Girls on the Run, Maryland

No GOTR Program At Your School? Launch one!

Step One:

Check to be sure there is no GOTR program nearby.
Here are the locations of our current programs.

Step Two:

Make a list. You'll need:

• A Program Liason
• Volunteer Coaches
• A Field or Track
• A “Rainy Day” Location
  (We provide lots of guidance in these areas...)

Step Three:

Fill out the Start-a-Site Registration Form and send it to the Program Manager.

Essential Start-a-Site downloadable/printable Forms [PDF]

• Start-a-Site Registration Form

Our Vision

Our vision is to make Girls on the Run available to all girls in Montgomery County with the help of interested parents and coaches. We plan to add new program sites each season, so be sure and apply if you would like to have an afternoon, or morning program.

Start-a-Site Process in Detail

Ready? Okay let's begin. To start a site for GOTR you will need:

• A Site Liason: This is a "Person-in-Charge", who will conduct the program, working closely with the staff of GOTR of Montgomery County, Inc. This can be a staff member, teacher, principal, PTA parent and/or interested member of your particular site’s community.
• Volunteer coaches. Sometimes these are staff from the local school or community center where the new GOTR will be located.
• To complete the "Start-a-Site" application form, either online or printed and mailed.
• A representative of GOTR of Montgomery County, Inc., with the assistance of the Site liaison to do the following:
  • Find a secure and safe place for running. This may be a track or a field, so long as you can mark specific distances for occasions when lessons require running a certain distance, e.g. 1 mile or 3k.
  • GOTR-MOCO will find a secure a rain site (classroom, gym, etc.), through ICB/CUPF for public schools. Private schools and other facilities must arrange for their own inclement weather rooms with the school/site.
  • Distribute, according to site or public school guidelines, information forms to all girls in age group (3rd –5th for Girls on the Run® and 6th–8th for Girls on Track®).
  • Provide a coach and/or assistant coach trained by GOTR of Montgomery County, Inc.  See Coaching information.
  • Choose two days a week for lessons, 1 to 1 1/2 hour for each lesson.
  • Help secure a space, and plan, with the assistance of coaches and GOTR parents, for the end of season team celebration.

Group Size

We require a minimum of 8 girls and limit each group to a maximum of 15 girls. The minimum is based upon both financial and curriculum considerations. Because much of our curriculum is related to team building and group dynamics, fewer than 8 girls may make it difficult to provide the experience we want to offer to the girls, and more than fifteen girls makes it difficult to establish the group rapport and the depth of community we are seeking. If there are less than 8 participants registered on the first day of the program, the Executive Director will determine appropriate actions for delaying or canceling the site for that session.

Seasons (We call them "sessions") .

We have two "sessions" of GOTR each year.

• Fall Session - usually begins in mid-September and runs for 10 weeks, meeting twice (2X) per week, ending in mid-November to early December. To begin a session at your site in the fall, planning should begin in early March and be finalized no later than July 15th.
• Spring Session - usually begins in mid-March and runs for 10 weeks meeting twice a week, ending late May. To begin a session at your site in the spring, planning should begin in September and should be finalized no later than January 15th.