Heart&Sole Logo
Registration for Fall 2026 Opens July 7th 9AM Central Time!
BECOME A COACH
SITE APPLICATION

INFORMATION

For more information or questions, please contact Jasmina Miller at 605-681-8329 or jnmiller@embe.org.

INFORMATION

For more information or questions, please contact Elizabeth Cordell at 605-681-8349 or ecordell@embe.org.

We inspire girls to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun experienced-based curriculum which creatively integrates running.

Heart and Sole is a transformational physical activity-based positive youth development program for girls in 6th to 8th grades. We teach life skills through dynamic interactive lessons and running games. The program culminates with the girls being physically and emotionally prepared to complete a celebratory 5K run. The goal of the program is to unleash confidence through accomplishment while establishing a lifetime appreciation of health and fitness.

The “Girl Wheel” is the central concept of the program and focuses on the whole girl.  In each lesson, girls participate in activities related to the Girl Wheel components – body, brain, heart, spirit and social. The wheel helps demonstrate the parts of themselves that impact their lives, their families, their schools and their neighborhoods. Girls learn to use the girl wheel to identify changes they would like to make within themselves and ways they can contribute to change around them.

Another element of Heart & Sole is the concept of small acts of kindness. It’s a way to help girls develop their empathy by noticing opportunities to be kind, appreciating these acts in their lives and engaging in these acts with those in their home, school and neighborhood.

Girls on the Run comprises over 200 councils across the United States and Canada. We want girls to have the opportunity to participate in Heart & Sole and Girls on the Run wherever they live.

*If you do not see your site, they may have not been confirmed yet. We are currently working on confirming sites for the Spring 2026 Girls on the Run and Heart & Sole season. Please check back again for an updated list as we continue to update it through December and January.

HEART & SOLE TEAMS – SPRING 2026
Watertown Intermediate (6th – 8th Graders)

GOTR TEAMS – SPRING 2026
Alcester-Hudson Elementary
Baltic Elementary
Beresford Elementary
Bishop O’Gorman Catholic Schools – St. Mary’s Elementary
Bishop O’Gorman Catholic Schools – St. Lambert Elementary
Brandon Elementary
Brandon Inspiration Elementary
Bridgewater – Emery Elementary
Brookings – Dakota Prairie Elementary
Brookings – Medary Elementary
Central Meade County School – Hearford Location
Chester Elementary
Colman-Egan Elementary
Custer Elementary
Dell Rapids Elementary
Harrisburg – Adventure Elementary (TBD – working on fully confirming)
Harrisburg – Endeavor Elementary
Harrisburg – Horizon Elementary (TBD – working on fully confirming)
Harrisburg – Journey Elementary
Hayti – Hamlin Education Center
Hermosa Elementary
Irene – Wakonda Elementary
Lennox Elementary
Madison Elementary
Marion Elementary
Mitchell – Gertie Belle Rogers Elementary
Mitchell – John Paul II Elementary
Mitchell – LB Williams Elementary
Parker Elementary
Pierre – Kennedy Elementary
Rapid City – Woodrow Wilson Elementary
Sioux Falls Christian
SF – Discovery Elementary
SF – Hayward Elementary
SF – Laura B. Anderson Elementary
SF – Laura Wilder Elementary
SF – Marcella LeBeau Elementary
SF – Oscar Howe Elementary
SF – Rosa Parks Elementary
SF – Terry Redlin Elementary
Spearfish – Creekside Elementary
Tea – Legacy Elementary
Tea – Venture Elementary
Watertown – McKinley Early Childhood Center (3rd – 5th Graders)
West Central – Hartford Elementary
Yankton – Beadle Elementary

If you are interested in starting a Girls on the Run team in your community, please contact Jasmina Miller at jnmiller@embe.org or at 605-681-8329

Are you interested in bringing Heart & Sole to your school or community?

Importance of Girls on the Run:
At Girls on the Run, we know that girls’ self-confidence begins to drop at nine years old. Physical activity levels begin to decline at ten years old. We also know that 50% of girls start to experience bullying at ten to thirteen years old.

Girls on the Run strives to change these statistics with an evidence-based curriculum to promote social-emotional health and creatively integrate running games in each lesson.

What you need to know:
Teams are made up of 16 girls and 5 volunteer coaches.
Sites will be given recruitment materials and flyers to spread awareness of the program at your site.
Teams meet twice a week for 75 minutes or once a week for 120 minutes
There is no cost to bring the program to your community. Fees will be paid by the families during the registration process.
Full or partial scholarships are available

STEP 1:
Reach out to Jasmina Miller, jnmiller@embe.org, to learn more about how to bring Heart & Sole to your community!

STEP 2:
Complete New Site Application

Become a Heart & Sole Coach!

Heart & Sole strives to help every girl activate her limitless potential and ensure that she is free to boldly pursue her dreams. You can help make this possible by becoming a Heart & Sole Coach and making an investment in the life of a girl! Each season, Heart & Sole has a dynamic group of coaches that volunteer their time to guide and mentor girls so that they are prepared to become happy, healthy, self-confident adolescents and adults.

Each team consists of 8 to 15 girls that meet after school around 3:30 or 4:00 pm. Each Heart & Sole team meets twice a week throughout the season. Each team will have 5 – 6 coaches to lead the girls with a minimum of two coaches at each practice. Coaches lead the team through a comprehensive, interactive fun curriculum. All materials are provided.  It’s our volunteers that bring this program to life!

Heart & Sole Coach Requirements:

  • Must be 18 years old or older
  • Lead a healthy lifestyle
  • Interest in mentoring girls and being a positive role
  • Can commit to one, 90-minute practice a week
  • Able to complete National Coach Training
    You do not need to be a runner to coach a Heart & Sole team! 

Register HERE to become a coach for the Fall 2025 season.

At the 5K celebration, we gather as a community to celebrate the accomplishments of every GOTR girl. On this day, teams unite to recognize how far participants have come and how far they will continue to go. We know that the finish line is just the beginning for our participants! So register early, lace up your sneakers and get ready to witness greatness.

Support Runner Cost:
Adults (13 years and older): $20
Youth (12 years and younger): $15

All fees support our Girls on the Run program. 

Sioux Falls 5K – Saturday, May 2nd
Location: South Dakota Junior Football Fields
Support Runner Registration: CLICK HERE
5K Volunteers Sign-Up: CLICK HERE

Mitchell 5K – Sunday, May 3rd
Location: LB Williams Elementary
Support Runner Registration: CLICK HERE

Black Hills 5K – Saturday, May 9th
Location: Founders Park
Support Runner Registration: CLICK HERE
5K Volunteers Sign-Up: CLICK HERE

Race information is sent out one week before the race.

Scholarship opportunities are available. EmBe is committed to being accessible to all regardless of ability to pay. On the online participant registration, you can find an income-based sliding fee scale built in. If you need additional assistance, please fill out the scholarship application.

Local Sponsors

EmBe is proud to partner with Avera, Scheels, First Premier Bank, Sanford Health, Marsh McLennan Agency,  Sammons, Voyage Federal Credit Union, and United Way to bring Girls on the Run and Heart & Sole to our community.  Over 1000 girls locally participate in Girls on the Run and Heart & Sole each year thanks to the generosity of these partners.

National Sponsors

Girls on the Run International is proud to partner with adidas, Gamma Phi Beta, Rowan, and BAND as we work to deliver life-changing programs to more than 120,000 girls each year.  These companies are vital to advancing our mission and provide financial, in-kind and volunteer support while leveraging their brand’s assets to raise awareness about the program across North America.

National 5k Sponsors

Girls on the Run International is proud to partner with adidas, Gamma Phi Beta, BAND, Gorjana, Fleet Feet, and Rowan as we work to deliver life-changing programs to more than 120,000 girls each year.  These companies are vital to advancing our mission and provide financial, in-kind and volunteer support while leveraging their brand’s assets to raise awareness about the program across North America.

Rowan
Gorjana
Fleet Feet