PARIS – The spring session of Girls on the Run will get under way during the week of March 20 in the Oxford Hills School District.

Girls on the Run is a national program brought to the area through the Western Maine Girls Association of Bethel. Through an eight-week curriculum, groups of girls meet twice a week after school and train with volunteer coaches for a 5K event.

Coaches and assistant coaches act as positive female role models and mentors and combine training for the running event with self-esteem enhancing, uplifting workouts. The goal of the program is to encourage positive emotional, social, mental, character and physical development.

Kate Goldberg, Western Maine Girls Association director, is coordinating the program in Oxford Hills in conjunction with the 21st Century Grant Afterschool Enrichment Programs.

“We are pleased with so many interested and committed volunteer coaches. This is so exciting,” she said.

Miranda Dobbins, a returning volunteer coach for CLUBROWE’s program, said, “My daughter is so excited to do it again and agreed to do it if I coached. I had so much fun last time – I totally believe in the program and how much it can benefit girls.”

The 5K event is schedule for Sunday, May 21, at the Gouin Athletic Complex and is an event open to anyone who wishes to register to run the event. The girls may run, walk, skip or dance around the track, as long as they keep moving.

They each will wear the number “one.” Girls on the Run T-shirts and water bottles will be provided with registration. Cost for the program is $30 and scholarships are available upon request.

Drawings for prizes will be held after the race. Business that would like to donate items or gift certificates for the drawings, those who would like to volunteer or for more information, contact Kate Goldberg at 824-3459.

Last fall, 58 girls participated in the program. The 5K event, held in Bethel, had 170 entrants.