As GOTR Memphis looks back on our past two 5Ks there is one person that has really made her mark. Her name is Asya Bray and if you were at the past 5K you probably saw her and her sorors in their blue! The Nu Phi Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated has been volunteering at the 5K events for the past year. During the past 5Ks you could find Asya helping during setup, greeting people, working crowd control and joining the spirit squad. She always found a way to be helpful even if it was not her official volunteer role. 

Asya says, “I love volunteering at the GOTR Memphis 5K as a crowd control/greeter the best as I am one of the first faces that they [the girls and families] get to see. I set the tone for their race day and I get a chance to connect with them. It is even more rewarding because I kind of feel like a big sister to the participant as a former GOTR girl!” 

Her sorority is only Asya’s most recent sisterhood. Asya says that “as an only child I had never really felt sisterhood and with GOTR I felt sisterhood for the first time. It felt like it was our own secret thing!”

Asya was a GOTR girl with the GOTR Chicago Council from 6th-7th grade. Of course we had to ask her what her GOTR name was: “Amazing Asya, of course!" She loved her experience in GOTR because practice was always very innovative as her coaches would bring them to local parks, and they would have the opportunity to see more of their community! 

One difference between the GOTR Memphis 5K and GOTR Chicago 5K was the 5K route. In Chicago, they ran downtown! She says “I always thought it was surreal that they would close down streets and redirect traffic just for us to run!” One of her favorite parts about Girls on the Run was completing the 5K with her mom as her running buddy! 

She says “GOTR was different from the other after school activities as my mom just watched me complete a program. With GOTR it was different because my mom got to finish the program with me! It formed a deeper connection between my mom and me! It was even more special because my mom found the time to do it with me!”

“At the girls on the 5K it was impossible to feel alone especially when you have a sea of people cheering you on and helping keep you safe! I love that I can be that for more little girls and I can not wait to volunteer at the next GOTR Memphis 5K in the Fall!”