girls.
“I had no clue what this was or where it was going to go,” she says. “That this dusty little track at Charlotte Country Day was the start of something that would eventually reach millions of girls.”
If she could talk to that younger version of herself today, her advice would be simple: Be open, trust the process, and enjoy the moment.
“I’d tell her to sit in the dirt, let this woman hug you and cheer for you, and trust that this is going to be fun and matter in your life.”
That woman was Girls on the Run founder Molly Barker. For Katherine, the most memorable part of Girls on the Run wasn’t necessarily the running. It was the relationship she formed with Molly.
“She was approachable, fun, a little messy, not put-together in the way a lot of the adult women in my life were at the time,” Katherine recalls.
Katherine’s memories reflect what Girls on the Run has heard from other alums, too. In a recent study of former participants, 100% shared vivid, positive memories of their coaches years after their Girls on the Run experience.
Molly sat in the dirt with the girls, chased them around the track, danced, laughed, and cheered them on. She showed up as her authentic self, and Katherine noticed.
“In hindsight, as an adult, I think about her and women like her, as I parent, and when I’m connecting with children. She was so authentically herself.”
Katherine (seated at center in a yellow shirt) with her teammates and Molly Barker at an early Girls on the Run practice.
So Much More Than Running
Katherine remembers collecting popsicle sticks after each lap, but she doesn’t remember how far or how fast she ran. What she remembers is learning to trust her own voice and how the team celebrated what made each girl unique.
“Most after-school programs are teaching you a skill, tennis, art, whatever,” she said. “But GOTR was teaching me how to trust my own voice. It never asked me to be one particular kind of girl. We all laughed and played and listened and learned.”
That sense of possibility stayed with her long after that first season ended.
Katherine remembers reconnecting with Molly years later, when she wasn’t sure what might come next professionally after college. Once again, Molly left her with the same feeling she had experienced as a girl: Just try.
Today, that lesson continues to show up in Katherine’s work, life, and parenting.
“I don’t always have the answers, or even the direction walking in, but just starting something small might lead to something else,” she said. “And you learn a lot along the way, especially if you over-index on good people.”
For Katherine, that may be one of the most lasting lessons of Girls on the Run: You don’t have to know exactly where you’re going to take the first step.
“Just try. Just be a good human. Just believe you can do something small really well.”
From 13 Girls to a Growing Movement
Katherine eventually moved to New York City, where she connected with Girls on the Run NYC to volunteer for events. At one of those events, she experienced a very different Girls on the Run than the one she had known as a 10-year-old. She remembers being stunned by the number of girls who showed up for a GOTR 5K on a freezing, rainy November Saturday.
“I felt so proud that something that started with a handful of girls on a dirt track had grown into something that huge.”
Thirty years after that first practice, Katherine’s story is a reminder that you never know where a small beginning might lead.
Celebrating 30 years of Girls on the Run: Discover the stories, milestones, and moments that have shaped three decades of helping girls know and activate their limitless potential.
Keep the connection going: If you’re a Girls on the Run alum, join Beyond the Finish, the GOTR Alumni Community, and stay connected to the movement that helped you become who you are.
