The sounds of cowbells, hoots and hollers and shouts of encouragement recently filled the air at Camas’ Doc Harris Stadium. The enthusiastic applause was directed to students from Helen Baller Elementary School, who ran three miles around the track.
Songs, including Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” and Alicia Keys’ “Girl on Fire” played at the finish line.
The third and fourth graders are participants in Girls on the Run International, a program designed to increase confidence, compassion and character and help girls establish a lifetime appreciation for health and fitness.
Dawn Potter, one of the Camas volunteer coaches for Girls on the Run, said she became interested in the program when she lived in Rhode Island. She had friends who volunteered as coaches, and their daughters had participated in the program.
Potter’s daughter was too young to participate in Girls on the Run when they lived on the East Coast. When they moved to Camas in August 2017, Potter found out from the Girls on the Run Portland office there was no program in Camas.