Your internal flame:
At the end of every school year, when the long trips to meets are done, exams are
finished, practices become voluntary, and you have the option to enter a persistent
vegetative state to watch the latest season of Stranger Things--you could keep your fire
burning and sign up for some awesome running camps! These camps will get that "fire
burning" and potentially make it burn even brighter!
Over the past few years, I've run year-round, and by doing so, I've met so many people
with similar passions that I felt the need to share.
I do a lot of things to avoid burnout, stay in top shape, and help grow my passion for the
sport. In today's article, I'll hit running camps.
Running Camps:
I've attended Brevard Distance Running Camp, UNC Nike Running Camp, Duke Nike
Running Camp, and Princeton Girls Running camp. All were fantastic camps but for
completely different reasons.
I attended BDRC for three years, and with each year, a new love for the camp and the
sport was found. It remains the largest XC camp in the nation, and it has some of the
most beautiful and challenging trails in the country. They also have solid team building
sessions, great speakers, the renowned ice-cold recovery creek on campus, decent
food, white squirrels, a waterfall run trail, the Art
Loeb Trail (known for being the hardest trail we
run), a great night of entertainment at the talent
show, a camp-wide dance, and an ice cream
social. John's Rock run, our final trail, provides
some of the best insta content available.
Negatives include lack of AC in the aged dorms,
decent but not outstanding food, and the slight
repetitiveness that comes with three years of the
camp.
UNC was well organized, with a nice campus, and
air-conditioned up-to-date dorms. The trails were
solid but not as nice as BDRC, but how many
places have a trail where you pass multiple
waterfalls. The counselors consisted of the
distance team, and they were friendly and fun to
run with. The food was pretty good. All facilities
were top notch having both outdoor and indoor
tracks, as well as fun local trails.
Duke Running Camp had one of the most beautiful campuses that I have ever visited.
One could compare it to a castle in a fairytale! The dining facility is fantastic, having
food for any and all cravings. The coaches and staff are some of the best in the
business. The track facilities were solid, and we got to visit the basketball arena as
well. Duke is one of the finest
universities in the US, and it
currently ranks as the #1 university
for student athletes. The dorms
were air conditioned and roomy.
The girls in attendance were
super nice and passionate about
their sport, which of course made
running 600m trail repeats more
enjoyable. Coach Riley is
awesome and her attention to
detail is amazing! She has all her
ducks in a row.
Lastly, the cross country team at STJ
recently went to Princeton Girls Running
Camp. Four girls 14-16 flying solo to New
Jersey made quite the adventure. We
eventually made it and joined 120 other
girls. Coach Hunt and his staff were so
welcoming to the "Alabama Girls." The
town is amazing, and the campus is a
blend of historical buildings and brand-new
architecture, all of which were exactly what
you would expect at Princeton. They have
a nice multipurpose indoor track and a top
notch outdoor facility.
The
local running trails were pretty nice as well. The
food itself was a 10, consisting of a build your own
salad station, build your own pasta bar, and ice
cream every meal! The guest speakers--Molly
Huddle with her 5 consecutive USATF 10k US
titles, Kara Goucher and Ashley Higgionson being
retired pro athletes--were excellent and inspiring!
The dorms were huge, but they didn't have AC.
We were able to watch the USATF
CHAMPIONSHIPS on the campus theater screen to see Emma Coburn battle it out in
the 3k SC.
It's really cool to hang with 120 girls that have the same passion as you!
People talk about burnout, but remember, you survive if the fire inside you burns hotter
than the fire around you. Find things over the summer that light your internal fire, and
you'll be faster for it!
Gone for a run,
Presley Miles
