Kids in Cooperstown got very lucky the day Lin Quinlan moved to town.

Quinlan, co-pastor of the Cooperstown Presbyterian Church along with husband Steve, has made it her business to provide children with safe, productive outlets for their emotions, not to mention their time.

First she helped to found the Ecumenical Youth Group. Now she's paired up with Paula Huntsman, a nurse, runner and mother of two boys, to target one of the biggest problems facing young girls: self-esteem.

Girls on the Run is a national organization founded by Molly Barker, a four-time Ironman Triathlete, social worker and mother. The comprehensive outline for the program is six hundred pages long and details the methods by which girls in third, fourth and fifth grades can learn about themselves-and their ability to do whatever it is they set their minds to accomplish.

Huntsman met Barker in Idaho while both were participating in the five kilometer Celebration Race along with 20,000 other women. After the race, on an airplane, Huntsman had time to reflect on materials furnished by Barker.

"I knew this was something that I had to do," said Huntsman, "and though I had only just met Lin Quinlan I also knew that she was the person to work with on this."

Quinlan couldn't agree more.

"The girls are responding to this so well," she said. "It's a combination of learning healthy living habits and the expression of emotions. The girls are at an age now where they haven't let images of models and that sort of pressure sink in yet. The program is geared at teaching them to value themselves."

The fourteen week program culminates in a five kilometer race. While the girls meet, they discuss aspects of their lives, guided in this exercise by Quinlan and Huntsman, who were trained by Barker in Northampton, Mass.

The expensive training was funded by the Pediatric Group at Bassett Hospital, and by the Lions' Club. There are two parent volunteers, Jan Bradley, who does not have a daughter in the program, and Alison Lane, who does.

"It benefits the hospital in the long run because these girls are learning to take care of themselves," said Huntsman.

In the beginning, some of the girls were hesitant about the five kilometer race. At their second meeting, they were paired up to go half that distance at the Clark Sports Center, where they meet twice weekly.

"Half of the girls thought they wouldn't be able to do it," said Huntsman, "but they each went a mile and a quarter, and they all finished it."

The 5K race will be conducted with the same parameters-walk, run, trot, it doesn't matter. Walk a mile or run for all five, it's up to each of the girls. It isn't about the running, Huntsman said, it's about understanding that goals can be reached with effort and that well-being is crucial.

At last Friday's meeting, the girls listened to a story about a fictitious Sally who hunched because she was too tall. Her height later came in handy when, in adulthood, she was able to take excellent photographs at an important event for her job. Team-oriented exercises were conducted around the story.

Huntsman said she's hoping that the program grows in Otsego County. With twice as many girls than slots available for the program, they found themselves in the position of having to turn interested kids away.

The term Barker uses to describe the pressures on girls is "the girl box," meaning that weight is too often tied to self-esteem, character is surpassed by an emphasis on appearance and girls are taught to subscribe to unhealthy habits in order to fit into this box. Girls on the Run was created as a way for young girls to define themselves and live healthier, happier lives.