Valley News | Dartmouth Article
- oliviabolton7
- Jul 2
- 3 min read
Dartmouth athlete-led program helps kids to put best foot forward
By MICHAEL COUGHLIN JR., Valley News Staff Writer
July 1, 2025
HANOVER — A new community program is making a name for itself in the Upper Valley, offering free opportunities for children to get active and try their hands, or legs, at the sport of running.
Run Hanover, established by Dartmouth College student-athlete Julia Pye, was created to enable Big Green student-athletes to engage with and contribute to the Upper Valley community by providing an inclusive sports program affordable to anyone.
“The program is really designed to promote health, inclusion (and) community service in the area,” she said.
The program is a chapter of Run Your City, a nonprofit organization, whose website says it strives to “build a future where collegiate athletes join with local communities to ensure team sports are accessible to all kids regardless of socioeconomic factors.”
This past spring, Run Hanover had its inaugural season, which spanned over six weeks and allowed children of various ages and skill levels to participate on Sundays at Pine Park in Hanover.
The program, run by Pye, a core group of Dartmouth student-athletes and other volunteers, allows kids to get their bodies moving while having fun, whether that be through games like Sharks and Minnows or Red Light, Green Light.
It also allows aspiring or experienced athletes to participate in what Pye described as a “track 101 kind of thing,” and work with collegiate athletes to learn or improve their mechanics.
“We really leave it up to the kids. We found that even the younger kids do really well with the older kids, and some of the older kids also do really well with the younger kids and the games,” she said, emphasizing that the kids can pick whether they want to play the games or do the mechanical work and switch each week.
Pye, a member of the Big Green’s track and Field and cross country teams and the president of Run Hanover, said that the first season drew nearly 50 children, ranging in age from 4 to 13.
“Our biggest group is between (ages) 9 and 10, but we really have a huge range of kids involved,” she said, noting that while the program is geared to children in kindergarten to sixth grade, it’s also offered to seventh and eighth graders.
In celebration of a successful inaugural season, members of the Run Hanover team, volunteers and supporters, along with participating families, will be marching in Hanover’s Fourth of July parade.
“We’re really excited about this opportunity to continue to get our name out there, since the program has only been around for less than a year,” said Pye. “So, we think it’s a great opportunity to put our name out in the community and just really showcase all the people who helped make this first season happen.”
Pye emphasized that Run Hanover is seeking community members to march with them, whether they have already supported the program or are considering doing so in the future.
“We really just want the parade to be a chance for whoever is interested to come out and learn more and also just to march with us and help us promote the club, even if they don’t know anything about it just yet,” she said.
For those who missed the spring season, Run Hanover will host another in the fall, scheduled for Sept. 21. Like the spring season, it will run for six weeks on Sundays, although the location has not been confirmed.
The fall season will also feature more opportunities for participants to serve others, including a sneaker drive and a run-a-thon practice, to raise money for runners in developing countries.
For more information about Run Hanover and to sign up for next season, visit https://www.runyourcity.org/run-hanover. Those interested in marching can email hanover@runyourcity.org or contact the program through its social media pages, accessible at the link provided above.
Link to full article: https://vnews.com/Run-Hanover-Fourth-of-July-62045982
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