Hey everyone. So after Amy Yoder Begely's camp in Indiana I drove down to Virginia for the Central Virginia Running Camp at the University of Virginia. At camp Coach Dunn stressed not only being physically fit entering the season, but also being mentally prepared as well. To build this mental fortitude the campers were tested with a number of trivia questions each day with the 3 highest scores over the course of the week received prizes.
If you couldn't win a prize with your brain, could always do it with your legs. The kids weeks were very busy with two a day runs, lectures, knockout, trivia and trips to Ragged Mountain running store. If that wasn't enough to wear them out on the last full day of camp the students competed in a relay race of varying stages. To begin all of the campers were broken into 13 teams of 10 runners each divided by their mile pr's to make each team about equal. The teams were then given time to design some team names and jerseys. Once this was completed the teams were ready to rumble.
The first challenge was an orienteering race where each team was given instructions in meters and direction and were forced to find a water bottle with each teams counselor's name on it. The next event was a team frisbee throwing race where each team formed 2 lines across from each other and had to complete a frisbee throw then run to the end of the opposite line. After each line had gone through twice the teams would sit down. The fastest team won the most points. From there the teams would stay in the same positions, but they would sprint back and forth carrying water balloons. Finally, the last challenge, worth twice as many points, was a 5000m race where all 10 members of the team would run a leg of distances ranging from 200m to 1000m. Combine these scores with an additional team trivia challenge and you have your winner.
At the end of camp their was an awards ceremony for the teams and individuals who stood out during the week long competitions. Also at this ceremony there was a slideshow of the week at camp. If you only see one link I post this entire cross country season, look at this one: http://www.youtube.com/user/EDCROMER
Next up my formers competitors at the Dartmouth University Gold Medal Camp in Hanover New Hampshire.
