Thursday, January 24, 2008

DFMC Runner Profile

Name: Judith Forman
Age: 31
Hometown: Canton
School: Northwestern University; BS in Journalism, 1998

Years with DFMC: 2006- present

Judith started running, or rather walking, in 1995 as a means of getting rid of the dreaded "freshman 15. Eventually her walking laps turned into jogging and then finally running. She ran her first 5k in the fall of 1996 and from that point moving forward she had the race bug!!

She ran her first marathon in 2002 (with the leukemia/lymphoma society) and joined the DFMC team in 2006.

Her passion for running and fitness has been a life-changing experience for her as she is now developing a career to help others get inspired and get fit. Her business card should read: personal training service - no slackers allowed! She has high expectations for herself and is willing to work hard to meet her goals, and I have no doubt that she expects the same from her clients as she works with them in the early morning hours.

And based on how her training is going thus far, I can definitely see a marathon PR for her this April!

I love Judith's energy and enthusiasm! And I am very grateful to her for volunteering her time and talent to coach one of the pilot Fit Girls Grant programs. Fit Girls is a 6 week running/reading program for girls in 4th and 5th grade. While I've developed the program and continue to coach a team here in Medfield, one of my dreams was to bring the program to children in underserved communities. This dream finally came true this fall thanks to the support from the DMSE Children's Fitness Foundation. The Foundation provided the funds for each girl in the grant program to receive a t-shirt, water bottle, paid 5k entry fee, and one new book. While the Foundation covered the costs for the "stuff", which they girls looooooooove, the real key to the success of the program is recruiting a volunteer coach who is caring, committed and enthusiastic. And in steps Judith!!!

For 8 weeks Judith commuted to the Haley School in Roslindale to work with 12 girls who signed up for the team. She not only had them running laps, but also doing push-ups, squats, and other strength training exercises. Judith also passed along personal copies of her favorite childhood series, the Babysitter's Club.

And here's what some of the girls had to say about the program:
"I LOVE Fit Girls because it gets you in shape. It energizes my body. When I am having a bad day, Fit Girls cheers me up and I forget about what happened earlier. To me Fit Girls is about sisterhood and being healthy.”

"Running and walking makes me feel like Wonder Woman!"

THANK YOU, Judith, for being such a fabulous Fit Girls coach, role model and mentor!!!

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