August is the eighth month of the year. However for Stowe Running Camp attendees, it marks the twelfth month of the year, the twelfth month since the end of the last Stowe Running Camp. On Sunday August 6th campers began to trickle in for Stowe Running Camp 2017. Smiles were abundant and many quickly made friends playing volleyball, kan jam, and the legendary Round Hearth hook game. After introductory speeches, 47 campers boarded the bus and traveled over the mountains to the Von Trapp Family Trails. With elements of the sound of music ringing in the air, campers embarked on their first run. Exploring trails with names from Owls Howl to Skater’s Waltz to Chuck’s Corkscrew, campers leaped over roots and ran around mud puddles to get in their daily run.
Upon arrival back at the Round Hearth, campers were greeted with a hearty meal of spaghetti and chicken parm. Although, as we all know, the most important element of dinner was the chocolate chip cookies for desert.
After dinner, the camp welcomed Olympian Ruben Sanca. Ruben Sanca, a marathoner, is a frequent visitor at Stowe Running Camp and campers are always excited to hear his stories, view his pictures of the olympic village, and grill him about what was his hardest workout. His admirable work ethic and friendly personality always makes him one of the camp’s favorite speakers.
As the sun continued to wane, the 2017 Stowe Down competition began inside the Round Hearth. The Stowe Down is a fun competition consisting of 8 different groups who compete in a variety of events throughout the week. Campers have the opportunity to exercise a variety of talents ranging from air hockey to bonk to a clothing relay.
The first night’s activities started with the basics: picking a team name. After last year’s theme of the Olympics, this year was based on tv shows. Each team picked a tv show and designed a poster to represent their show. However, this was not the only way teams were supposed to express themselves. The night’s activities also consisted of short skits.
After picking their show, each team came up with a short skit to perform for the camp. Counselors then guessed the show each skit was supposed to represent. The team names ranged from Scooby-Doo to SNL to Grey’s Anatomy and even Dora the Explorer. The skits were straight out hilarious. Grey’s Anatomy’s skit featured a struggling runner who ended up in the ER after static stretching before a marathon *GASP*. (All runners at Stowe learn very quickly that static stretching is never a good idea before you run.) Although all posters featured artistic talent and all skits were definitely worthy of an Emmy nomination, Grey’s Anatomy emerged as the winner of the skit contest and Team Dora the Explorer took the gold in the poster contest.
Although campers went to bed with less than a day of camp under their belt, all were excited and eager for the adventures that Monday would bring.
Stowe Running Camp 