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The Plains Mini Mermaids had a big finish last weekend when the group fulfilled their goal of completing a 5K run – 3.1 miles – at the Amundson Sports Complex.

More than 30 people joined the 14 members of the Mini Mermaid Running Club for their Family Fun Run Saturday, marking the end of the six-week program and as a trial run for the Plains Days run, which will be sponsored by the club, said Gena Ferlan, the chief organizer and one of five club coaches.

The run started and ended at the old airport runway at the sports complex. Participants ranged from 1-year-old Lane French, who rode out the run in a stroller pushed by his father, Beau French, to 69-year-old Marv Tanner, who was accompanying his granddaughter, Kendall Spurr, 4, in the race. Tanner was given the special "Sleeper Award" title for being the final runner, crossing the finish line at 1:04.47, said Carol Brooker, who kept times of all the runners and donated use of the inflatable Runner's Edge starting line arch.

There were no prizes for placement in the race and the run was free, but the club accepted donations to help pay for next year's program. Runners included people from Plains, Paradise, Camas Prairie, Hot Springs, Ronan, and Missoula.

First to cross the finish line was 12-year-old Aaron Pfister at 27:59. The first Mini Mermaid was Ashley Ferlan, 9, Gena's daughter, crossing the line at 28:05. "I feel good about beating my mom because she's been running longer than I have," said Ashley. Gena finished at 31:25. In third place was Cooper Meredith at 29:14. He was also pleased about finishing before his mother, Marlee Meredith, one of the club's coaches.

The Mini Mermaid Running Club is a national program for little girls. It teaches not only running and how to have a healthy lifestyle, but confidence, according to Whitney Tanner-Spurr, one of the club coaches and mother of two Mini Mermaids. There are 17 girls from 6-11 years old in the club, which began in Plains three years ago. The girls trained for one hour twice a week. The program comes with a curriculum and the girls made journal entries after each training session. They learned stretching, nutrition, running form, and warming up and cooling down techniques. Tanner-Spurr said they'd like to start a similar program for boys – the Young Titans Running Club, also a nationwide program.

"The underline focus of the Mini Mermaid is female empowerment and self-confidence, which is so crucial," said Tanner-Spurr, who started running last year, but has already competed in six half-marathons. Her goal is to do a half-marathon in all 50 states. She plans to do one in Wyoming in June.

Tanner-Spurr said the girls did very well. Coaches started the girls off slow and added distance each time. She said that speed and distance didn't matter as much as building confidence and taking pride in what they're doing. They could walk or run, as long as they finished, she said.

"We let them set the tempo. We have some that are fast and we have to keep up with them and some we just encourage to keep going," said Tanner-Spurr, who added that all of them have grown in self-confidence as well as in endurance and speed. "At first it was hard for some of them to run around the school playground, now they're finishing a 5K."

The Plains Days 5K will take place on Saturday, June 2, at 8 a.m. on the old airport runway at the sports complex. Questions about the Plains Days 5K or the Mini Mermaid Running Club can be directed to Gena Ferlan at 546-2319.