“A beautiful ocean of pink” – that’s how one spectator described the Girls on the Run 5K in Rapid City. The 5K marked the first-ever event of its kind for the Black Hills community.
Around 80 girls rallied at Founder’s Park Saturday morning for the event.
Jasmina Miller is the Council Director for EmBe’s Girls on the Run South Dakota. It’s an after school program for third through fifth grade girls.
She said the organization focuses on social, emotional, and physical skill-building – things like building confidence, being a good friend, and how to recognize and identify emotions.
“The girls nowadays, they struggle with a lot—whether its physical, mental, whatever it may be, and we just want to give them a safe space to grow and shine and reach their limitless potential," said Miller. "That’s what it’s all about.”
Kinsley Carlson is one of those girls who wanted to reach her potential and she had goals. She’s a fifth grader from Spearfish Creekside Elementary. Her goal — to beat her own 5K record of 38 minutes. She said goals are important, but likes a lot of other things about it, too, like, “Running and being with friends, making new friends and meeting new people.”

Kimber Kaiser agreed. She’s a fifth grader from Hermosa. She wanted to beat her own record of running the 5K in less than an hour. She not only runs for the fun of it, but to help manage her Type I diabetes.
“You can run and it brings your blood sugar down," said Kaiser. "I really like exercising and moving my body and just having all the friends be with you and running and having fun!”
Miller said this end-of-season celebratory event helps all the girls reach their goals and run at their own “happy pace.”
“Everyone’s happy pace is different, not to compare themselves to others. The goal is just to finish no matter how that looks—whether they’re jumping, hopping, skipping, running, rolling, whatever that may be," said Miller. "As long as they finish, that’s the true goal of today.”
Start a Girls on the Run team, volunteer, or learn more here.