“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”

Helen Keller

Endurance running can be a very intimidating activity for many (especially if sprinting to catch the school bus is the furthest distance you’ve ever completed).

So PRETTY GIRLS SWEAT hosted a running event with beauty blogger Francheska Medina of HeyFranHey.com and entrepreneur/fitness enthusiast Samantha Jo Alonso to extinguish the fear of running. With just a mile on our agenda, followed by a pretty picnic, New York City teens flocked to Central Park on Saturday, June 12th to give running a go.

We couldn’t have picked a better day. The weather was absolutely perfect!

As women who work in entertainment, including popular YouTuber Chescaleigh and writer/marathon runner Robin Arzon, dedicated their Saturday morning to mentor local teens, the sky was flooded with sunshine and the air was filled with warm breezes.

PRETTY GIRLS SWEAT founder Aeshia DeVore Branch organized a few, fun fitness games, fitness blogger Paparoxi led a group stretching workshop, HeyFranHey discussed the importance of healthy nutrition and how it changed her life, Samantha expressed how sweating with style can boost motivation, and mentors were open and honest about the health issues they overcame by dedicating themselves to healthier lifestyles.

During the mile run, each teen was partnered with a mentor as their running buddy to discuss everything from proper running form to career/personal goals.

Everyone encouraged one another as each runner crossed the finish line feeling accomplished. “It actually wasn’t that bad,” said Tatiana, 14 (Bronx, NY). More outbursts of achievement could be heard as teens once fearful of running long distances expressed how they want to incorporate running regularly into their lifestyles. To their surprise, Samantha announced that they each exceeded their goal by finishing 1.3 miles!

To celebrate, guests were treated to a picnic lunch with beverages sponsored by WAT-AAH!, the first premium brand of functional water for kids and teens. HeyFranHey, Chescaleigh, and Paparoxxi answered beauty and hair-related questions as well as gave tips on how to start a blog or vlog.

At the end of the girl gathering, one lucky young lady scored a Nicki Minaj Beats by Dre Pink Pill during the event raffle, and everyone went home with a PRETTY GIRLS SWEAT gift bag filled with goodies from In Style magazine, custom leggings courtesy of Samantha Jo Alonso / Fruition LV, and a PRETTY GIRLS SWEAT t-shirt and motivational wristband.

To join us at future fitness events, subscribe to our mailing list.

To support our mission to encourage teen girls to make their health a priority and to fund free fitness events for teens, purchase apparel in our online shop (HERE), make a donation at sweatmakescents.org, or email us at hi@prettygirlssweat.com to partner with us, become a mentor, or volunteer.

Special Thanks to our mentors:
Chescaleigh
Paparoxi
Robin Arzon
Sacha Noelle
Marisol Martinez
Joelle Ebner
Aleah Tarnoviski
Siraad Dirshe

And our volunteers:
Maya Hajj
Joié Johnson-Walker
Shawndrea Rawal