At just past 4 on an October afternoon, a dozen girls began to run.

They were told to circle a piece of Danville’s Sycamore Valley Park. But unlike track practice, where the task might be paired with fierce faces and intense competition, the girls — who all ranged between 10 and 11 years old — ran their laps with a different attitude.

“When you run, you feel good,” said Milena Molerovich, an 11-year-old from Alamo. “But when you share that gift with other people, that’s even better.”

Graci Bueter ended her jog smiling, greeted by cheers and a ringing cowbell that announced her finish. Abby Ruszkowski and Olivia Grima ran in fits of giggles, jogging at an easy pace.

The girls are just a few of the 726 currently enrolled in Girls on the Run Bay Area, an afterschool program that teaches girls to run and grow their emotional intelligence in the years that matter most: elementary and middle school. Studies show that girls’ self-confidence peaks at age 9 — and through its twice-weekly model, Girls on the Run is hoping to extend that.

“It’s so important for girls to realize that they are so much more than comparing themselves to others, worrying about what other people think of them, and being scared of being the unique person they are,” said 17-year-old Graciela Kerr, a student-athlete at San Ramon Valley High and one of two junior volunteer coaches.

Over 10 weeks this fall, the coaches helped girls build their confidence, emotional intelligence, and empathy through group discussions and games. And they ran — working toward a shared, non-competitive goal of running a 5K at the end of the season.

“There is a secret sauce to Girls on the Run that I have not encountered anywhere else in my life,” said Jess Carey, one of the senior coaches. “This is about proving to yourself that you can move forward, and you can do a hard thing. And you can do that hard thing in the way that you want to do it.”