Executive director Jennifer West stated that Girls on the Run (GOTR) Lancaster-Lebanon is designed to help girls achieve whatever goals they set.

"We like to say girls join for 100 different reasons," she said. "Some like to get faster in a sport on their offseason. Some are new to the area, and they want to make friends. Some have friends, and they just want to have a really great time. You can be from any area and when you participate in Girls on the Run, you are going to get out of it exactly what you need."

GOTR Lancaster‑Lebanon is a registered 501(c)(3) organization that serves girls in third through eighth grades in Lancaster and Lebanon counties. West said that since forming in 2009, the council has impacted nearly 24,000 girls through locally delivered GOTR, Heart & Sole, and Camp GOTR programs.

Registration for the fall season will be open through Saturday, Sept. 13. Go to http://www.gotrlancaster.org for more details or to register.

There is a fee to participate, but GOTR has several financial assistance plans and payment options. Registration includes 20 practice sessions conducted by certified and trained GOTR volunteer coaches, curriculum and lesson materials and a take-home journal with activities, an official GOTR season T-shirt and gift, and 5K registration and a medal.

Each team will do a community impact project. "It's very important to give back to the space where you live so each team picks something that they can do for the school or for the community or for emergency services," West said.

GOTR teams typically practice twice a week for 10 weeks, and the season will culminate with a celebratory 5K on Sunday, Nov. 16, at 2:30 p.m. at Millersville University's Pucillo Field.

"By participating in Girls on the Run Lancaster-Lebanon programs, girls learn to raise the bar, to use their voices for positive and effective change, to become empowered leaders over their lives, as well as in their communities, and to simply be the best version of their already extraordinary selves," West said.

Girls on the Run Lancaster-Lebanon was founded in 2009. "A friend (Carrie Johnson) and I got together, and she said, 'This thing called Girls on the Run looks fantastic,'" said West. "'It's an empowerment program for girls in third through eighth grades. We talk about self-esteem being the best version of yourself that you can be, standing up for yourself and others, and character development.' At the time, we both had girls in third and fifth grade, and it was fantastic."

The first team consisted of 25 girls in Hempfield and now GOTR teams are in every single school district in Lancaster and four of the six districts in Lebanon. "We have been growing by leaps and bounds every single year," West said. "Lancaster and Lebanon counties have been such a welcoming community. It's absolutely amazing to see the support from donors and sponsors but also from the families that trust us enough to allow us to spend this time with their daughters. It's just absolutely unbelievable."

GOTR is for girls of every ability. "You don't have to run to be in the program," said West. "That is a common misconception because we're called Girls on the Run, but it's really about moving forward. We say you can hop, roll, skip, or jump your way to the finish line."

West noted that the program offers an ideal time to bond with teammates. "The girls will talk about everything from being a good friend to stopping and take a breather before you respond to texts and social media," she said. "We talk about peer pressure and how can you be the best friend and what qualities do you look for in a friend. It's so much fun for the girls and it really does introduce them to a lifelong love of being physically active. When you are walking or jogging or running side by side with somebody and you're having conversations and being silly and having a good time, you're not thinking about whether you're jogging or walking."

There are approximately 600 volunteer coaches a year. "We can't run the program without volunteers," said West. "One of our biggest hurdles when it comes to providing the program is recruiting our volunteer coaches. It is a pretty big commitment because the season is so long. But without our volunteer coaches, we can't support teams at different sites. We look for those individuals who want to be in that mentorship state with girls and support them in terms of their growth and development."

Women, men, and high school girls can all help with the coaching. Anyone interested in volunteering can email GOTR program director Kylie Homan at kylie.homan@girlsontherun.org. "Girls on the Run has a nationally recognized training program for our coaches," said West. We want to make sure they're equipped with everything they need to serve the girls the best they can."

Each GOTR athlete will compete with a buddy in the season-ending 5K. The buddy must register for the race and be 16 years old or older. "The buddies are there to keep encouraging them to go at their pace," said West. "It can be a family friend, it can be a teacher, it can be a neighbor."

GOTR is also seeking volunteers for the 5K. "We need hundreds of volunteers to be in cheer zones and people to make it fun and help keep it safe," said West.