It has been the ideal of the camp to provide the opportunity for young distance runners to attend a camp geared toward offering motivation and having fun with running. This is not necessarily meant to be a training camp. It is also not meant to be a camp with plans of creating totally new training ideas. It is a camp that has a goal to offer every runner a chance to enjoy a summer running experience.
For some, this may mean offering a challenging opportunity to run with other runners from different areas. For others it may be a chance to travel to camp with teammates and coaches to begin team-building for the next season. Most importantly, it’s a chance to begin the summer with other runners and coaches in an effort to have fun, and to maybe learn a bit more about your sport.
Coaches come from several States, to running camp, in an effort to give their athletes a great experience at an affordable price. Some will stay for both sessions, some will leave after one. Some campers will come on their own, while others will travel with friends. The most important aspect is that each camper comes to camp with a goal to help themselves become a more dedicated runner for their own reasons.
The camp staff, coaches and counselors are volunteer. That is why the camp price is where it is. The camp coaches, typically, will arrive with many of their own runners, and then provide expertise for the camp. With coaches arriving from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Illinois, the camp is loaded with a successful coaching staff from both the high school and college level. These coaches are loaded with enthusiasm and willing to share this with all the runners attending the camp.
Camp counselors are runners that have attended camp in the past. This gives them camp knowledge that will help new campers with their experience, as well as helping the coaching staff to keep everyone following those important camp rules, that should help keep the camp fun and rewarding for everyone.
Like other camps, campers will receive a camp notebook and a camp tee shirt. Yes, housing and meals are provided, even with the basic cost. Campers are transported to the running routes via vans driven by coaches, and typically tend to be of the trail variety, and may involve challenging mountainous terrain in some instances. Remember, that although each runner will be part of each scheduled run, it will be up to the individual runner to choose their respective distance to be covered.
Campers are housed as teams when possible, while individuals are typically housed with other independent runners. On scheduled runs, there is a mix of prepared routes, that will offer a chance to run with different runners. Yet, there will also be an opportunity to run with your teammates, if they are at the camp.
Coaches and Parents should remember that is not a goal of the camp to create new training regimes for the athletes, rather it is the goal to re-enforce that the plan that an athlete brings to camp is one that should be developed by both the athlete and their own coach from their school program.
We don’t typically advertise the camp since it tends to fill up each year from word of mouth. Those that enjoy their experience tend to tell others about the camp. So, if you want to come to camp, you may want to get on it now to avoid an overflow situation.