When Maureen Muldoon retired from Trek Bicycle in 2023 as vice president of international business development, she had three priorities for her next chapter: focus on wellness, learn new things, and give back. After hearing about Girls on the Run from friends and family members involved with the program, she realized it was an opportunity that hit all three parts of her plan.
As a lifelong runner, the physical aspect of the program hit on her first area of focus: wellness. She began coaching at One City in spring 2023. When her wife, Julie Konstanz, retired in 2024 after 30 years as an educator and counselor in the Janesville school district, Maureen encouraged her to join her. Now, coming up on their second season co-coaching at Winnequah Elementary School in Monona, the pair is hooked.
They take their role in building confidence and character to heart—although both agree that the program’s lessons would be equally beneficial for adults. For Julie, the most powerful lesson has been about self-worth and being true to who you are. “Society gives girls all these things they are supposed to do and be, and I wish I would have heard more of that message growing up.” Maureen adds, “I worked in a very male-dominated industry, and I think that positive self-talk is a good message for girls—and for all of us. Being able to help build that confidence in girls early in their lives is going to make a big difference in giving them confidence as they go to high school, college, and beyond.”
One of Julie’s coaching highlights is when two team members were really struggling to finish the 5K but didn’t gave up. “It was amazing the way the other girls rallied around and cheered them on. And I think those two really saw themselves differently afterward, like, ‘Look at me, I'm a runner!’”
For Maureen, a memorable moment was during a practice when the girls were asked to run their laps in honor or support of someone else. Collectively, they thought they could run 100 laps. Instead, they ran almost 350! “They all put in so much more effort because they were running laps for someone else—whether it was their grandmother who had died, their cat, or Taylor Swift—they were running hard.”
As much as the pair is teaching important life lessons, they’re learning too. (Maureen can put a checkmark next to that goal too.) “Julie and I had very different careers,” she says, “and working with kids is much more in her wheelhouse, so it's been really fun to see her in her element. I've definitely learned from her by seeing her working with the kids.”
Julie says it's been a really nice growing opportunity for both of them to build on the things they’ve done in the past. She’s especially loved watching former executive Maureen get comfortable with the girls.
“My first season, I joked that I could hop on a plane by myself and go to India, and I wasn’t nervous,” Maureen says. “But being in front of a group of 8- and 9-year-old girls absolutely made me nervous!”
Julie and Maureen have the third prong of her retirement plan covered as well. In addition to volunteering their time and talents, the couple recently pledged a generous matching gift as part of Girls on the Run South Central Wisconsin’s 20th anniversary celebration in October. The gift, they say, reflects their belief in the organization’s local impact. “When I look at the giving back portion of what I want to do, it's fun to see those donations and that energy and the volunteering be put to good use,” Maureen says.
Plus, they’re proud to be part of an organization with such a stellar reputation. “Every time we talk about our involvement or wear our Girls on the Run gear, we get comments about what a positive impact the organization has had on so many lives—100% of the time,” Maureen says. Julie agrees: “You actually see the time and money you put into Girls on the Run supporting the community, which is very rewarding. You know that every dollar you give is being maximized, and that's not something you can always say.”