Beyond the Finish Line: Confidence and Community Through Girls on the Run

On a rainy afternoon this spring, a group of Park students huddled beneath a tent at Larz Anderson Park, soaked before they had even begun.

What was meant to be a practice 5K for Park’s Girls on the Run team had turned into a downpour. Coaches, students, and running buddies stood dripping under cover, deciding whether to move forward. Then they ran anyway. For coaches Lauren Corvese and Meredith Hauser, that moment captured exactly what Girls on the Run is meant to teach: resilience, confidence, and joy in doing hard things.

Founded to support girls at a pivotal developmental stage, Girls on the Run combines physical activity with social-emotional learning to help participants build confidence, strengthen relationships, and develop lifelong skills. The program has grown significantly in recent years both locally and nationally, with Girls on the Run Greater Boston more than doubling participation since 2019 while continuing to expand access through scholarships and financial aid.

Each practice centers around a theme such as listening, teamwork, empathy, or perseverance. Those lessons are woven intentionally into games, conversations, and running activities. A practice focused on active listening might include discussion, games, and running activities that encourage communication and reflection. By integrating social-emotional learning into movement, Girls on the Run creates an environment where growth happens naturally and collaboratively.

That is also what makes the program feel different from a traditional running team. While other sports often center around competition, pace, and performance, Girls on the Run emphasizes effort, consistency, and personal growth. Whether a student is running, walking, skipping, or dancing her way through practice, success is not measured by speed or comparison. The phrase “happy pace,” used throughout the season, reminds girls that progress looks different for everyone.

At the start of a season, Lauren and Meredith may hear quiet worries from students: “I don’t really run,” or “I’m nervous about 3.1 miles.” By the end of the season, those same girls are often asking if they can squeeze in “one more lap.” Over time, students move from walk-running short distances to completing several laps with confidence, eventually crossing the finish line of the program’s culminating 5K.

But the most meaningful growth often happens beyond endurance. Over the course of practices, Lauren has watched students become more thoughtful toward one another—checking in on teammates outside of their usual friend groups, offering encouragement, and forming new relationships through shared challenges. Running, something that can often feel deeply individual, becomes a team experience. Each practice closes with an “energy award,” where coaches recognize students for perseverance, kindness, spirit, listening, or support. In doing so, the girls learn that success is not only physical—it is also about how they show up for one another.

That confidence often stretches beyond Girls on the Run itself. Lauren says former participants and their families still stop her years later to share how the experience shaped them. Some girls who once doubted themselves went on to try new sports they never would have considered before. Others continue running 5Ks with family members long after their season ended. For many, the greatest lesson is not about running at all—it is the realization that they can try something hard, unfamiliar, or intimidating and come through stronger on the other side.

At the heart of Park’s Girls on the Run program is the thoughtful leadership that helps make it such a meaningful experience. Neither Lauren nor Meredith are traditional athletics staff. Lauren, who first joined the program in spring 2022, saw coaching as a way to connect with students at a time when the school community was still rebuilding relationships after COVID. Though she had already been at Park for a year, coaching gave her a new way to interact with students beyond her day-to-day role.

Meredith joined after Lauren invited her to coach, having already found joy in working with students through Grade 5 drama. As someone who found running empowering later in life, she saw the program as an opportunity to help younger girls build a healthy, lasting relationship with physical activity while also learning connection, care, and self-awareness.

Together, their involvement reflects something larger about Park. The school creates space for adults beyond traditional student-facing or athletic roles to engage in students’ lives. Whether through clubs, performances, or other shared experiences, Park encourages faculty and staff to enthusiastically participate in the life of the school. For Lauren and Meredith, Girls on the Run became one of those ways to show up.

For Lauren, coaching has also deepened her own relationship with running. What began as supporting students eventually inspired her to run her first half marathon, volunteer at the Boston Marathon, and join the associate board of Girls on the Run Greater Boston. For Meredith, the program helped heal her own relationship with movement and reminded her of the joy behind the idea of a “happy pace”—meeting yourself where you are and moving forward anyway.

At an age when many girls begin stepping away from sports or questioning their abilities, Girls on the Run creates space for encouragement, belonging, and self-confidence to grow. In a culture where girls can often feel pressure to compare or compete, the program instead encourages them to support one another, trust their bodies, and embrace challenges.

By Emma Hobart-Sheran, Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications

#TheParkSchoolMA #ParkSchoolExcellence #ItAllStartsatPark #ParkSchoolCommunity