The day began with a pleasant jaunt through the trails at Weissner Woods located up the hill from the Round Hearth. We were all more the wiser with our trail running experience. The campers got some breakfast, then set off to gain experience in another area: speed development. Regis College assistant coach Kevin Greene led the campers through a series of drills and a 30 meter fly session where the runners worked on developing their top end speed. A quick core and plank series was also led by Leah Miller.
After food refreshments, we headed to Foster’s Swimming Hole to cool off and enjoy swimming and each other’s company. The Olympic Games continued with our first event: the water balloon toss. Team Nepal splashed their way to a gold medal victory. The next event was a full team event: the clothing relay. Each team had a series of articles of clothing that they had to put on, run across a field, and then take off and pass to their teammate. The United States thoroughly dominated the event, but the comedic highlight was seeing 13 year old Makayla attempt to run across a field in size 14 shoes.
Camp Director Fran Cusick gave a speech discussing how and why to do a tempo run. Campers learned the art of running “comfortably hard” and how critical it is to a runner’s training plan to prepare for the next day’s workout. Later in the evening, counselors hosted an optional seminar on the options of running collegiality.
This was a great day as campers began to get over their first day awkwardness and the seeds of emerging friendships were sown.
Stowe Running Camp 