Jen Shevitz has coached six seasons of a running-based wellness program for boys in elementary and middle school. And she’s not about to stop.
The Everett mom of boys ages 12 and 14 (plus a 19 year old daughter) came across the Let Me Run organization in 2018. By 2020 she was the director for the Greater Seattle Region.
Here’s what Jen says about her experience with Let Me Run:
“I’ve seen firsthand how the curriculum and the coaching changes boys’ lives for the better. Watching boys gain confidence to be themselves and work hard to meet their goals and be amazing humans brings me such joy. It keeps me coming back season after season to grow more participation throughout the region.”
There are fall and spring seasons of the Let Me Run program. Each season teams of between 6 and 14 boys meet after school twice a week for seven weeks, and then they cap off the season by running a 5k race.
The Let Me Run organization’s mission involves “building a new generation of men by teaching boys to be their best selves through a character development program powered by running.” The program has distinct curricula for 3rd graders, 4th-5th graders, and 6th-8th graders.
10 teams in Washington, and more to come
The fall 2022 season saw ten teams in Washington state participating. Four were based at elementary schools in Seattle, and the remainder were from cities as widespread as Marysville, Gig Harbor, and Wenatchee. Jen hopes to increase the number of teams to 20 for the spring 2023 season. The biggest obstacle for that is recruiting enough coaches. (Learn about becoming a coach.)
Nationally, over 25,000 boys in 30 states have participated on Let Me Run teams since the first one formed in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2008. Let Me Run is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Jen Shevitz is seeing boys’ lives improve
When asked to share an anecdote of how she has seen the Let Me Run experience improve a boy’s life, Jen said this:
“I have been a coach for six seasons, so I have coached a lot of boys. It is amazing to watch a kid who is struggling — whether that be with learning, feeling bullied, feeling like he can’t run — manage to find his voice and find his confidence.”
“There was one boy whom I had watched spend a lot of time alone on the playground. He participated the very first season I coached, and I got to watch him find his voice and the confidence to try new activities and 100% live as his most authentic self. I now see him as a confident and happy middle schooler who still takes the time to greet me when I see him at school.”
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“There was another kid who could barely walk the track the first day of practice. At the end of the season I watched him cross the finish line of the 5k, and the rest of the team had gone out to join him in completing the race. His mom was in tears because she was so proud of him, and now his whole family works together to be healthier.”
Jen also shared about how the experience of coaching a Let Me Run team changes coaches lives:
“We had an assistant coach our first season who was a sophomore in high school. I have known this kid since kindergarten. When he volunteered to help coach he was very shy and quiet. Today at age 19 he has coached every single season with us, and he’s become a huge mentor to the boys at his former elementary school, including my sons. Now that he’s an adult he is one of our head coaches. It has been amazing to watch him grow up as a teen immersed in our curriculum and find his voice and his confidence, which I see carry over into his everyday life.”
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