Errrr…. sorry, what?

That’s right. To be perfectly honest, some girls still don’t love running once they’ve completed our programmes….. And that’s ok.

Because they are more confident.

Because they believe their voice matters.

Because they are more resilient and willing to try new things and open to getting things wrong.

Because they have discovered the connection between movement and enjoyment.

Each girl discovers that the most powerful voice she can hear and believe is HER OWN. Once she believes in her own strength, her own worth, her own value, she is poised to use her voice. 

It starts with creating a safe, judgement-free environment in which girls feel safe exploring different types of movement. We use running because of its simplicity, very little technology, very few rules and the choice of how far or how fast to go. And running, in all its various forms, acts as the conduit through which girls experience the joy of being active and feel the connection between movement and well-being.

In the process, girls discover their own strength and resilience. Our programme finishes with a 5km challenge. Girls practice over several weeks, setting goals and creating a plan for the challenge day. The important point is that they decide HOW they want to complete THEIR challenge. They can run, jog, walk, skip, dance. They have learnt throughout the programme that there will be some parts that may be really hard and that they’ll need to use their emotional and mental strength to complement their physical strength, a combination of the three.

What is amazing, is not just seeing them on challenge day, with their joy, pride and sense of achievement. It’s hearing how they’ve gone back into school and stuck with a hard maths problem, found new ways to navigate through difficult social situations and taken on new challenges, embracing if things aren’t 100% perfect.

This year’s IWD theme, #choosetochallenge, celebrates empowerment.

To feel empowered, we must believe in our own power. In our own voice. Through Mini Mermaids, our goal is to make sure every girl leaves feeling a bit more empowered and that we’ve helped her lay a strong foundation of confidence, resilience and self-belief.

By Hannah Corne

Find out more
Twitter: minimermaiduk/ Hannah runninggirl101
Facebook: mmrcuk
Instagram: minimermaiduk