Stowe Running Camp

Pictured Above: the winners of the Mr. and Mrs. Stowe Pageant.

Wednesday morning became notorious as the most controversial run at Stowe this year. Every uninjured camper was expected to participate in the “Mandatory Morning Run,” which was met with some skepticism by the campers upon finding out that this run would be commencing at 7 AM. Although inflammatory Tweets and derisive Snapchats were making the rounds on social media outlets, the campers got up and dutifully got in some solid mileage. After this run through the trails and some breakfast, the camp was divided into groups which rotated around the Round Hearth while the counselors held seminars explaining different aspects of running. Some of these topics included overcoming adversity, transitioning to college, the importance of nutrition, how running can help you post-collegiately and in the professional world, and a series of bizarre anecdotes related to Valentine’s Day and prom related misadventures as told by Palmer. Since the groups were smaller, these sessions were a bit more intimate and more dictated by a Q&A type format.

After the speeches, we had a light lunch before splitting the groups by gender. The girls headed to the pool, while the guys stayed at the Round Hearth. At the Round Heart, the campers had three stations, one which focused on foam rolling, one on yoga, and one on general strength and hip mobility. At the pool, we were worked on aqua jogging, which is a great way to cross-train or to get in aerobic work if you are injured. After about an hour and a half, the groups switched. Though this part of the day is a bit stressful for the counselors as it involves a lot of proverbial balls in the air with the switching of the busses, plus having to repeat the same activities for multiple different groups, it was quite popular with the campers. We also had a pushup and plank contest. In the plank contest, Ashley F. won with a stunning time of 9:18. This was especially noteworthy because, as the contest began, it started downpouring outside, creating an epic and cinematic feel. Ashley had a better time than everyone in camp, including the boys. In the pushup contest, Gilmar B. continued his reign of dominance, winning for the second straight year.

Following the conclusion of the afternoon activities, the campers listened to a speech from co-director Fran Cusick on long runs. Coach Cusick, though a huge advocate of the long run, reminded the campers about the importance of being smart when running long, as many young runners get swept up in the moment and select a distance that is too long for them to handle, leading to injuries down the road. To view the presentation, click here: The Value of the Long Run

After this and a big dinner, one of the most celebrated traditions at Stowe Running Camp kicked off: the Mr. and Mrs. Stowe pageant. This year was a fantastic display of talent, showmanship, and wit and a huge shoutout goes out to all of the contestants who took part, as well as to Leah Miller, for putting it together. Kudos as well to Palmer and Courtney R., who did a fantastic job as MCs. This was an event which featured a number of performances that it would be impossible to do justice to via this blog. Some of the highlights were Gwen B’s excellent impersonation of Co-Director Fran Cusick, Hunter M’s inspirational speech, Rachel M and Emma H’s “resume runners” skit, James R’s mind-blowing magic trick, and Brad G’s bizarre, performance art-esque downing of 14 creams with his hype-man Abhi stoically looking on. The most stunning performance and, in this writer’s opinion, the single best performance ever seen at Stowe Running Camp, was a stirring performance of Vance Joy’s “Riptide” with Sarah R. on ukulele and eventual Mrs. Stowe winner Grace R. on vocals. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house as the girls stripped the usually up-beat song down to a more melancholy and reflective version.
The eventual winners were Grace R, with Emily P as runner up on the girls side and Brad G. with Hunter Miller as the runner up on the guys’ side. This is a cliche, but the real winners were the audience who got to enjoy the awesome and oftentimes hysterical performances of these brave souls willing to get up in front of 70 people with minimal preparation but a lot of heart.

The motley crew of contestants assembles before the judges.

Tuesday is famous in these parts for being the day of the tempo run. As mentioned in the last blog, a tempo run is a “comfortably hard” effort, which is a vague way of saying that the effort level should be right in between your race pace and your easy run pace. The problem is that, in early August, when few people are in top form, making it hard to determine with any degree of accuracy what one’s current race pace is. And if you don’t know your current race pace, it can be a quixotic task to find your tempo pace. It should also shock no one that most high schoolers, nay, most runners in general, have a tendency to overestimate their own fitness level, leading to disappointment when they inevitably don’t’ hit their times.

ANYWAY, we awoke on Tuesday morning to the sound of rain pattering off the roof of the Round Hearth. This was accompanied by the collective sighs of some 75 campers as it dawned on them that they would be doing their tempo runs in some seriously inclement weather. Despite this obstacle, the campers were in high spirits as they boarded the bus to Stowe HS. After warming up and doing some dynamics, the first three groups stepped onto the dirt Stowe HS track and proceeded to crush their tempo run, finishing with mud-covered backs and water-logged shoes but with the immense sense of accomplishment that can only come from a job done well. The second half of camp arrived on the scene about an hour after the first, with similar results. Some of more notable tempo run accomplishments were Gilmar B’s 17:30 (goal time 17:30), Mike St. G’s 18:00 (goal time 18:00), Joe Niski’s 19:30 (goal time 19:30), Courtney Russo’s 24:03 (goal time 24:00) and Karina Crowley’s 23:48 (goal time 24:00).  Overall, while there were a few campers who had off days, the vast majority was well within range of their times for the tempo. To view the times, please click on this link: Tempo Results (note that, due to the rain, getting the times down was something of a struggle. If we missed yours, we sincerely apologize!)

The campers returned to the Round Hearth and felt much better after a hot shower and a hearty meal. As the rain continued to pour down upon us, the camp watched McFarland USA, a film starring Kevin Costner as a cross country coach attempting to bring together a rag-tag group of runners and lead them to the California state championship. Despite the plot being very well-worn territory, the movie was well acted and an interesting look at how Hollywood views cross country and the ending, though, predictable, was rousing and inspirational.

After the movie, Co-Director Fran Cusick gave a presentation on How to Become a Better Runner. The first half of his talk focused on the role of the brain in running. Coach Cusick discussed the “Central Governor” theory of fatigue which states that the brain slows down the body in order to protect it from harm. This is evidenced by the fact that many people, with the finish line in site, will go from looking like death to sprinting to the finish line. Thus, getting faster is in some ways a matter of learning to override your brain’s natural instincts. You can do this through positive self-talk and visualization, among other techniques.

The second half of Coach Cusick’s talk centered on the pacing problems that plague most high school runners. He cited a statistic that every single world record set above 800 meters has been set using an even or slightly negative split. In other words: good runners get faster at the end of the race. At the high school level, the vast majority of runners employ the ill-advised strategy of going out way too hard, struggling through through the middle portion of the race, and then hanging on until the end. This is not in any way optimal! So if you’re a high school runner, or really any runner at any level, and you are matched up against someone of relatively equal fitness, one of the ways to beat them is with a more even distribution of energy. To view the somewhat disorganized talking points, click here: Speech.

After the speech, the campers received their shoes, which is always a thrilling moment. This year we got the Saucony Kinvaras, one of the best running shoes on the market. This typically chaotic process actually went very smoothly this year thanks to the efforts of counselors Isabelle and Eva (thanks guys!). As always, there were a few people who needed to exchange their shoes for a new size. If you’re one of those people and you’re reading this, your shoes should be shipping out by Thursday and you should have them by next week.

After getting their shoes, the campers unwound with some games, activities, and general downtime before having dinner and then heading to Ben and Jerry’s for some ice cream. Some highlights of the trip to B and J’s included a heated debate over the difference between a frappe, a milkshake, and a “shake” and Counselor Kevin C. eating some ice cream off a table (don’t worry, he didn’t eat the parts that actually touched the table, just the top).

The positive energy was almost tangible on the morning of the first full day at the Round Hearth. As evidence of this the vast majority of the campers willingly showed up for the extremely early optional morning run. Some of the more adventurous runners headed up to Wiessner Woods for a jaunt through muddy and hilly trails, while others stuck to the Bike path. After breakfast, we hopped on a bus to the Stowe Motel fields, to begin correcting form and introducing speed development drills. With the front and side-angled cameras rolling, each camper took a turn striding across the field. This footage was later critiqued by Dan Flynn to help fix egregious form imperfections, such as overstriding, and poor arm carriage. We ended the session with a series of strides, each one focusing on a specific aspect of good running form, such as the fan favorite pounding the ground, jiggle face, and quick turnover.

The afternoon saw a return to Foster’s watering hole, where the campers ran into some early issues when a group of rogue bees began wreaking havoc on the community. Camp director Fran Cusick arrived to a scene of disarray with campers and Stowe residents alike fleeing in terror from the blood thirsty insects. The campers established an uneasy truce with the bees in order to enjoy the serenity of the ice cold water. We were also entertained by our previous furry friend, Oscar the dog, who spent a good 30 minutes hurling himself into the water chasing after a stick, to the delight of all present.

(The bee story has been slightly embellished for comedic effect)

We got back to the Round Hearth and went for our second run of the day to shake the legs out and allow for campers to build up their weekly mileage. Later that night, we had a discussion in anticipation of the next day’s tempo run. A tempo run is a “comfortably hard” effort, usually done at about 80-85% effort, or 15-45 seconds slower than 5k pace. It’s a tricky but highly beneficial component of a successful runner’s training plan. After the speech, the campers worked with their counselors to determine their tempo pace, a somewhat tedious but necessary task. We went to bed dreaming of tempo runs on the dirt Stowe track.

This was something of a transitional year here at Stowe, as we had six new counselors. Four of those counselors had been campers the previous year. In total, of the nine counselors we had on the staff, seven of them are former Stowe campers! This says a lot about the type of community we hope to create: one where our former campers are eager to continue to be part of the Stowe tradition.

We had a record number of campers this year, including teams from New Canaan and Ridgefield Connecticut, as well as Old Rochester and Wilmington in Massachusetts. The sheer number of campers fostered in a great year of intra-team bonding and an amazing environment full of tournaments, games, and, of course, running. However, having so many people show up seemingly at the same time comes with a mayhem of unpacking and settling in. Day 1 always has a poor stigma of awkwardness due to strangers colliding in a very small space, and yet this year everyone hit it off almost immediately creating one of the most comfortable immediate communities yet.

Camp co-directors Dan Flynn and Fran Cusick officially marked the beginning of the week with an opening speech going over general safety procedures and an overview of the schedule. Of course, Dan’s traditional clap to amp everyone up became a trademark of the week. After getting through the boring stuff, we headed to the front lawn to go for our first run. Despite a wrong turn from Connor Bailey on a straight bike path which briefly sent the camp into a panic, everything went smoothly and the campers returned feeling pretty good about themselves.

The campers headed back inside for their first taste of the stupendous array of food served up by the Round Hearth Staff, including Sue, regarded by some as “the greatest woman in the world.” After dinner, Dan Flynn gave his annual rousing speech about the importance of setting goals. Counselor Emilia McGrath, on the spot, came up with the perfect summation of Dan’s premise, “If you don’t know your destination, you can’t start the journey.” The campers filled out goal sheets detailing their short-term, long-term, and dream goals. They then sealed and addressed envelopes to themselves, which will be mailed post-cross country season to see what progress has been made. The activity was a success despite some questionable envelope addressing (we’re looking at you Maddie B!).

We closed out some night with some more bonding and down time.

Another week at Stowe has come and gone, seemingly in the blink of an eye. New friendships were born, old bonds were rekindled, and a new group of campers was introduced to the best running camp in New England (no bias here!). We were a little lax this year in updating this blog due to internet connectivity issues. However, over the next several days, we will be posting a series of blog posts highlighting this amazing week. Before we begin, I would like to thank everyone involved in this week, including the Round Hearth staff, the counselors, the CIT’s, the guest speakers, and most importantly the campers. The community that we’ve created does not end with this week; but continues at cross country courses and tracks throughout New England.

Check back in with this blog over the next few days for a more in-depth description of this week.

Another week at Stowe has come and gone, seemingly in the blink of an eye. New friendships were born, old bonds were rekindled, and a new group of campers was introduced to the best running camp in New England (no bias here!). We were a little lax this year in updating this blog due to internet connectivity issues. However, over the next several days, we will be posting a series of blog posts highlighting this amazing week. Before we begin, I would like to thank everyone involved in this week, including the Round Hearth staff, the counselors, the CIT’s, the guest speakers, and most importantly the campers. The community that we’ve created does not end with this week; but continues at cross country courses and tracks throughout New England.

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?)

On Tuesday afternoon, the campers at Stowe took part in some physical tests designed to measure strength, speed, and athleticism. There were three tests:

1) a medicine ball throw with an 8 pound med-ball

2) A standing long jump

3) A 30 meter fly.

The point of these tests is to identify areas of either strength or weakness. Similar tests are used by many college and even high school track teams in order to ascertain what the athlete needs to work on. Here are the results, enjoy:

Fitness Test Results

P.S. Big shout out to Kourtney for compiling these on her computer! Also, some of the boys long jump times are not recorded; I will add those when I find the original sheet.

The tempo run is one of the most important workouts in a cross country or really any distance runner’s arsenal. The goal of a tempo run is to run “comfortably hard” a difficult concept to explain but one that can be learned, likely after many attempts at getting the pace just right. Essentially, you are looking for the pace in between your 5k race pace and your easy run pace. While doing this workout, a full conversation should not be possible, but you should be able to speak a few words here and there. Here’s a little check-list to know if you’ve done a good tempo run:

-You finish feeling like you could run another few miles.

-You are able to converse briefly with the people you are running with during the race.

-You are not “red-lining” or killing yourself to hit the desired pace.

One of the challenges of a tempo run is finding the correct pace. To do this, the most accurate way that I’ve found is to take a recent race time and plug it into the McMillan Calculator. Clicking on “Training Paces” will give you a number of ideal workout paces, including your tempo pace.

Here is a link to everyone’s times; a word of warning, my handwriting is not great, to the point where even I sometimes struggle to read it. If your time is inaccurate, please let me know and we’ll try to get it fixed!

Tempo Run Times

The last day of camp is always a difficult one. Although I think we all look forward in some ways to returning home to friends and family and getting a chance to sleep in our own beds, leaving behind the type of surrogate family that one forges at Stowe Running Camp is a bittersweet experience.

At any rate, the campers awoke a bit tired from the previous day’s dance/long run combination, and headed to Stowe High school for our final run as a group. The campers played a modified version of last year’s “Hit Your Pace” game; they formed teams and selected a pace they thought they could hit for 1 mile (i.e. 8:30, 7:30, etc.) for just a mile course in the woods. The team that came closest to their pace would win the game.

The winners of the game was the appropriately named “Winners” squad which consisted of Peyton, Lilly, Maddy B., Isabelle J., and Alex. They predicted a time of 8:30 and ran…8:30. Pretty impressive stuff.

The campers got back on the bus for the final time and headed back to the Round Hearth to pack their stuff and get ready to depart. Let’s just say it is a miracle all the campers were packed and ready to go in just a mere hour. Camp director Dan Flynn addressed the camp for the last time and talked about how special it is to attend a running camp like Stowe. The counselors handed out some paper plate awards, followed by the annual picture in front of the newly renovated Round Hearth sign on the front lawn. After some tearful goodbyes and many, many pictures, the campers were gone.

Looking back over the week, it’s amazing how quickly everyone bonded and became close. We hope to see everyone back next year!

P.S. I know that many of you are curious about your fitness test times as well as your tempo times; we will have that information posted to the blog by Monday night. So make sure to check in! I hope you all had a wonderful time at Stowe, good luck this season!

Blog written by: Eva Fandozzi and Fran Cusick

The long run day is consistently one of the highlights of the week here at Stowe. The already high camaraderie fostered during the preceding days really gets taken up a notch during the long run. There is a real sense of togetherness created by running such a long distance together. The long run went very well; many of the campers completed their longest run ever, but more importantly they were careful to keep the pace nice and easy and to focus on completing the run. Some of the highlights included Izzy and Eva running 15 miles, which was the camp record for the girl’s long run. We also had about half of the camp running the half-marathon distance of 13.1 miles, an awesome accomplishment!

After the long run, the tired campers retreated to the Round Hearth for a hearty lunch of English muffin pizzas, then took some free time, with many of them opting for a nap after a tough morning run. That afternoon, the campers were fitted for and received their Saucony Spikes, a process that went relatively smoothly, all things considered. Big shout out to Peyton and Josh for finding order amidst the chaos, and for Lilly for keeping the eager crowd at bay.

The semi-finals of the volleyball tournament were held that afternoon as well, with Palmer’s team advancing to the finals against the counselors. Before the final match, the camp had a lovely cookout with burgers, hot-dogs, mac and cheese, and some of the best sweet-potato fries ever served in Vermont. The championship volleyball match was a hotly-contested game, with both sides going back and forth. With the campers up by 4 points, a slight issue with the court forced a relocation to a different part of the lawn. Ultimately, errors plagued the counselor team and they were defeated for the the fourth consecutive year. The key players on the campers side included Ryan, Abhi, Spencer, and Joe.

The lip sync competition was up next. The counselors kicked things off with a stirring rendition of two songs no one has ever heard of. They had spent hours throughout the week rehearsing this routine, so it was no surprise that it turned out great. Other highlights included Willy and George performing Vanessa Carlton’s “A Thousand Miles,” Anna, Emily, Courtney, and Ketchup performing “Baby Got Back” and the winning team ‘The Gingers’ crushing “Fancy.”

After the lip sync, the dance lasted until 10:30. Some stellar dance performances were given by Felicia and Joe, who won the “Decades Dance-off” competition. The campers were hesitant to go to bed, as this was the last night they had to spend with their peers. Dan and Fran played a lively round of pool that drew in a surprising crowd. As always, many of the campers flocked to the TV room to play Mafia for the last time.