Stowe Running Camp

Day four got off to a wet start with an optional morning run in the rain. Due to the low mileage schedule for the day, most of the campers joined in on the fun. After drying off and eating a good breakfast of pancakes and bacon, the whole camp gathered for a stretching, or rather flexibility, lesson with Coach Ford of Fairfield Prep School. He showed the proper mechanics of a good flexibility workout and explained the science behind the stretch. After a short break, the group gathered for a thrilling lecture entitled “Reaching Your Full Potential” by Fran Cusick that was a smashing success. The audience burst into tears several times during the proceedings and exploded in applause at the conclusion of the speech.

After regaining their composure, the boys headed to the Swimming Hole, a local pool, where they did a vigorous pool workout that included aqua jogging and alternating between holding their running form and treading water. They also enjoyed their time to free swim and took part in some classic pool games, such as Marco Polo and good spirited racing. Meanwhile, back at the Round Hearth, the girls split into four groups and rotated between a medicine ball workout, a hip mobility routine, core exercises, and lunges. The culminating moment of the strength workout was 14 year old Isabelle J’s masterful display of core strength, in which she managed to plank for 5 minutes and 11 seconds. This was the longest plank of the day, including the guys. The groups switched, with the girls heading to the pool and the guys returning to camp for the strength workouts.

Some of the girls at the pool.

A great dinner of risotto with chicken and broccoli was served and the campers gathered for a speech on the long run by Pembroke High School Coach Greg Zoppatti. Coach Z talked about how cross country is the ultimate team sport and how the long run is a great way to bring teammates together. He also stressed how long runs are crucial to fitness because aerobic endurance is at the base of everything you do in running.

The annual Mr. and Mrs. Stowe pageant was the next item on the docket. This has become a highly anticipated activity of the camp, especially after last year’s excellent performances. This year did not disappoint, as the campers showed off some impressive skills in fields as diverse as magic, face-painting, long-form lectures, and gymnastics.  The competitors had to participate in a variety of activities such as musical bench, counselor impersonations, and a “Chubby Bunny” food eating contest. While the panel of judges went to deliberate their decision, the audience enjoyed a special comedic performance by Palmer and Lucia. The judges returned with their verdict of George and Mia as Mr. and Mrs. Stowe.

The rest of the night got off to an exciting start with the Air Hockey Tournament. Palmer again stole the spotlight as he came out on top for the second consecutive year as the champion. Other tournament standouts included Matt, aka Tom Hanks, and Joe Niski.

The Mr. and Mrs. Stowe contestants.

Tuesday morning got off to a late start as campers were offered the opportunity to sleep in. Breakfast was not until 9am and the morning run was available but not recommended due to the day’s activities. Shortly after breakfast, the campers were bused over to Stowe High School to run the tempo run. Each runner had chosen his or her pace the previous night and ran either two or three miles around the old-school gravel and weed-plagued track. Both a warmup and cooldown were offered with the tempo run, which allowed the runners to get in their daily mileage. The tempo run was a success with many of the runners hitting or running slightly faster than their goal paces. On the girls side, Jackie, Felicia, Emily, Maddy, Mia, and Peyton all crushed their tempo runs. For the guys, Garrett, Stephen McCall, Spencer, Palmer, and Gilmar ran great, controlled workouts (except for Bones and Gilmar in the last 200 meters, when things got a little too fast!)

After returning to the Round Hearth, a lunch composed of a variety of sandwiches was offered. The campers then divided into two groups based on grade. The Freshmen and Sophomores went to a speech by Fran Cusick on how to handle a bad race day; while the Juniors and Seniors had a college talk led by Coach Flynn. That afternoon the campers again headed to Top Notch Fields where they took part in physical fitness testing. This comprised of the 30 meter fly, long jump, and a medicine ball throw. The campers split into three smaller groups and took turns rotating through the tests. Afterwards, Coach Renny Waldron from Davidson College came to present a speech on the importance of the tempo run. Tacos were served for dinner and then the campers got ready for the annual trip to Ben & Jerry’s, where they not only got to enjoy ice-cream, but also walked through on a factory tour. The night again ended with time to relax and play all different kinds of games, including Scattergories, Mafia, Catchphrase, and Scrabble.

Stephen, Fran, and Spencer at Ben and Jerry’s.

Lunch with Ruben. Photo Credit: Lucia Lansing

The first full day of camp got off to a great start with the optional morning run through the trails in Weisner Woods behind the Round Hearth. After the run, campers enjoyed a great meal of pancakes, bagels, muffins, and other breakfast delectables. The next activity was the highly anticipated Gait Analysis at Top Notch fields. While Coach Flynn worked the camera for the boys’ gait, Olympian Ruben Sanca led the girls through a series of dynamic stretches, hip mobility, and hurdle drills. After the girls and guys swapped, the whole group headed back up for the camp favorite lunch of cheese and tomato melts served with chips and cookies. After lunch, Ruben presented a lecture about speed development as well as his journey from a 4:42 high school miler to Olympian.

The campers then prepared for a trip to Foster’s watering hole, where the ice cold river water would serve as a suitable ice bath. Feeling refreshed and alleviated from soreness, the runners headed back to camp to hear a presentation by two of our camp counselors. Leah Millar presented on her intern experiences with Puma as well as on her job with Janji, while Keryn Thorvaldsen talked about a great modeling experience she got with New Balance. The purpose of the lecture was to show the campers a glimpse of a few of the many opportunities outside of racing for post-collegiate runners. Another of the camp’s counselors, Fran Cusick, then gave a brief talk on tempo runs to prepare the runners for Tuesday’s tempo workout. A first class dinner of chicken, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, and a salad bar was served to the hungry crowd, after which the annual volleyball and air hockey tournaments got kicked off to a great start to end the night.

Ruben giving his speech while sporting a flower crown made by one of the campers. Photo Credit: Dan Flynn.

Day 1- It Only Gets Better from Here

Coach Flynn addresses the camp. Photo cred: Keryn Thorvaldsen

Year Four starts off with a bang as the campers rolled into the Round Hearth. This year we have a great balance between new and old campers, with 25 of the 54 being returners. After a few hours of settling in and playing games on the front lawn, everyone gathered for the welcoming speech. Camp Director Dan Flynn laid down some ground rules and then Harvard Cross Country Coach Jason Saretsky took the floor. His talk centered on the concept of “Critical Non Essentials” which are the things that you need besides running to be successful, such as stretching, keeping a training log, and having a healthy diet. Coach Saretsky also discussed general guidelines to being recruited.

After his speech concluded the campers headed out to the front lawn for a fun game of Side-to-Side. The campers then broke up into groups and after some ice-breakers, went for the first of many easy runs on the bike-path. When they returned, the runners did some static stretching, foam rolling, and core exercises, while dinner was being prepared. Dinner was lasagna, tortellini, a full salad bar, and to top it all off, chocolate cake. After dinner and some more laid-back time, the campers gathered for a goal setting lecture and left afterwards feeling very ambitious and motivated about their week and future running endeavors. The night ended with more fun games and it was heart-warming to see the new and old campers hitting it off.

The camp playing side-to-side.

Written by Eva Fandozzi and Fran Cusick

This day began with the campers getting up, eating breakfast, and heading to Stowe High School for a game called “Hit Your Pace.” The athletes were randomly placed on teams, and each team member had to select a pace for one mile that they thought they could run on a dirt track. They would then run a mile (without a watch) and be given points for how close they were to that time.

It was a spirited competition, and a couple campers actually hit their pace dead on! I don’t actually have the names of the group that won, but I will get that information soon and post it on here, as well as some photos.

We then headed back to the Round Hearth and listened to Ruben Sanca talk about his experience in the Olympics in 2012. As you can imagine, the kids had a lot of questions about what it was like running in the Olympics, and Ruben did a great job answering them.

After Ruben’s speech, it was time to say good-bye. Camp Director Dan Flynn gave some closing remarks, and the counselors gave out a series of paper plate awards to campers who had demonstrated interesting or unique skills over the course of the week. The campers got their t-shirts, and we took a final picture on the front lawn of the Round Hearth before everyone headed back home.

The last day of running camp is always difficult. It’s hard to say goodbye to people after an amazing week of making new connections and friends. Ultimately, I think I can safely say that everyone who attended Stowe Running Camp, both counselors and campers, learned something and made all kinds of connections with their peers. I know it was the highlight of my summer, as I’m sure it was for the awesome kids we were lucky enough to spend this time with.

At any rate, thanks to all who read the blog! I’m going to try to update it a bit more over the next few weeks with more specific material and pictures, so be sure to check back for that. Also a big shout-out to camper Eva Fandozzi for all her help with the blog!

Bye!

Written By: Coach Cusick

Thursday began with a more casual breakfast at 8:15 a.m. Many of the campers ate a light breakfast as Thursday is distance day. Nine a.m. marked the beginning of the long run. The runners had a choice of what distance to go. The choices included a 6, 8, 10, 13, or 15 mile run. After this long-distance run, everyone preceded to the river to ice their legs in the freezing Vermont water.

After the distance run, and the ice bath, the campers returned to the Round Hearth to enjoy pizza, caesar salad, and rice-crispy treats. After watching some of the Worlds competition, including a viewing of Mary Cain’s 1500, marathon Olympian Ruben Sanca gave the campers a lecture about the importance of long-distance runs and his own personal experiences. All of the runners were then given their Saucony trainers or spikes, depending on their earlier decision.

The last dinner served at Stowe Running Camp 2013 was turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, vegetables, and a dessert of Apple Crisp and vanilla ice-cream. Soon after dinner Harvard Cross-country coach Jason Saretsky, returned to Stowe for the third consecutive year to give a lecture about “critical non-essentials.” Coach Saretsky talked about different things runners could do to give them an edge over their competitors, such as having good nutrition, stretching and ice bathing, doing core work (which drew a big laugh from the crowd after Coach Price’s speech) and keeping a training log.

The night continued with the annual lip-sync competition. Many campers, including the counselors, gave amazing performances to songs of their choice. The winners of the competition were Corinne Vietorisz and Josh Goldstein with their performance of “I’ll Make A Man Out of You” with Palmer Weiman. The final event of the evening was the dance for all the campers. A local DJ came and the campers danced like there was no tomorrow.  After this exhausting night of dancing, everyone said goodnight and went to bed.

Written by: Eva Fandozzi

Wednesday started with an optional morning run at 8am. After the campers returned breakfast, consisting of French toast, was served. The runners then preceded to Top Notch Field were everyone participated in dynamic stretching. The runners then split into groups based on gender. The girls continued with more dynamic stretches, while the guys did a hill workout, which consisted of bounds and sprints up a steep hill. The groups then swapped and the girls completed the workout. All of the campers returned to the Round Hearth and enjoyed a pulled-pork sandwich and salad lunch.

After lunch, half the camp went to the Swimming Hole, a local indoor pool. They did aqua jogging, which is a much harder workout than one would think. The other half of the camp stayed at the Round Hearth. This group did active isolated stretching, medicine ball work, and agility drills. The groups then swapped and completed each-others workout. After the campers had some down time, the freshmen, sophomores, and middle-schoolers preceded to a lecture by Coach Cusick about high school cross-country, while the juniors and seniors attended a lecture by Coach Flynn about finding the right program at college for running.

The afternoon continued with the annual Mr. and Ms. Stowe pageant, where campers can volunteer to participate and share their talents. There are a number of contests throughout the evening, such as a cookie-eating contest, and impersonation contest, a napkin-eating contest, and a talent show. Highlights of the night included Palmer Wyman’s stand-up comedy, the foot drawings of Corinne Vietorisz, the magic tricks of James Rose, and the ninja costume of Willy Pierce. The night ended with the announcement of the winners, Corinne and Palmer, which were determined by a panel of three judges.

-Written by Eva Fandozzi

The campers awoke for breakfast at nine and enjoyed a light but fulfilling meal as there was a tempo run looming. They got on the bus and traveled to Stowe High School. Then, they split into their color groups and got their pace and distance for the tempo run. The groups began with a one mile run to view the course and do a warm-up. The groups also did some dynamic stretching before they started the tempo run. Great effort was applied by all runners as conditions were not ideal. Rainy weather and wet grass did not stop the athletes from completing their runs at ideal paces. After some static stretching and a cool down the campers got on the bus and returned to the Round Hearth.

The campers then enjoyed a delicious lunch comprised of grilled cheese and open cheese and tomato melts. Coach Jason Price, of Athletes Equation, then came and gave a lecture on strength and conditioning training for long distance runners. Coach Price talked about how important it is for all runners to have good posture and core strength, in order to prevent injury and excel as runners. After some Q & A the runners proceeded to the front lawn where a demonstration, followed by exercises, were completed.

The campers had dinner and then took a surprise trip to Ben & Jerrys, and enjoyed a tour of the factory and a free ice-cream.  A few brave campers decided to try their hand at the “Vermonster” which is essentially a giant bucket of ice cream. In retrospect, that was probably a poor choice, but the kids seemed to enjoy it at the time. Everyone then returned home and headed off to bed.

Written by: Coach Cusick and Eva Fandozzi

The second day at Stowe Running Camp began with an optional 7:30 AM morning run. The vast majority of the camp opted to participate, which shows the great dedication and enthusiasm of the campers here at the Round Hearth. There were two groups, one that stayed on the flat rec path, and one that ventured into the wilderness of Stowe at Wisener Woods. The groups returned and stretched on the lawn.

After a delicious breakfast, the runners headed to Top Notch Fields and split up by gender. One group did a series of dynamic stretches while the other proceeded with a gate analysis. Each runner was filmed from the front and side while they did strides down the field. The groups then switched and we ended by working on form and improving our form. The tired runners fueled up with some sandwiches.

The runners listened to an informative lecture from Coach Flynn about the earlier gait analysis. He pointed out different form issues and ways to improve. We then took a short break and headed to a local swimming hole. Some of the athletes went for a river walk with Brian Axelrod while the rest of the them went swimming, ice bathed, and just enjoyed the scenic Vermont countryside.

This was followed up with another easy run, dinner, and then a lecture from UConn Men’s Cross Country Coach Renny Waldron. Coach Waldron talked about the value of tempo runs and long-term aerobic development. He also talked about techniques to deal with pre-race race stress. Coach Waldron suggested that runners should focus on the process of what they are doing, rather than the end result. He was also generous enough to stick around after his lecture to answer a number of questions from campers asking about college.

We finished out the night with some fun activities, including air hockey, Scattegories, Apples to Apples, and Mafia. Overall, it was a successful and educational day of running and fun.

Written by: Coach Cusick, Eva, and Lucia.

After a year of waiting, Stowe Running Camp 2013 is upon us! Our camp has grown from 23 campers, in 2011, to 68 this year. We’re also very excited to have 20 returning campers and 4 new CITs, who are eagerly waiting to be counselors next year. Every New England state is represented, as well as a number of New Yorkers.

The campers arrived at the Round Hearth with positive attitudes and excessively packed bags. After settling in and meeting their roommates, we had opening ceremonies. Director Dan Flynn gave a speech introducing the rules and regulations of the camp. The runners were then placed into fitness groups and ventured onto the rec path for the first time in 2013.

We returned to the Round Heart for some stretching and some core workouts on the lawn, followed by a delicious dinner of tortellini, meatballs, and garlic bread. The evening session was focused on goal setting. Coach Flynn talked about how important it is for runners to have goals. Each camper wrote a letter describing their short term, long term, and dream goals, both running and non-running. These letters will be mailed to the campers in November so they can see what progress has been made towards their goals. The night ended with a visualization secession and some free time.

Below are some pictures from the first day. Check back in tomorrow for more exciting updates!