Young Athletes to Mark Fitness Success With 2-Mile Run

This Saturday 36 participants in the Go Girl! Healthy Walk/ Run Fitness program will graduate from the 12-session effort with a two-mile finale event at 11 a.m. at the Grange in Sayville.

The girls, ages 7 to 11, spent the last two months walking and running while also learning about healthy habits.

Kiersten Bartolotta, a walking and running coach who initiated the program, explains it all started after a few parents talked to her about the need for a physical fitness program just for girls.

“I thought about what the parents wanted and what was needed and decided to create a program that focused, not only on fitness, but also self-esteem, healthy habits and goal setting skills,” she told Patch in an email. “I created a curriculum that incorporates lessons each week on these topics with fitness workouts.”

Bartolotta operates Walk To Run Fitness in Sayville that teaches people how to run their first 5k charity run through walking and running.  She also runs walking classes.

She started the Go Girl! Healthy Walk/Run Fitness Program for Girls in April and sessions were held at the Long Island Sports Plex in Sayville (formerly known as the ISA) or outdoors at a local park.  

Each one-hour session includes a 15-minute lesson on how to create healthy habits, how to develop goal setting skills and activities to help build self esteem and confidence through fitness. The remainder of the training sessions are for walking, running and skipping, slowly building the girls’ fitness each week and teaching them proper form, technique, stretching and strength building exercises.

“I run these classes in a non-competitive and non-intimating way so that the girls are encouraged to exercise on a regular basis,” said Bartolotta. “I also include the parents by keeping them informed as to our workout lessons and asking them to help their child develop these very important fitness habits.”

The Sayville resident, who is married and mom to three, wasn’t a fitness buff her whole life. As she relates, the idea of getting into shape came after her second daughter was born.

“I wanted to lose some weight. Since then I have run over a 100 races and want to teach kids and adults how to work out through running and walking to get and stay fit for life,” she said.

She’s already started running the second Go Girls program given the first effort’s success and is seeing more athletes with special needs and development disabilities becoming involved.

“Their parents wanted them in a program that teaches healthy habits and fitness but they haven't found any good programs that work with their children's limitations,” she explained, adding “we are having great success with these children in the program and they are fitting in and enjoying the experience.”

Her latest goal with the program is to expand it in order to let children from families dealing with financial hardships get involved on a scholarship basis.

“I believe it is an effective program and would like to increase the amount of kids I can enroll at a discounted price or for free because of economic difficulties,” she said.

“I think it is a wonderful program and one that has the potential to help girls grow confidence and fitness at the same time. Most importantly, I want to make sure, as it grows, that I can let every girl have the opportunity to join no matter what their family's financial circumstances are.”

The finale event on Saturday will have participants running four laps in and around the green area during the weekly Farmer’s Market. All finishers will get a medal as race efforts are not being timed and no ‘place’ awards are being given.

“There will be girls who will run the whole distance and there will be girls that I will have to push with encouraging words to get them to move to the finish,” said the coach. The goal, she added, is to finish.

“I don’t care if they run the whole two miles. I just want them to move forward the entire time, by walking, by skipping or running to that finish line. And, most importantly, I want them to have fun doing it," said Bartolotta.

For more information on the program ccontact Kiersten Bartolotta at 631-680-8225 or www.walktorunfitness.com or on Facebook.