Girls on the Run of Southeastern Wisconsin Inspires People to Keep Moving!

On Saturday, May 16, Girls on the Run of Southeastern Wisconsin (GOTR) kicked off its first Virtual SoulMates Run. The run was created after COVID caused the group to cancel its spring program, just one week into the 10-week curriculum. GOTR wanted to give the girls who were participating in the spring program, and other Wisconsinites, motivation to keep moving while we shelter in place. Participants can choose a 5K, 10K, Marathon or Marathon relay as an option and can complete their event in a day, a few days or take the entire week. Many of the Girls who were signed up for GOTR program this spring are part of virtual teams who will run next week. GOTR has nearly 300 people registered to participate.

But one of our girls got a head start and we think her story will inspire others to get moving too!

Isabella Talaska, an eight-year-old from Greenfield, already finished her 5K run! Isabella joined the program this Spring for the first time and was part of the team at Maple Grove Elementary. This past December, Isabella had a kidney transplant after waiting two years for a donor. The Spring GOTR program was part of her recovery plan. She was finally strong enough to take on the challenge. But Isabella didn’t want to wait another day to run her race because she had several clinical appointments scheduled this week, and she feared her doctors would limit her activity. So….she got a head start for her team and finished her run! Her mom sent us a video of her run, and we think it’s a great way to kick off what more than 300 other people from across our region will be doing too.

We hope you’ll enjoy the Lemonade we are sharing along with Isabella and her family!

If you want to join our Virtual Soulmates Run this week, you can still join us. Click here to learn more!