When Girls on the Run New Hampshire kicked off its very first season back in spring 2001, Alli Hobbs was right there at the start line with the Mast Way School team in Lee. It was the inaugural season, her very first 5K, and a moment that would spark a journey lasting far beyond race day.

That first 5K was extra special. Alli’s mom was her 5K Buddy at the North Hampton 5K, cheering her on every step of the way. And while Alli may not have known it at the time, that experience planted the seed for a lifelong connection to movement and confidence.

“Girls on the Run was the beginning of a running career that took me into middle and high school,” Alli shares. “Cross country and track became a huge part of my life, all tracing back to my first 5K with GOTR!”

Over the years, Alli has stepped in and out of running, as many of us do, but she always finds her way back. “It’s always been relatively easy to jump back in,” she says, “and I credit that to the strong foundation I built from all those years.”

Of course, Girls on the Run was never just about running. One lesson from the program has stayed with Alli 25 years later: a conversation about body image. The girls cut out pictures from magazines and discussed how unrealistic they were — and why comparing oneself to others isn’t healthy.

“As a young girl in the early 2000s, that lesson was critical,” Alli remembers. “It played a huge role in developing a healthy body image and self-esteem.”

Looking back, Alli reflects on her Girls on the Run experience with a lot of gratitude and joy.

“I look back so fondly on my time with Girls on the Run and have so much appreciation for all that it did for me,” she says. “I hope one day I’ll get to have a daughter in Girls on the Run, too.”

As we celebrate 25 years of Girls on the Run New Hampshire, stories like Alli’s remind us just how far this program reaches. What starts as a single 5K can turn into confidence, resilience, and lessons that last a lifetime.