Heart & Sole

Heart & Sole helps girls find their place. Trained coaches lead 6th-8th (or 5th-6th) graders to inspire them to value what makes them unique. Together, teams uncover confidence and understand the importance of physical and emotional health.

At Heart & Sole the emphasis is on the whole child with a focus on five key parts: body, brain, heart, spirit. Girls work on setting goals through exercises and discussions. Each season ends with a non-competitive 5K, where participants celebrate who they are, how far they have come and where they want to go.

The Heart & Sole curriculum motivates girls to:

• Learn more about themselves
• Become independent and critical thinkers
• Develop skills to write their own stories
• Learn how to connect with others inside and outside of their circle
• Find inner strength through physical activity

Building confidence and setting young girls up a path for a healthy lifestyle is PRICELESS! However, there are real costs associated with operating a non-profit organization and delivering the Girls on the Run program to approximately 1,500 girls in the Central Iowa area each year. Registration is $150 per girl and includes:

• Lessons 2X/week for 75-minutes, led by certified GOTR volunteer coaches
• Our research based curriculum and detailed lesson materials
• Official GOTR T-shirt and water bottle
• 5K Registration fee
• 5K Medal
• Post 5K celebration

We'd love to have your child involved, and we are committed to making programming accessible to all participants. While the full registration fee is $150 per participant, we offer a sliding scale fee structure making financial assistance available to anyone.

The online registration form will provide guidance to find the fee that is right for your family. We list household income as a benchmark for approx. a family size of 4, but this is a guide, not a rule. Simply self-select the price point that best fits your needs, and the computer will adjust the fee accordingly. We do not verify income information.

Additional financial assistance is available. Call 515-410-9845 or email christa.vanderleest@girlsontherun.org for more information.

Attendance Policy:
It is critically important to the experiential learning process, group dynamics and each child's program experience that girls participate in all sessions. Participants are not allowed to attend only one session per week. Kids who miss more than four (4) practices may lose their spot on the team. 

Respectful Behavior Policy:
Every participant is expected to behave in a respectful manner towards their coaches and teammates. Ongoing negativity, disruption, threatening behavior and bullying will not be tolerated. Girls on the Run reserves the right to remove from participation any child who exhibits this type of behavior. Parents/guardians and coaches agree to act in accordance with this policy as well.

Withdrawal and Refund Policy:
Girls on the Run of CIA will issue a refund for withdrawal from the program up to the start of the first session minus a $10 administrative fee, execpt in cases of medical emergencies with a doctor's note or documentation. No refunds will be issued after the program starts. No refunds will be issued for girls who have been asked to leave due to a violation of a policy. If a team is canceled due to insufficient registration, inadequate coach support, or other extenuating circumstances, the registration fee will be refunded, excluding the processing fee.

Late Guardian Policy:
Participants are expected to be picked up on time. Ongoing tardiness will not be tolerated. On the first occurrence parent/guardian will be verbally reminded of the tardiness policy. The second time, a verbal reminder and written email acknowledgement of the policy will be issued. Upon the third instance, the child may no longer be able to participate in programming.