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No! Girls on the Run provides the training, curriculum and supplies needed to safely lead a team for a season! You simply need to be a motivating role model for your team. Many of our coaches participate in their first 5K alongside their team!

No. Girls on the Run strives to intentionally recruit diverse volunteers to promote a culture of inclusion across the organization. We welcome volunteers who identify as male, female, nonbinary, or gender-nonconforming, regardless of their sex assigned at birth.

Yes! Community coaches are individuals not directly affiliated with a school or community location who support the Girls on the Run mission. Community coaches are placed according to their geographic location and their availability at sites that need additional coaches.

Nope! We’ll provide you with training, curriculum, and supplies - everything needed to coach a safe, successful season! You should not incur any personal costs to provide the program to your team. 

Our council provides each program location with the curriculum and supplies needed to facilitate the season. These will be signed out at Coach Training, or, we will contact coaches to arrange pick-up for their team’s materials.  

Coach training includes online self-paced training and an in-person training session. We will provide more information about coach training during the application and onboarding process. 

Coaches must attend and lead 75 to 90-minute practices twice per week for 10 weeks. To provide a consistent experience to participants, your commitment is crucial to prepare and collaborate with co-coaches to facilitate fun, successful lessons. Each season culminates with a team-led community project and celebratory 5K event.  

In addition to the two to three coaches who are 18 years of age or older, some teams may also have a Junior Coach assigned. Junior Coaches are high school volunteers between the ages 16-18 who complete an application and training. They are role models and developing leaders who support the adult coaches and mentor the team. 

Coaches may indicate where they would like to coach. If coaches do not have a preference, we will assign them to a location in need. 

The more, the merrier! Each Girls on the Run team is led by 2-3 trained Coaches and sometimes an assistant Junior Coach. If you would like to coach at an existing site with another applicant, please mention this in your application and we will do our best to accommodate you.