Photo by Aaron Hohenbrink, from the 2021 July All Comers Ridge Run.

From Running Director Heidi Caldwell

Our first camp of the season - High School Camp #1 - was welcomed by a brutally hot and humid stretch of summer weather. The campers took the soupy weather in stride, quickly bonding through tough workouts, endless rounds of cards, and animated games of lawn volley ball. Other heat wave highlights included a scorching afternoon interval workout, a sweaty hill training session, an absolute downpour during the running portion of Endurathon Day, and many, many, jumps in Great Hosmer Pond! By Thursday there was a (much appreciated) break in the weather, leading the rejuvenated campers to put in a strong showing at the annual Paw Paddle (“Pawpentathlon”) Obstacle Course competition and to organize a very energetic (and hilarious) talent show. Camp concluded with a muggy and beautiful sunrise Ridge Run on Saturday morning, with a number of campers running 10 miles for the first time!

Next up came camp with the mighty Masters. This year’s Masters group saw a wonderful blending of seasoned campers and new campers, with runners traveling to Craftsbury from Atlanta, Virginia, Chicago, and just down the road in Craftsbury! This particular group of athletes brought an inspiring mix of collective running wisdom and eager curiosity to try and learn new things. One new addition to camp this year was a trip to visit the Kingdom Community Wind Project on the Lowell Mountain Ridge (those windmills you see while running Ridge Run, Common Loop, etc). Despite the thick fog on top of the ridge that morning, Green Mountain Power led a fantastic tour of the windmill site and answered all of our questions. It was wild to see the wind turbines in person - the size of the blades alone is spectacular to behold! Another highlight of camp was the final evening, with many heart felt words and “shout-outs” shared around the campfire.

Some of our mighty Masters crew taking on Mt Pisgah!

Our final camp of July was All Comers Camp, this year bringing a group of both experienced returners and some “green” newcomers in their 20s-60s. This collection of runners really had it all: a newly married couple, a father-daughter duo, two virtual training buddies meeting in person for the first time, and a pair of sisters from Texas! In great contrast to High School Camp, rain, rain, and more rain greeted the All Comers crew. But this group’s zeal for “camp life” and training was not dampened in the slightest! The campers rolled through the workouts and “crushed” their recovery with grace and style. By Thursday, the weather turned and brought a couple of sunny and cool - almost autumnal - days for the end of camp; perfect for an afternoon run on Wylie Hill Road and a stunning sunrise Ridge Run finale. As always, this camp took train hard, play hard, and rest hard to the next level, and brought contagious joy to it all!

Endurathon post-run picnic celebration on North Beach at Lake Willoughby. Next up, ice cream!

June-July Running Camps Recap