TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – In this week’s episode of Run for Fun with Leigh Spann, we focus on an organization called “Girls On The Run.”

Jessica Dvoracsek from the organization joins Leigh and Coach Maria to discuss the impact they have on young girls. According to their website, Girls on the Run is a fun, evidence-based program that inspires girls to build their confidence.

Coach Maria often explains that lessons learned while running have many parallels to life lessons. That’s the basis of Girls On The Run as well.

One program is for girls in 3rd to 5th grade, and another one is for young ladies in 6th to 8th grade. There are teams across the Tampa Bay area and around the country. The teams practice two times a week for 10 weeks to train for a celebratory 5K race.

It teaches girls about dedication and the important connection between physical and emotional health. It’s also important to show how exercise can be fun and lead to a healthy lifestyle for many years.

You can always go back and listen to previous episodes of Run For Fun on Spotify and Apple Podcasts for other ways to find the joy and fun in running.