The Maine Women’s Fund, the only Maine foundation focused exclusively on advancing women’s and girl’s economic security based in Falmouth, will be the beneficiary of the Power of She All Women’s 10K race on Oct. 11.

Three Maine Women’s Fund board members, Robin Lin Hodgskin, Melinda Shain and Natalie Solotoff, will join women from across the state to complete in the Power of She.

This timed race is open to participants 13 and older and will feature prizes for the best costumes and Age Group Awards in 10-year increments, according to a news release from the Maine Women’s Fund.

The 10K race starts at 9 a.m. and will begin and end at the Back Bay Boulevard Preble Street parking lot in Portland.

Hodgskin will run in her first Power of She race and help fundraise for the Maine Women’s Fund. Her last races were multiple appearances in the Bonne Bell Women’s Mini Marathon (10K) in Boston in the 1980s. After a long diversion to other athletic endeavors, she was inspired to return to running; the 2015 Yarmouth Clam Festival 5-miler is her only race in more than 30 years prior to the Power of She. Hodgskin has served on the Fund’s Investment Committee for 18 years.

Shain’s preferred race distance is the marathon. She has completed seven races since her first marathon in 2011 including the Mount Desert Island marathon in 2014 and the 2015 Sugarloaf Marathon. She also runs shorter distance races and is a regular in various 10K and 5K distance races locally. She also made two appearances in the Boston marathon and raised $5,500 as a charity runner. This is her very first all-female race. Shain is the former board president and serves on the Fund’s Governance committee.

Solotoff started running races in middle school as a track and field miler. Although she gave up running competitively to focus on playing soccer in high school and college, she continued to run races for fun. Solotoffe and her sisters, who live in Florida and North Carolina, trained separately and then got together to run the Virginia Beach Rock and Roll Half Marathon in 2008. Her most recent race was the Big Lake Half Marathon in Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire, in 2010. After a long-enough break from participating in races since her son was born, she plans to run in the Power of She 10K in honor of the inspiring work of the Maine Women’s Fund.

Proceeds from the race will help the Maine Women’s Fund provide critical assistance to nonprofit organizations within six strategic areas that together advance the economic security of women and girls: Education; Entrepreneurship; Healthcare; Leadership; Personal Safety and Policy, according to the release.

To register or donate, visit thepowerofshe10k.com.


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