Running for Our Lives

REPORT TO OUR COMMUNITY

OH, THE LESSONS WE’VE LEARNED!

ON RUNNING AND LIFE At age 9, Sara Silvas can offer a fourth grader’s mini-guide to running – and perhaps to life itself. She might tell you: Pace yourself and you’ll complete the course, with your own type of run, at your own speed. Breathe correctly. Wear comfortable clothes. Carry water, preferably in a pink bottle that says “Girls On the Run.” Such a bottle was a gift from her favorite after-school program, which also provides girls in 3rd-5th grade with donated shoes and socks, a T-shirt and a huge dose of self-esteem. She won the bottle and a certificate – now on her wall – by finishing the 5K run (about three miles) in her first months of preparation. “I ran pretty much all of it,” Sara said. “I finished like 10th or 11th, and there were around 60 girls. When I got my medal, I felt really proud.”

Girls On the Run is a national program started in 1996 in North Carolina. TMC, which is the lead agency for Girls On the Run of Tucson, sent Sara’s coach, Mary Atkinson, director of Food & Nutrition at TMC, and three other women there for training in 2010. They started programs at Whitmore Elementary near TMC and at three other schools. Today the program is funded with a $50,000 grant from the Aetna Foundation, in seven local schools and growing.

It teaches more than just pacing and breathing. To learn compassion, the girls are required to plan and carry out good deeds – like writing cards of encouragement to children in TMC’s pediatric unit. The girls do what’s calling positive self-talk, about self-worth, to counter negative things schoolgirls too often hear.

And in turn, Sara has gained confidence and purpose from the program, says her mother, Simone. The rules said she had to commit not to miss more than three practices, which were twice a week for ten weeks, after school for 90 minutes. Sara did not miss a single one.

“ When I got my medal, I felt really proud.”

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At first, Sara says, she didn’t know the other girls. Now her best friends are those in the program. That mirrors a theme in the national emphasis on running programs for girls and women as a source of social strength.

Conversation, not competition, is valued, and many say sisterhood emerges.

Self-esteem, for Sara, means you treasure yourself as you are. Sara stands 4 feet 11 inches, tall for a 9 year old. She weighs in at 100 pounds, and it’s all just fine with Sara.

Her mother adds: “For now, her goal is to be in good shape. She’s a wonderful straight A kid. But Girls On the Run has lifted her horizons and given her something quite positive to focus on. I am so grateful to TMC for this program.”

Up with the birds at dawn in Catalina State Park or out with the early evening crowd at Maynard’s downtown, running and walking are big on Tucson’s calendar for togetherness and wellness. Recognizing the vital role fitness plays in individual health, TMC supports local events to make running and walking events accessible to Tucsonans.

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Says Mary Atkinson, Director, Food and Nutrition at TMC: “Running raises your heart rate, helping your cardiovascular health. It burns calories, helping control your weight.

It helps build muscles. It will give you more energy playing with your kids, or your grandkids. Your daily activities will be easier, and more enjoyable. It brings you back to your center and to find your peace.”

And to ensure that Tucsonans have opportunities to come together for fitness, TMC partners with organizations looking to build a better community through fitness, including Southern Arizona Roadrunners, EveryoneRuns/Everyone Walks and Meet Me at Maynards. And, TMC’s employees lace up their shoes for these events throughout the year. “I participate in as many of the events as I can each year,” said Barry Spencer, director, Physicians Services, and a runner. “It gives me and my colleagues something to train for together. And, through the effort, a sense of community and camaraderie is developed among individuals whose paths may not have crossed otherwise,” he said. The TMC teams also collaborate to raise money for TMC for Children through their efforts.

In 2005, Steve Landau launched a year-round series of running events through scenic areas, popularly known as Everyone Runs. He approached TMC, which immediately shared his enthusiasm. “I wanted to build events geared to the average runner. I thought such an event would appeal to people intimidated by events too tough for them,” Landau said. Recent runners included a 79-year-old, a woman who had survived three bouts of

REPORT TO OUR COMMUNITY

RUNNING FOR OUR LIVES, OUR HEALTH &

cancer and one blind woman walking with her assistant. “We have had good runners from Kenya and many who walk or run with life-threatening illnesses,” Landau said.

“Fast, medium or slow, they turn out and some even win medals.”

Since 2009, hundreds have gathered on Monday evenings for Meet Me at Maynards, a year-round event based at Maynard’s Market and Kitchen. Jannie Cox, a retired health executive, invited TMC to sponsor her event, which aims to provide healthy exercise and awareness of a rich district where a three-mile course passes Snake Bridge, the Children’s Museum, Fourth Avenue and La Placita.

Southern Arizona Roadrunners have been a fixture in the Tucson running community for years and in 2010, TMC got involved in several events sponsored by the local group.

“The goal is to make these community events accessible, affordable and inclusive.

Walking and running are fitness activities that you can do right outside your front door,” said Julia Strange, vice president, Community Benefit. “These events allow us to come together to celebrate fitness and achievement.”

It’s clear that the path to a healthy life includes a little sweat and lots of encouragement and companionship. At TMC, one fitness slogan these days is “Living the Life.” Atkinson, who coaches in the Girls On the Run program, tells them what that means: “Just keep moving forward. It doesn’t matter if you walk, skip or cartwheel. Just keep moving.”

In 2010, two TMC teams of 12 faced the challenges of the Ragnar Relay del Sol, running 200+ miles in 24 hours, racing from Prescott to Tempe.

And, along the way, the teams, with runners from Information Services, Communications, Transportation, Nursing, etc., raised more than $8,000 for the TMC Block by Block Miracles Capital Campaign for TMC for Children. Fitness, friends and a good cause!

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