Whittemore Elementary girls complete Boston 5K

On Sunday the Whittemore Elementary School’s chapter of Girls on the Run Boston saw their season-long training efforts pay off with the completion of a 5K on Boston Common. The race had 1,900 girls from the Boston area hitting the pavement, with 1,600 additional participants joining in as running buddies and community members.

The Whittemore team met twice a week for eight weeks this fall, running around Whittemore grounds in between learning about themselves, their team members and their community.

“This awesome group of fourth and fifth graders participated in more than just lap running during practices,” Margaret Timperi, Whittemore teacher and GOTR coach, said. “They worked together to develop a toolbox of strategies for handling difficult situations in life and, hopefully, had fun in the process.”

Timperi, Amanda Fucci and Katie Patterson led the team of 14 girls through the season and across the finish line at Sunday’s race. Fellow Whittemore teachers Kendall Markland and Anna Bujalski and vice principal Elizabeth Ucello joined in the 5K to ensure each girl had a running buddy (a requirement for those under 16). Family members also ran alongside the team.

Gina Timoteo, a fourth grader and first-year GOTR participant, enjoyed her time on the team this fall, especially “meeting all the new people,” she said. She and her mom, Jessica Craig, ran the race together Sunday.

GOTR Boston is the local council of GOTR International and aims to support girls in third through fifth grade during a critical period in their development by building self-confidence and encouraging physical activity. The program focuses not only on running, but developing life skills and community. The organization’s website emphasizes a focus on confidence, character, care, connections, competence and contribution.

An important part of the program is the creation of a community impact project by the team. The Whittemore girls voted to focus their project on Healthy Waltham’s efforts to fight food insecurity in the city. The team put together slides and posters in support of Healthy Waltham to share with the local community, and wrote postcards to the organization thanking them for the work they do.

Creating those posters and running the 5K were the high points of the season for Emilia Reid, a fifth grader in her second year with the Whittemore GOTR team. “It was fun to run in Boston with all the other girls,” she said.

“The end-of-season 5K was a joyful and inspiring celebration of ‘I Can’ Power,” Timperi said, referring to a core concept of the GOTR program. “The girls did an amazing job pushing themselves and supporting each other. Their coaches are all so very proud of them!”