Stowe Running Camp

Above: The campers quench their first mid-long run.

Thursday is a day of a mixed emotions here at Stowe Running Camp. The camp is entering its finale and much like watching the last episode of your favorite television show, you approach it with a mixture of both excitement and apprehension, knowing that the end is just around the corner. The long run is a microsom of the day itself…the miles stretch, much like the week seemed to stretch on during the halcyon days of Sunday…yet before you know it, the long run is over and the camp is reaching its conclusion. The morning minutes preceding the long run is also a mixture of excitement and fear. The short bus ride to the start of the Stowe rec path is typically a quiet, somber one, with the runners and counselors contemplating the task which lies ahead.

We were very lucky this year to get the best weather imaginable for such an endeavor: 70 degrees and slightly overcast, with intermittent rain acting as a de-facto sprinkler and popping up at precisely the right time over the course of the five to fourteen miles traversed by the Stowe Running campers. Partly because of this weather and partly because of the grit and toughness of the athletes, the long run was smashing success. Everyone was able to complete their run in one piece and other than an early bee sting, there were no injuries to speak of. The runners finished back at the bike path with a triumphant and elated look in their eye that only comes from accomplishing a challenging task.

Chocolate milk, granola bars, and fruit snacks were consumed with ferocity at the finish line, though this created two controversies. The first was a debate which had raged all week over whether Welch’s or Mott’s could lay claim to the title of best fruit snack at camp. In this author’s opinion, the answer is clear: Welch’s is the superior form of fruit snack, at least for those of us who prefer not having fruit snack remnant stuck in our teeth for hours post-snacking. Nevertheless, this debate had polarized the camp, recalling the similarly charged “pencil-lead debate” of 2017. (FYI: the correct answer on that one is: 0.7mm). The other controversy that erupted was when the 13 mile group got back, anticipating chocolate milk, only to discover that the chocolate syrup had been pilfered by the earlier groups. Though such a devastating occurrence may have felled a weaker group, the guys and girls of this hearty contingent handled it with aplomb, not letting the lack of the sweet, syrupy milk damper their enthusiasm.

Post-long run, the group jumped in a nearby stream for an ice-bath and some good conversation, then walked back to the Round Hearth to take on the rest of the day. The happy campers headed back to the Round Hearth to grab some lunch and gather their energy for the remainder of the day. Next was the Nuke Em’ tournament. For those of you reading who are not familiar with this dangerous sounding game, it has become a Stowe Running Camp classic over the years. To this day, no one knows who brought the game to camp or when it started, but whoever did is responsible for one of the great compromises in camp history. Here’s the reality…volleyball is a great game, but it requires a degree of skill and athleticism that necessarily precludes the great majority of people from participation, particularly runners known for lack of hand eye coordination. Also, only six people at most can play on a team. Thus a volleyball game thus often descends into a Key-Stone Kops esque comedy of errors, with no momentum and a lot of ball chasing and frustration. Nuke Em’ on the other hand, requires a low level of skill, can be played with massive amounts of people, and promotes team spirit and group bonding. Thus, the change a few years ago from a volleyball tourney to a Nuke Em tourney.

Next up, we had a very popular second season of our version of the show Chopped. This proved to be very popular last year…for those who do not know, contestants are given a limited number of ingredients and must use their creativity and artistic flair to create the best possible dish in the limited time they have. This year, the ingredients were a glazed donut, grapes, maple syrup, sliced cheese, cucumbers, and dried mint. The real award for this competition should go to the judges, for they had to sample every dish despite seemingly conflicting flavor combinations.

After Chopped, we had a quick turnaround to a speech by Jason Saretsky, the head coach of track and field and cross country at Harvard University. Coach Saretsky has been speaking at Stowe on and off for the past 8 years, and after discussing “critical non-essentials” with us he took the group out to the lawn and put them through an active isolated stretching routine using ropes cut just a little too short by Kevin Greene. The campers were allowed to keep their ropes and head home with a good start on a way to warm up for runs and races.

After Coach Saretsky was the annual cookout and ice cream…which was followed up by the highly anticipated lip-sync. In what was maybe the best lip sync we have ever seen at Stowe, the CIT’s won for their rendition of “I Will Survive.” I must say, I have observed all of the lip syncs since we first started doing them and they range from creative and fun to excruciatingly awkward. This year, for the first time ever,  all of them were in the former category and none were in the latter! Special shout-out here goes to the Janie/Callista/Malinn/Sierra/Stephanie group who performed a Spice Girls songs and brought costumes from home in accordance to their plan they’d been working on for about a year.

The lip sync wrapped up and we were on to the dance, an event which I stay far away from! But the kids seemed to have a great time and before we knew it, it was over. Bed time on the final day is always a little relaxed, and the kids spent their last night playing games and chatting with new found friends for what we hope is not the final time. One of the highlights of this few hour period was a controversial Scattegories game, eventually won by the dynamic team of Lilly and Peyton, though under controversial circumstances (soy sauce is a health food?).

Sophie E, Lucas, and Sophie C survey their options in the early stages of the Chopped competition.

Coach Saretsky demonstrates some of the Active Isolated Stretching techniques.

SRC 2018 Blog Day 4: Trail and Pool Running

Wednesday is not only the consummate middle day of Stowe Running Camp, sandwiched in between the tempo run and the long run, but also National Happiness Happens Day. And while happiness happens every day at Stowe Running Camp, this day was something special. This August 8th took campers from the trails to the pool to their very own pageant.

On this hump day, it would be natural to expect a slight flagging of enthusiasm, as campers are getting a little less sleep than usual due to the new living quarters and the excitement of talking with friends. You would never have known from this hardy group that it was mid-week though, as they attacked the day with enthusiasm and vigor. We jumped right on the bus from the gun and took a short trip to the trails behind Stowe High School. We have done a number of different things on this day in the past; this year we decided to bring back an old favorite: the “Hit Your Pace” game. The premise of this is simple: you and a group of friends select a pace that you think you can run for a mile. Then you run a mile, without any watches at all. The team that gets closest to their pace wins.

In this case, the winning team featured a strong group of older guys, but even their years of experience didn’t allow them to get closer than 37 seconds to their target time. Everyone else was way off as well. The working theory is that the fact that the loop was a hilly trail must have thrown people off. Nonetheless, it was a fun activity and a good team bonding experience. Those who needed more mileage ran back to the Round Hearth while the rest of the campers got back on the bus.

Post-breakfast, Tewksbury HS coach Peter Molloy gave a rousing speech highlighting some less well-known elements of success. Coach Molloy specifically went into detail on sleep and nutrition, two topics that are often mentioned but rarely focused on in many high school distance programs. After his talk, we finished a Bonk Tournament and then broke the guys and girls up for two separate seminar discussions. Coach Cusick discussed the value of the long run with both groups, while the guys and girls had separate gender-based talks surrounding the challenges that each face as distance runners.

A light lunch followed and before we knew it we were back on the bus heading to The Swimming Hole, a local pool in Stowe. Again, the groups split into two, this time by age, with the younger athletes hitting up the pool and the older ones going to a local field to do hip mobility exercises and then engage in a rousing game of Capture the Flag. Aqua jogging is a valuable cross-training activity for both injured runners and those looking to add additional aerobic activity without the pounding of running….Capture the Flag is just straight up fun. All of the campers came away from these two activities both having had a great deal of fun and having learned a little bit.

We got back around 5:30, had a little bit of time to shower and relax, and then dinner was served. Post-dinner, the highlight was the annual Mr. and Mrs. Stowe Competition. This probably deserves its own blog post as this years was one of the most dynamic and exciting competitions yet. Early on, a controversial double-disqualification was called on Bobby C and Devyn V during the scavenger hunt portion of the event. Contestants were asked to come up with a running outfit, a talent, a counselor impersonation, and an answer to why they would like to be Mr. or Mrs. Stowe. This year’s group was evidently quite a musical one and during the talent section, contestants captured the judges with everything from acapella to ukulele to trumpet to singing along to the periodic table of elements song. Amalia wowed the crowd with a stirring, ukulele-backed rendition of a Lady Gaga song, Lucas M. tricked the audience into believing he was an actual magician despite the fact he’d learned his card tricks just a mere three hours before, Stephanie transported the audience to the local woods with her bird sounds, Devyn tap danced, Alisa played the trumpet,  Neil sang an a-cappella Bruno Mars song, Emma paid homage to the past with her recitation of Shakespeare…the talents just went on and on. Ultimately, Riley C and Neil A were crowned champions, but each contestant deserves royalty status for providing such an entertaining night for their fellow campers and counselors.

All of the contestants lined up in their running outfits!

Silas has his game face on!

Hmm we might have finally found someone taller than Kevin!

SRC 2018 Day 3: Tuesday Stars, Stripes, and Tempos

Campers woke up bright and early and were treated to a light breakfast of cereal and fruit in preparation for their tempo run. For today, campers picked a pace about forty-five seconds to a minute slower than race pace to run consistently for two to four miles. At the Quiet Path campers did dynamic stretching and warmups for a grueling and humid workout. Unbeknownst to the campers the boys color coordinated their short shorts and singlets. Ricky rocked some galaxy shorts and an American flag singlet while Mike and Josh represented the USA with some America shorts. Overall everybody had a great workout! And of course, no Stowe tempo run is complete without taking a cool ice bath in the West Branch River that runs through Stowe. The only slight let-down was that there was no Harvey Keitel sighting this year!

Once back at the Round Hearth Campers were treated with a hearty lunch of B.L.T.S. At lunch counselor Kevin Greene and guest speaker, Kourtney Bonsey Head Coach of Cross Country and Track at Regis College, arrive. Kourtney gave a wonderful speech on the college recruiting process while guest speaker Elle Purrier, 2018 NCAA women’s mile champion and newly hired professional runner for New Balance, inspired the campers and counselors with her story about how she became interest in running and her journey to an NCAA title (holding the second fastest collegiate time ever) for the University of New Hampshire. The campers also got to watch Elle’s mile victory on the projector, and even though the outcome was already known, it was a lot of fun to watch this race with the victor there watching it.

During free time, tired campers were hyped up by the start of the Stowe Games tournaments. Blaine defeated Neil in the Air Hockey championships, while other campers tried their hand at the Can Jam, Cornhole and Bonk tournaments. At last the campers went on the long-awaited Ben and Jerry’s trip. Devyn, Sophie, Alisa, Riley, McKenzie, Meghan, Bobby, and Lily all teamed up and took on the Vermonster. That’s twenty scoops of ice cream plus toppings of your choice! In wake of the sugary treats, the bus ride home consisted of singing along to some classic American songs. However, the obvious sugar rush did not last long and all the campers crashed and succumbed to lactic acid buildup and slept soundlessly through the night.

Blog Post Written By: CITs.

It’s been 24 hours since campers have been able to access the internet, and kids are learning how to have fun outside! The campers as well as the counselors got a big game of nukem’ (type of volleyball game) and were estatic about it. (CITeam went undefeated) There were plenty of other activities to keep the campers occupied as well. Our first morning run was a little down to earth in the trails of Vermont, only one person fell! Delicious blueberry pancakes awaited the campers, who devoured them completely, after their morning run.

Around midday, campers were bused down to a field where they were split into two groups an did two activities. One of which was strides with a focus on form. Gate analysis was given to campers with counselor Palmer recording each stride. Each camper went through a series of different types of strides displaying different types of running forms. On the other hand, half of the campers were taken with Leah (Sarge) and were shown yoga poses to work on strength. After the workout campers were bussed down to a natural, ice cold watering hole where they all swam and took ice baths.

To end off the day campers competed in a challenge game show called Minute to Win It. The campers went through a series of different activities where they fought for points. Some examples of what the campers did were getting a cookie from their forehead to their mouth without using their hands as well as using balloons to blow cups off a table. Group forest gump took home the W for the minute to win it challenge. The campers enjoyed the game and had a fantastic end to night #2 at Stowe Running Camp.

In other news, we have been posting pictures to our Facebook and Instagram accounts, so please head over to those pages to check it out!

Stowe Sunday Forecast

Chance of rain: 10%

Probability that Fran will embarrass himself in his opening speech: 70%

Likelihood that campers will be smiling all day: 100%

Today was the first day of Stowe Running Camp (SRC) 2018! The new attendees arrived midday toting bags, pillows, and running shoes, soon to become caked with Vermont mud. This year’s campers came from all over New England— Fairfield, CT, Williamsburg, MA, South Burlington, VT, and Fryeburg, ME just to mention a few. There are also a few Stowe locals in the mix— kids who already know the ups and downs of the nearby trails that the rest of the camp were to discover later today.

After a rousing opening talk with the Camp Director, Fran Cusick, and a few words from Chris, the Director of the Round Hearth, the campers boarded the bus ready to conquer the first hills of the week. A winding ride over to the Trapp Family Lodge led campers to even more twists and turns on the trails. With the majestic mountains of Stowe framing the skyline, the views and the run were both breathtaking. Campers broke into groups and explored all that the Trapp Lodge has to offer. Post run exercises included a few strides and our first of many rounds of core. Strength Sunday featured planks in all forms.

Upon arrival back at the Round Hearth, a second run of the day or rather a straight out race, occurred to the showers to wash up before dinner time. A winner winner chicken dinner, was paired with a warm apple crisp for dessert, was served fresh from the Round Hearth kitchen. After dinner, the opening ceremony of the 2018 Stowe Games occurred. For the Stowe Games campers were split into 8 different teams, to compete for the crown, in a variety of fun activities throughout the week. Today the groups came up with a team name based on a movie and created a poster and skit to match their name. The teams are the Incredibles, Forrest Gump, It, Frozen, Mean Girls, Inside Out, The Lion King, and Finding Nemo. Highlights included Silas’s line “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get,” Frozen’s picturesque poster drawn by Alisa, and the buckets of laughter brought on by a pink tutu used as a lion’s mane. Downtime after the activities featured a large round of SRC’s all-time favorite game— Mafia. Campers then went up to bed to rest for an early morning run the next day!

Many thanks to all the parents who drove up to Stowe! And thanks to everyone who helped celebrate Fran’s birthday today! I’m sure there’s no other way he’d love to celebrate it than with the arrival of the best week of the summer!

Hello!

This is camp director Fran Cusick here. We are about a month away from camp and I thought I would write something up about Stowe Running Camp and why I think everyone should attend. Tracey Jordan of 30 Rock once said “Live every week like it’s shark week”: I live by the same mantra only I replace the shark week with Stowe Running Camp week. It is a blast and if you’re a potential camper, even at this late date, please read on and let me tell you about why you should attend.

First though, a disclaimer: I am the camp director. Obviously, when it comes to this sort of thing, much like a parent talking about how their child is going to get a scholarship to Oregon and be an Olympic gold medalist, I am incredibly biased. But I will just say this: there are a lot of great running camps out there, because there are a lot of passionate people out there who want to spread that passion to others. There are also a lot of bad running camps out there, which are primarily about making money. It’s not my place to tell you which is which, and I’m not going to sit here and lay claim to Stowe Running Camp as being the best camp in these United States. That may well be true, but it’s not my place to say!

What I will tell you is this: we care. Of the people we have on our staff, almost all of them went to Stowe Running Camp. Almost all of them have been coming back year after year. If you look at the photos from each year, you’ll notice that the same kids keep coming back because they have such a great time at Stowe.

So, why should you go to Stowe?

One reason, and the reason at the forefront of many runners’ minds, is the training. While at Stowe, you will get in a GREAT week of training. The town is a great place to run, as there are trails galore, including the famous Trapp Family Lodge trails. There is also a six mile bike path that is flat and paved for those days when trail running is not the best option.

People who know nothing about running tend to ask the same version of this question, usually with a quizzical glint in their eye and a slight tilt of the head: “Running camp? How does that work? Do you just run all day?” Of course we don’t run all day! In fact, even our highest mileage campers are only going to be running for, at most 12-13 miles in any single day (and that is very rare). So we have a lot of time on our hands. And some of that time is filled with running-related activities, whether it’s listening to great speakers like Olympian Ruben Sanca or 2018 NCAA Champion and New Balance Boston runner Elle Purrier. Some of it is filled with coaching seminars, where our staff and the campers converse in more of a Q&A format. We also go to a local pool for some aqua jogging, do strides on the fields of Stowe, strength work on the lawn outside the Round Hearth, and all of the things you would expect from a running camp.  

But in addition to running related activities, we take a tremendous amount of pride in having other activities that are just as invigorating. Last year, we had Family Feud, a Stowe Running Camp version of Chopped, various tournaments like air-hockey, spike-ball, Kan-Jam, and volleyball that tend to get very competitive, a scavenger hunt, and a host of other things that the campers and counselors really enjoyed. Overall, the camp is a great mix of running related activities, structured activities, lectures, and just simple down-time where you can hang out with friends and play a game of Mafia or just sit around talking.

Next, I like to think that everyone who attends Stowe comes away with some piece of insight or knowledge that can aide them in their upcoming seasons. Whether it’s a new strength circuit, advice on how to properly cross-train, recruiting advice for those looking to run at the collegiate level, form analysis, or any number of other things, the opportunities for knowledge acquisition are boundless. While all of this may be readily apparent a day or two after camp, you will be exposed to a tremendous amount of knowledge and insight from people who care deeply about the sport of running. ,

Finally, we go to Ben and Jerry’s! It is always one of the highlights of the week. Nothing tastes better than a well earned ice cream cone, and at Stowe Running Camp, you will earn that sugary sweetness! Just don’t order the Vermonster and find yourself in an eating contest (looking at you, Dan Flynn).

There are many more things I would like to say about Stowe, but I think this is a good starting point for what you can get out of the week. The camp runs this year from August 5th to 10th, and we still have spots available. So if you are interested at all, please head on over to our website to learn more and to view this year’s brochure. Here is a link: Stowe Running Camp Registration Page.

If you have any other questions about the camp, contact me, Fran Cusick, via email at fcusick13@gmail.com. Thanks for reading, hope to see you soon!

-Coach Cusick

Friday, the final day of Stowe. A day that is both exciting and a bit sad. The week, which once seemed stretched out in front of us like a vast ocean, suddenly is reduced to this final half day. Friendships have been formed, long runs endured, awkward moments have been shared and now it is all ending and you don’t get to see any of your new friends for another year. I’m getting ahead of myself though; camp is not over just yet!

Our big adventure for the final day was a journey back to the Trapp Family Lodge, the same place where camp had begun just six short days earlier, when everyone was awkwardly huddling in their groups, playing some type of orientation or name game. Now there was a much different vibe. Our final activity was a Treasure Hunt where the campers were matched up into teams and sent off to solve a series of clues. The clues ranged from the moderately easy to the insanely hard, and despite a mishap where the sheep that served as a critical place marker for a clue wandered off to take a nap, everything went smoothly. Big props to the Sprinkles squad who, despite Sierra hurting her ankle on a root, managed to complete the scavenger hunt by carrying her around the Trapp Family Lodge piggyback style. Ultimately, Coach Kevin Greene’s Squad was the first to finish due to a combination of high intellect and fast running.

The Treasure Hunt over, the kids headed back on the bus for the final time. Upon returning to the Round Hearth, the kids packed up their bags and finally got the coveted Stowe Running Camp T-Shirt, this year in an exquisite Royal Blue color. The kids filled out surveys and then we had a brief awards ceremony.  We ended with a slideshow and then a few pictures out on the front lawn and within the blink of an eye camp was over.

Thanks to all who have read this blog and a special shout-out to CIT Lilly Wells for helping to compose many of these posts! We hope to put up a few more posts in the days to come, but in the meantime please check our Facebook Page, Twitter Account, or Instagram for more info.

Pictured: University of New Hamsphire runner Elle Purrier addresses the camp.

On Thursday the campers awoke ready to tackle one of the bigger challenges of the week: the long run. Long runs are a staple workout of most distance runners for a variety of reasons: they increase leg strength, improve the ability of your heart to pump blood, and provide a psychological boost as running for significantly farther than the distance you are racing brings confidence. Though most of our runs at Stowe are on hilly trails, for the long run we stick to the Stowe Rec Path, which works well because it is shady, simple, and most importantly flat. Most of the runners chose distances in the 6-10 mile range, though a few of the more experienced runners opted for a 12 or 13 mile jaunt.

As the campers hopped on the bus to make the quick journey to the start of the rec path, there was a palpable sense of both excitement and nervousness, but the sheer energy and enthusiasm of the counselors was able to reframe the tension into a positive, can-do attitude. Campers were overheard singing together on the trail, cracking jokes, and laughing, no matter what mile they were on. Overall, the long run was a big success and the campers got to enjoy some chocolate milk and snacks at the finish followed by a refreshing dip in a nearby icy cold stream.

After this, everyone headed back to the Round Hearth for lunch and then got to participate in a new edition to Stowe: Stowe’s very own version of Chopped. The day was still young when Stowe Down teams were each given a tray with a variety of ingredients they must use to create a scrumptious and creative dish. The potential was high and as soon as the competition started campers got busy cutting, mixing, furnishing, and taste testing. The different ingredients consisted of jam, red pepper hummus, ritz crackers, carrots, thyme, and gum drops.  

The Chopped Competition was won by the Dora the Explorer Squad, who had both an interesting combination of foods and a fascinatingly detailed backstory tracing the origins of the dish to the Roman Empire. This monologue was highlighted by Nick L.’s Italian (accent) and definitely stole the show.

Following the Chopped competition, Harvard University XC and Track Coach Jason Saretsky spoke for the seventh straight year. The topic of Coach Saretsky’s speech was “How to Navigate a Cross Country Season” and he spoke about many of the intricacies of cross country that are often lost when you are in the middle of a busy season. For example, the importance of creating a race day ritual and practicing that ritual even on workout days is something that many high schoolers do not master and it creates a much higher level of anxiety and nervousness on race day. Coach Saretsky also discussed the importance of both creating and sharing training goals with your coaches so that both parties can work together to achieve them.

After Coach Saretsky’s speech, the campers were treated to an excellent cookout dinner featuring cheeseburgers, hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, french fries, and a host of other excellent summer foods. This was topped off with some scrumptious ice cream before meeting our second guest speaker of the day, Vermont legend and current University of New Hampshire standout Elle Purrier. Elle was a multiple time state champion in Vermont and holds the 7th fastest mile time in the history of the NCAA indoors (4:29). This was her first year at Stowe and she both inspired and entertained the campers by relaying the story of her meteoric rise to being one of the best athletes in the country. Elle discussed the importance of building a relationship with your coach and how important nutrition is to development as an athlete. She also shared some amusing stories about her times growing up on a farm in small-town Vermont.

After Elle’s speech and a brief break, it was time for the lip sync competition. As always, there was a high level of passion and enthusiasm on display, with the male counselors kicking things off with a rousing version off Year 3000 by the Jonas Brothers. The CIT’s stole the show with an elaborately staged rendition of ABBA’s “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” but all of the participants should be commended for, essentially, being willing to get in front of a group of people and risk looking silly for 2-3 minutes. The lip sync was followed by a fun dance and good times were had by all.

Pictured: running through the trails behind Stowe HS.

Hump Day at Stowe Running Camp began with a pleasant run in the trails behind Stowe High School. Though trail running— with its hills and roots and potential pitfalls—can be frustrating for some because of the relatively pedestrian pace compared to a road or track, when it is done well it is a joy that hurdling down a sidewalk cannot match. On this misty morning with the dew still settling on the grass and the harmonious sounds of nature waking up to take on the day, the runners seemed to be a part of this scene, no different than a caterpillar weaving a web or a sparrow flittering through the trees. At the conclusion of the run, the groups did some hill strides on a nice dirt hill at the entrance of the trails. Hill strides are a great way to add some variety to training and they help work on running efficiency as when running up a hill you are forced into having better form.

Though there was some fatigue given the prior day’s tempo run, the campers returned from the trails energized and ready to take on the day. After a hearty breakfast, Director Fran Cusick went over long run essentials in preparation for the Thursday long run (I know it doesn’t have the same ring to it as “the church of the Sunday long run but campers would probably be unhappy if they began their week at Stowe with a long run!). Coach Cusick also discussed some ways to boost performance, such as keeping race-day decisions to a minimum and avoiding multitasking.

That afternoon, the camp headed to the Watering Hole for an aqua jogging and strength session. The veterans (juniors and seniors) and the young guns (sophomores, freshman, 8th graders) split into two groups for this portion of the camp, with the young guns starting in the pool. Aqua jogging is an activity where the runner supports him or herself with a flotation device and then mimics the motion of running in the pool. It is a great cross training activity because you get to actually run without the pounding that running on the hard ground creates. Counselors Emily Sessa and Peyton McGovern, who have both done a great deal of aqua jogging while injured, led the campers through a rather intense session of Aqua jogging. One favorite were the “drowners/dunkers” where campers hold themselves under water, pop to the surface, and “sprint” for 10 seconds.

While one group participated in Aqua jogging, another group led by Coach Kevin Greene and counselors Palmer and Spencer and Joe, did a medicine ball strength routine and then played a rousing game of “core capture the flag.” In this format, a player who is tagged has to do core until one of their teammates can rescue them. There were a few heated games and some tricky team tactics, but a good time was had by all.

That night was our Mr. and Mrs Stowe Pageant. This year’s competition was one of the better efforts that this writer has ever seen in this contest. The level of talent was high, the wit and intellect of the contestants was top-notch, and the crowd was completely engaged throughout most of the show, despite the rather long run time. Some of the highlights (which we are hoping to upload to this blog as soon as we can!) included a medley of impressive musical numbers. Amalia M broke out the ukelele for a heart wrenching cover of Train’s “Hey Soul Sister” (a performance that was so good her own brother hugged her after), Rachel S did an impromptu spoken word rap (?) about Stowe Running Camp itself which will likely go viral if we can ever get it uploaded, Ben P. did a uproariously funny version of a song that I can no longer remember but gets big points for involving the crowd, and Lucas M. also brought the house down with a rap version that incorporated many of the counselors at Stowe and the week’s single most hysterical/annoying catchphrase (the Family Feud inspired “Good answer!”).

Eventually, after a hard fought contest, Amalia M. and Ben P were named as the Mr. and Mrs. Stowe winners for 2017, though the real winners were the audience that got to watch all this creativity on display.

Pictured: The start of the famed tempo run at Stowe on the Quiet Path.

Tuesday, August 8, 2017. Tempo Tuesday. Taco Tuesday. Try to eat as much Ben and Jerry’s as you can Tuesday. Tuesday at Stowe Running Camp contains as many activities as there are alliterations involving the word Tuesday.

The day began with a brief breakfast. For some campers, a small bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch greatly benefits their tempo run times, for others a banana does the trick. Whatever the preference, campers boarded the bus ready to fulfill the Tempo ritual part of Tuesday. As much as the routine at Stowe has changed over the years, the one thing that has remained constant has been our Tuesday tempo runs. This versatile, quintessential cross country workout is as much a part of the Stowe Running Camp experience as the Round Hearth itself and though it has taken place on many different surfaces throughout the years — the hilly fields around Stowe High School, the bikepath, even Stowe’s dirt track— the workout itself has remained largely unchanged.

Instead of quieting as the bus neared the Stowe Quiet Paths where campers were to complete their run, the energy levels rose. Counselor Emily Sessa led the group in a rendition of the new SRC anthem– one side of the bus would say HEY then the other would say HOO before everyone joined together to say STOWE ON THE GO.

The effort exhibited during the tempo runs was extraordinary. Campers worked together to reach their target pace, encouraging each other on every step of the way. The reward of a cool ice bath in the nearby river helped everyone recover and cool down after a hot morning on the paths. Waiting for them back at the round hearth was a hearty lunch complete with all food groups. Many campers ate out on the lawn which by this point was sunny and warm.

The hard work continued in the afternoon with an activity new to Stowe Running Camp called strength assessment. In the past campers had the opportunity to learn many new strength and core activities however, this year campers received more individually focused instruction. During the afternoon campers went around to a variety of different stations doing everything from squats to pushups to vertical jumps. There was a counselor at each station who took notes on the camper’s form and watched for certain skills. Counselors then compiled this data and made note of several activities that each individual camper could benefit from doing. This information was sent to campers in the week after the camp.

Upon the conclusion of the strength assessment, many campers made their way down to another nearby stream for their second dip of the day in the chilly Vermont water. Others chose to get in extra mileage on the bike path.

After such a full day of work and excitement one might wonder what was left for the campers to do. However, the most exciting part was yet to come. After campers wolfed down their tacos and got dressed in their Tuesday best, they embarked on a journey to the ice cream capital of Vermont, the legendary Ben and Jerry’s factory. If you are reading this and don’t know what Ben and Jerry’s is, I instruct you to immediately dash to the nearest supermarket to find yourself a pint of the magical goodness called Ben and Jerry’s. Only after you have tasted the best ice cream in the world can you relate to the feelings of joy and happiness that campers experienced Tuesday night. One young camper even went so far as to get 4 scoops, one beyond a large. Although the cone and ice cream combined was taller than his face, he didn’t regret a single lick. Students arrived back at the Round Hearth that night with full stomachs, happy hearts, and of course the traditional picture in the cut out faces of Ben and Jerry.

The night’s festivities continued with the finale of Family Feud. Team Hannah Montana ousted the Kardashians, only to get beaten by the counselors in the next round in an impressive display of useless knowledge. The campers then went their separate ways, some exhaustedly marching to bed while others stayed downstairs to get in a couple rounds of Scattegories or one last conversation recapping the day.