This is just one of the activities young girls participate in during Girls on the Run, a nonprofit prevention program offering interactive life skills and a running curriculum designed to increase physical activity and emotional health. The program for preteen girls ages 8­11 and their families helps reduce at-risk behaviors among participants, including teen pregnancies, eating disorders, depression/suicide and substance abuse.

Girls gain the ability to make healthy decisions and form positive self-images in a noncompetitive setting. There is also a division of the program called Girls on Track for girls ages 12­14, which delves deeper into discussions about dating, sexual harassment and female stereotypes, to name a few topics.

The biggest believer in the program is Kathleen Nestler, executive director of Girls on the Run of Silicon Valley. Nestler, a passionate parent and avid marathoner with a bachelor's degree in psychology, brought the international program to Los Gatos schools three years ago. The program started at Lakeside Elementary School in the Los Gatos mountains in 2002 with 25 participating girls. Nestler has personal ties to the school, since she was a 1978 graduate of Lakeside and a 1982 graduate of Los Gatos High School.

"We want the girls to feel empowered and celebrate what makes them special," Nestler said.

Program coaches and volunteers, ages 21 and up, also include co-founder Christy Cowley, a Daves Avenue and LGHS graduate, as well as Gill Farmer, Cecile Chronister and numerous assistant coaches, who are all either parents or community members.

"It takes up all my time, but Christy and I started it because we love coaching and we love the girls," said Nestler, adding she is looking for new sites to expand the program and new volunteers to facilitate its growth.

The program has extended from Lakeside to Lexington, Loma Prieta and Daves Avenue elementary schools and C.T. English Middle School, with a combined total of more than 100 girls.

Lisa Orcutt, a Lakeside third-grade teacher and parent of girls in the program, said her students look forward to third grade simply because it means they're old enough to participate in Girls on the Run. Orcutt said the program affects the girls' self-esteem positively and brings them together as a community, teaching them to work together like a family. The girls also mature personally through the program, becoming more comfortable with their bodies and emerging as athletes.

"They start to see themselves as individuals, and they don't compare themselves to others," she said.

When many of the participants start out, Nestler said, they often have weight and self-confidence issues or don't see themselves as athletes. But by the time they finish meeting twice a week, 24 times, they may not be the fastest females on the field, but they feel good about themselves. Exercise is used in conjunction with the after-school program discussions because it keeps the girls energized and moving.

"Everyone knows how to run or walk," Nestler said. "It's easy to do, but also very independent."

Lakeside Principal Joyce Salisbury said it's important for young girls to be in an environment where they feel comfortable talking about their preteen concerns and emotions. She said structured discussions in school can sometimes be detrimental to preteen growth and can spark rumors. But after school, discussions through the Girls on the Run program are more spontaneous and open.

She added that 3­6 p.m. is often a time where young girls are left unsupervised. But through Girls on the Run, adults oversee participants who are engaging in sports in a healthy environment.

"If you read the research right now, we are really facing an epidemic of poor eating and exercise for young girls," Salisbury said.

The program provides the girls a way to solidify relationships with each other, she said, while deterring the formation of social cliques and the typing of some girls as outcasts.

Ten-year-old Emma Stokes and her twin sister, Katie, are in their third year participating in the program; they are fifth-graders at Lakeside.

"I like the running, and I also like the lessons because it teaches us what to do in some situations," said Emma, explaining that she knows to call a parent or guardian to come get her if someone giving her a ride appears to be intoxicated.

Emma also said she would talk to a friend if she learned the friend had a problem with drugs. Emma said she enjoys having coaches who she can talk to about anything and who are not her mom or dad.

"They understand what we are talking about, since most of the coaches have their own children," Emma said.

Girls on the Run games focused on nutrition and general hygiene have helped Emma to develop better habits of making her bed, brushing her teeth and flossing daily. She added that she's learning through Girls on the Run about negative ways the media portrays girls and women.

"I don't care if I look thin or not, because it is what's on the inside that counts," she said.

The program also includes cheers, giggles, group hugs, a community-service project and a chance for participants to complete a 3.1-mile community running event with their team. Girls on the Run, along with other local sponsors, is inviting members of the community to participate in a 5K family fun run. The event begins at 9 a.m. on May 16 at Vasona Park in Los Gatos, near the Blossom Hill Road park entrance.