The long run is one of the signature events that we have at Stowe and we were blessed this year with tremendous weather. We started early too, so it was a beautiful day to get in a long run. Everything went off without a hitch; the campers were very smart in selecting their distances and were even smarter on the run itself. One of the things we had emphasized before the long run was being conservative pace-wise, particularly in the first half of the run. The challenge of the long run should be simply completing the distance, so there is no need to make it more challenging by running at a faster pace.
Overall, the campers completed their long runs feeling great about themselves, with many running the longest run of their summer.
After the long run, we had the distinct pleasure of having two excellent guest speakers. Our first speaker was Peter Molloy of Tewksbury High School. Coach Molloy showed the campers a number of hip mobility and strength exercises that they can implement into their training program in order to avoid injury and get stronger. He gave each camper their own band to use for these exercises as well as a list of the different exercises so they can remember them. To view that document, click here:
Our next speaker was frequent Stowe guest and 2012 Olympian Ruben Sanca. Ruben has been coming to Stowe for many years now and is definitely a fan favorite. Ruben shared details about his journey from a soccer playing high school to an Olympic athlete, including one insane story of a 30 plus mile day during the freezing New England winter this past January.
After the speakers and a solid dinner of hamburgers, hot dogs, and mac and cheese, the ever-popular lip-sync competition got under way. As always, there were a number of inspiring and comical performances. An absolute highlight was Coach Molloy jumping into the fray with a searing rendition of “Ice Ice Baby” that brought the house down. Molloy is the first guest speaker to ever participate in the lip sync, to the great amusement of the staff and campers. The winner though, was Tristan S., better known as “Buckets” for his bold one man lip sync of Billy Joel’s “Piano Man.” The always popular dance followed the lip sync and the campers had a great time dancing with their friends.
Stowe Running Camp 