Transcription of Sandi Sinclair for the show Kids’ Health #54
Dr. Lisa: This is Dr. Lisa Belisle and you are listening to the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and Podcast number 54, Kids’ Health, hearing for the first time on WLOB and WPEI Radio Portland, Maine.
On Today’s show, we will be speaking with Dr. Lynne Tetreault of Maine Medical Partners Pediatrics in Saco and also the medical director of Vax Maine Kids; Dr. Amy Belisle, medical director of the child health quality improvement projects at the Maine Quality Counts Program; Dr. Lisa Letourneau, executive director of Maine Quality Counts; and three representatives from the Girls on the Run Maine Chapter, Jen Rohde the council director, Sandi Sinclair program coordinator and Staci Olsen, outreach and events coordinator.
I first moved to Maine in 1977 as a fairly small child and have lived here for many of the years since. My family has 10 and I’m the oldest, so I had a lot of experience with kids’ health from the very earliest years of my life. I myself have three children and when it came time to be a doctor and raise them, I thought, “You know, what better place to live than Maine.”
Kids’ health has always been very important to me through my 10 years as a medical director at Maine Health, I worked for the learning resource centers and the Maine Health, works on wellness program and also the Raising Readers Program.
I also wrote for 10 years for the Parent and Family Newspaper in the Southern Maine area, so I know kid’s health and it’s important to me. I thought we’d bring together some of the thought leaders in kids’ health. Thought leaders that not only are doing good work now, but have been doing good work for a long time.
In fact, you’ll find as you listen along that some of these individuals are ones that I have trained with. Some are ones that I have known all my life and some are ones that have had an important impact on my life in public health over the last 15 years.
Then we also bring in a new group of individuals who are also very enthusiastic about kids’ health and these are the women from Girls on the Run, a new program which is encouraging girls to get out there and feel good about their bodies and themselves through running.
There’s a lot you’re going to get from this program and one of the topics that I know some of you may find controversial is vaccinations. But I hope you’ll give it a listen, because what we strive to do in the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour is to represent different points of view. We think that everybody has a right to live their own life and have their own health their own way, but it’s important to have as much information as possible in making good decisions.
Thank you for being a part of the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and Podcast and listening in and having an open mind and being inspired in going out in raising your own kids and helping other children to be as healthy as possible in this great State of Maine.
The Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and Podcast is pleased to be sponsored by the University of New England. As part of this sponsorship, we offer a segment we call, “UNE Wellness Innovations.” This week’s wellness innovation comes from the University of New England itself.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, anxiety disorders affect about 25% of adolescents aged 13 to 18 with close to 6% seriously affected and close to 40 million suffering well into adulthood. With a $404,000 research grant it has just received from the National Institutes of Health, the University of New England plans to investigate some of the neurological basis of this debilitating anxiety disorders in adolescents.
Michael Burman, Ph.D., assistant professor in the University of New England’s Department of Psychology and principal investigator of the grant says, “Although the neural systems involved in adult fear and anxiety are well-studied, how these systems develop and contribute to the occurrence of life-long anxiety is not well-understood.”
For more information on this wellness innovation, visit doctorlisa.org. For more information on the University of New England, visit une.edu.
Dr. Lisa: Today on the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and Podcast, we have with us three wonderful women from the Girls on the Run Maine Organization which is a newly founded chapter or council of the Girls on the Run National Organization. We’re very pleased to have with us Jen Rohde, the council director; Sandi Sinclair, program coordinator; and Staci Olsen, outreach and events coordinator. Thanks for coming in and talking to us about girls being on the run.
Staci: Thanks for having us.
Dr. Lisa: Now, tell me. First, let me start with you Jen. Why girls on the run? Why running? Why girls, why put them together? Why does it need to come to Maine?
Jen: Girls on the Run is a nonprofit that helps pre-teen girls in 3rd through 5th grade, build their self-esteem and wellness through a fun experienced based curriculum that creatively integrates running. The idea was formulated by Molly Barker in 1996 and her idea was that to build up girls in this critical age of 8 to 13 prior to hitting middle school.
Because the study show that by the time girls get to middle school, their self-esteem, their body image, their desire to be in leadership roles all plummet. Her idea was if we can build these girls up by making them physically strong and that’s where the running comes in, then they’ll be better prepared to handle all the challenges that we face in middle school.
Dr. Lisa: And right now, there are 200 councils across the United States, is that right?
Jen: Right. As of last year, Maine was the only one of three states that did not have a council. It’s a really big deal for it finally to come to our state.
Dr. Lisa: What was the impetus for bringing girls on the run to Maine?
Jen: There was a group of individuals all around the state who inquired with Girls on the Run International in North Carolina. Basically, it was an email list that continued to grow and grow and grow over the years. Finally, a few of us said, “Hey let’s meet, let’s talk and let’s take this to the next step.” Because the interest is there throughout the entire state.
I think women are sensing that this is a really key way for young girls who are bombarded in our culture with so many media messages and so much pressure and women who are getting active in their own lives see the benefit at all ages of how it has helped them and want that same thing for their girls.
Dr. Lisa: Sandi, you used to coach in another council somewhere. I can’t remember where, so forgive me, but where did you used to coach and what was your experience with Girls on the Run before?
Sandi: Sure. I coached in Northern Virginia. I lived in the Washington DC area and was a Girls on the Run coach there for one season and then a Girls on Track which is the next step after Girls on the Run. It’s for middle school girls to sort of continue their experience.
I coached for both programs and seeing the way that the girls came together as a team and we’re able to support each other through that sometimes challenging time in their lives was awesome. That’s sort of what drew me into helping to start the council here as well.
Dr. Lisa: Describe the program itself. How does this begin? Is there an end point? Just talk to me about that.
Sandi: Yes. It’s a 10 to 12 week program. We do the 10 week program here in Maine mostly driven by the weather. The program is broken into three sections. The first is based on sort of getting to know yourself, setting goals for yourself. The girls all set individual goals and then sort of learn to work together.
Then from there, they move in to the second part of the curriculum which is based on team work, healthy relationships, being a good friend, not gossiping all of those sorts of issues that can become so important at that age. Then they move in to a community service project. So it starts with the self, moves to the team and the relationships and then moves beyond to the world which is a nice flow for the program.
The goal at the end of those 10 weeks is that each girl can finish a 5k. Whether it is that she can run it or that she can well, we always sort of joke that she can hop, skip, jump, twirl, run, walk, however she wants to cross the finish line. That’s the end goal that the curriculum integrates running and towards the end they can complete a 5k.
Dr. Lisa: I understand also that you have a 5k setup right now which is sponsored in part by Maine Magazine, one of the reasons that I have you in today because they’re one of our sponsors for our show and I know they’re very involved in the community. Staci this is something that you’ve been working on. Tell me about this upcoming event.
Staci: Yeah. We basically decided we wanted to do a fund raiser and also a kick off celebration which is basically our launch and our way to introduce Girls on the Run to the community. This differs from the celebratory 5k that Sandi was talking about. Our girls will be doing the celebratory 5k in November, but this will take place on October 21st in Deering Oaks Park.
This is a chance for people to experience what it’s like to be a Girl on the Run. This is very different from your typical 5k. It’s an untimed race first of all so there’s no clock, no winners, no pressure. It’s just a chance to come out and run and have fun.
Most races give awards for the fastest runners, we are giving awards for things like best smiles, snazziest socks, best air guitar, best finish line dance, things like that. There’s also going to be fun surprises along the way to keep the runners entertained and motivated. Then at the end each runner will get a mug of hot chocolate and a Girls on the Run travel mug.
We really want to just create a fun, spirited environment and so we’re encouraging all of our runners to come dress in their Girls on the Run spirit which basically if you look at a lot of the pictures from the celebratory 5k. You’ll see that girls, they love to put pink and green hairspray in their hair. They like to wear tutus, they wear superhero capes, they wear bright colored socks. So we’d love to see our runners dressed in that attire.
To help them, we’re going to have a happy hair station where they can put pink and green hairspray in their hair as well. Like I said, not your typical 5k, but lots of fun and lots of energy. I also would like to thank our sponsors for helping us getting this event organized and promoted. We have 21 amazing sponsors who’ve helped us including our platinum sponsor Maine Running Company and some of our gold level sponsors Coast 93.1, Maine Magazine, Verrill Dana and Allen Signs With Impact.
Dr. Lisa: It sounds like you haven’t had too much trouble getting sponsors because this event is several weeks in the future and you have nice things planned. Why are people jumping on the bandwagon? Why is Girls on the Run such an appealing program to support?
Staci: I think it because it really differs from your typical running environment. Most after school running programs or cross country teams, it’s all about the winning and the competition. This has no competition. This is all about participation and I think from our event, our fund raising event perspective, this is a chance for people who don’t necessarily want to go do a timed race. This is a chance for them to come out and have fun and just experience the joy of exercise and that’s what Girls on the Run is. It’s about participation. It’s about enthusiasm and it’s about self-esteem and empowerment.
Dr. Lisa: Now, each of you have children. I think Jen you have four and each of you of two. So there’s eight children amongst the three of you and that’s just a sampling of the people working on Girls on the Run. You’re all very busy. Why was it important for you to take time out of raising your kids, doing your other activities to be involved in something like this? Do you have a thought on this Jen?
Jen: I have always believed in role modeling even before I had kids. I was involved with mentoring even back in high school. To me, some of my greatest role models are people who’ve inspired me to do things that I never sort of believed in myself that I could do. I think that becomes even more amplified when you become a parent.
Girls on the Run, like so many people who hear about it, it just strikes a chord with them like, “Wow, I wish I had had this when I was kid.” I can’t count how many times I’ve had adults say that to me. I think to answer your prior question about why it resonates so clearly is I think it really fills a hole in so many people’s lives which activity and athletics can do, but the curriculum adds such an additional component that really speaks to women.
To answer your question, for me, role modeling for my kids and having them see me be very passionate about something. Last night, in fact around the dinner table, I checked my computer really quickly and I said, “Oh my gosh the girls were on the run. This is our first practice.” All four of my kids hooded and hollered and jumped up and started clapping. To see their mom really excited about something and to know that this is impacting and hopefully will impact girls in their families around the state, my kids are living it too.
Dr. Lisa: And there’s a parent component to the education as well. Is that true?
Sandi: There is. Yes. The parents, all of our parents so far have been super supportive which is wonderful. They all really want their daughters to participate. They’ve all offered to volunteer. Some of our coaches are parents and we also have Girls on the Run International that puts out something called a grownup guide which is this amazing resource for parents to sort of be able to follow along and know where their daughters are in the curriculum.
What sort of things they’re learning about this week, where they are in terms of their running so that they can create those conversations around the dinner table or say, “How is your day today? I know you guys were talking about teamwork. How did that go?” And have those nice conversations.
We had some kick off meetings with the parents and the daughters last week and a couple of families ran to the meeting. I thought it was so cool that the parents wanted to be involved and they put on their running shoes and they ran to the meeting with their daughters. It’s really nice to see the parents involved as well.
Dr. Lisa: You have a background I believe as an educator yourself and you do curriculum development even now. How does this match up with your experience in that world?
Sandi: It’s so nice to see a curriculum that so many of us can get behind and believe in and then see that reflected in activities that get the kids moving too. So it’s been a really nice mix for me. I taught 8th grade and that’s such a tough time for a lot of kids and so be able to see them really take the curriculum and go out and run, it’s a great mix.
Dr. Lisa: And I think all of you are also runners, is that true? So Staci tell me how has running impacted your life. Your life as a mother, your life as a woman, your life as a person?
Staci: That’s actually interesting. I came to running just in the past few years. Growing up, I was an athlete, I was a soccer player, I was a swimmer, I played some basketball. I never really had any interest in running and then I had my two kids and wanted to find a way to kind of get back into the athletic world and my friend said, “Let’s try and do a triathlon.” We did it and I kind of then gravitated towards running longer distances as well.
It really just kind of gave me an opportunity to do something for myself. I’m a full time mom and so this was a chance for me to take a half hour everyday or even longer and just have some time and I realized the power that that gave me, the rejuvenation that it gave me. It’s something that became important to me right away and the fact that these girls get to learn this at such an early age.
When I completed my first 5k, it was awesome, I loved it. It was such a great feeling of accomplishment and that’s what you see when these girls get to finish their 5k’s is their sense of accomplishment. The I did it feeling is a really exciting one.
Dr. Lisa: Do you think that this is one of the challenges that parents face is sort of maintaining their own sense of self, their own need to run or, I don’t know, experience the joy of being outside as they go into parenting whether it’s full time or working outside the home? Is this something that you think is a universal theme perhaps?
They’re all nodding, so I’m just waiting to see which one of you jumps in here.
Jen: I think women tend to feel so guilty about the time they take whether they’re working full time, part time or working in the home full time. We all have so many obligations and want to give. I mean, I’m speaking in generalities but I was a coach. Prior to doing Girls on the Run, I was a coach for women doing a coach to 5k program. It pinged me to see women in the later parts of their life still feeling the guilt associated with taking that time for themselves.
I think Staci really hit the nail on the head. The best gift that we’re giving these girls is that sense of like this is not a selfish endeavor. You are such a happier, healthier, more positive person when you take that time that it comes back to the people around you a thousand fold.
Dr. Lisa: Do you have thoughts on this Sandi?
Sandi: Yeah, I agree completely with what they both said. I think that being able to, as an adult, enjoy some of those things that we watch the girls learn throughout this process is wonderful to be able to have just that if it’s half an hour or an hour everyday to be able to clear your head. For me personally, it makes me hopefully a better parent and I think that a lot of people feel that way that if you can take that little bit time for yourself that it helps you in the other parts of your world. Also is a great example for your children as well.
Dr. Lisa: What about the question of boys? I have a son, I know Jen has a son.
Jen: I have two.
Dr. Lisa: You have two sons and so there’s a lot boys also floating around here and we interviewed Boys to Men, Drew Wing and Roger Martin back in June around our father’s day show. Do people ask you questions as to why we’re doing something that’s girl specific and how do you answer?
Sandi: Absolutely. People asks those questions a lot and the sort of short answer is that Molly Barker who Jen mentioned who started Girls on the Run has been a great resource for several mens, boys groups that are trying to get started and have a similar curriculum. We get ask those questions a lot. My son asks all the time when is there going to be Boys on the Run and I tell him, “As soon as it happens, I’ll start work on it.”
Because I think it is important for boys as well. I think the thought between having Girls on the Run be limited just to girls is that sort of safe space to talk about any issue that comes up and anything that is sort of contained just to girls. But boys can be running buddies for the girls in their 5k. They can help support them through the process of it.
If a girl has an older brother maybe in high school, he can be her running buddy. Men can be assistant coaches. We’ve had dads who’ve been really involved and want to be volunteers. So there is room for a boy or a man to participate as sort of a cheer leader for the girls as well which is awesome.
Dr. Lisa: As any long time listener of the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour knows and any long time reader of my blog or my website knows, I’m a runner and I have daughters and I’m really a huge fan of what you’re doing. So I hope people will take good time to go to your website, go to your Facebook page, maybe think about signing up for a chapter, go to the Hot Choco Trot, that’s what it’s called. Excellent. October 21st.
Staci: Yup at Deering Oaks in Portland.
Dr. Lisa: At Deering Oaks in Portland. You can get more information about Staci, Sandi and Jen from Girls on the Run on doctorlisa.org and I really appreciate each of you taking time out of your very busy schedules and not only coming in to visit us but also to help bring this very inspirational program to Maine.
Staci: Thanks.
Jen: Thanks for having us.