At Elephant’s Fork Elementary School recently, a group of girls running around the bus loop after school were all smiles, even as they panted for breath at the end of every lap.

As the summer prepares to gear up, running season is winding down for these girls and others in two other Suffolk elementary schools who have participated in Girls on the Run this season.

The program, currently located at Elephant’s Fork, Mack Benn and Northern Shores elementary schools, isn’t all about running. The third- through fifth-grade girls who participate get healthy snacks after school, participate in affirming activities and learn health and life lessons, like how to recognize bullying and how they can be good citizens.

“It basically is an empowerment curriculum to help them gain confidence and improve their health while intertwining it with a 5K preparation,” said Maria Kindel, program director for Girls on the Run.

This year’s 5K will take place Saturday in Norfolk, and walk-up registrations are available that morning.

Becky Hamlin, a special education teacher at Elephant’s Fork who is one of the coaches of the program, said it is important for the 19 or so girls who participate there.

“It’s fun,” she said. “It lets them build some friendship and relationships outside of just their class and just their grade.”

While the effects on the physical health of the participants — more exercise and better knowledge of how to take care of their bodies through exercise, nutrition, sleep and stress management — are not to be discounted, the skills that will help them cope with life are also important, Hamlin said.

“It develops those leadership skills and confidence building skills,” she said.

At Elephant’s Fork Elementary, the girls recently got a lesson in how to stand up to bullies while they stretched, tied their shoes and had a healthy snack after school. Once outside, the coaches proposed hypothetical bullying situations and asked the girls to think about their response as they ran a lap.

“They also have lessons where they are given copies of advertisements they would see in magazines and catalogs and newspapers and online,” Kindel said. “We talk about what it is that’s being sold. It’s not just the product that’s being sold; it’s also the image that’s being sold. When they go into junior high, they’re better prepared when they get bombarded with all the tween and pre-teen magazines out there.”

Laila McGlone, an Elephant’s Fork participant, said she has learned a lot through the program.

“I like coming to Girls on the Run,” she said. “I’ve learned some strategies to help with bullies.”

For Riley Williams, the attraction of the program is both the running and the company.

“I get to be with my friends, and I get to run,” she said.

Camryn Delosreyes said she enjoys the program, because “you get to run so you can be ready for the 5K.”

About 55 girls participate from the three Suffolk schools, among about 1,000 in all of South Hampton Roads, Kindel said.

The program has its own insurance and is offered at no cost to the hosting school, Kindel said. “The principal just needs to sign off that it’s OK to use the facilities indoor and outdoor for an hour and a half after school two days a week,” she said.

Coaches are often school personnel or teachers, but they don’t have to be.

“They view this as a really important part of helping their student body,” Kindel said.

The program is funded by the Obici Healthcare Foundation, which Hamlin said “has made it possible for a lot of girls to participate.”

For more information on the 5K or the program in general, visit www.gotrshr.org.