Stowe Running Camp 2014 was, by all accounts, a huge success. As mentioned earlier in the blog, we had an interesting mix of returners and new campers; kudos to the veterans for seamlessly integrating the new runners into the camp and making them feel comfortable. It never gets old seeing a group of kids go from uncomfortable and slightly awkward strangers to great friends over the course of just 6 days.
A few special shout-outs:
-One of our campers wrote an amazingly eloquent description of her week at camp, check it out here: SRC 2014. This was a really well written and thoughtful breakdown of the week, definitely a must-read!
-The CIT’s (Peyton, Cheyenne, Eva, and Josh) did a fantastic job this year. They were a huge help from an organizational standpoint. Among other things of note, Cheyenne was instrumental in helping get the times during the tempo run, Peyton and Josh helped with the distribution of the spikes, and Eva did most of the work on this blog. Great job guys!
-Thanks to the guest speakers for driving all the way out to Vermont to impart some of their knowledge. Our guest speakers this year were:
-Ruben Sanca of Whirlaway Sports, 2012 Olympian.
-Greg Zoppatti of Pembroke High School
-Jason Saretsky of Harvard University
-Renny Waldron of Davidson University, formerly of UConn
-Big shout-out to Coach Bob Ford of Fairfield Prep. Coach Ford has a wealth of knowledge in pretty much all areas of running and was a great presence at the camp; he taught us how to “flex not stretch” and was very helpful throughout the week. Also, Coach, if you’re reading this, thanks for the pillow! I will get that back to you, somehow!
-The Round Hearth Staff did a great job as always, particularly in the food preparation department. As one camper wrote on the evaluation, Sue is “the best woman in the world.”
-The counselors also did a great job this week. We had 6 counselors this year, all of whom have worked at Stowe before, so that type of familiarity I think was instrumental in helping the camp be successful. Even though we got crushed in volleyball, we won in friendship (groans from audience).
-Camp Director Dan Flynn similarly did a fantastic job coordinating everything. Much of what Dan does goes on in the background, but without his hard work the camp would not have been half as successful.
Finally, the biggest thanks goes to all the campers who attended. While we’re never going to be one of those massive running camps with 300 people, I truly believe that the kids who come here get more out of it because of the relationships that are created. As one camper wrote, Stowe “provides a great balance between intense running and having fun.” As a staff, we worked hard to create an atmosphere that balances those two poles, and based on the evaluations and my own conversation with the campers throughout the week, it seems we succeeded.
Thanks for reading, see you next year!
(People are waving in the picture, get it?)
Stowe Running Camp 