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Runner’s World August 2003
By Jeff Galloway

Gone Camping
The right running camp can change your running life

Three months before the 1972 Olympic Trials, my friend Frank Shorter invited me and 1968 Olympian Jack Bacheler to the high altitude of Vail, Colo., for an impromptu running camp. The training was tough, but it worked: We all made the Olympic team. Not all running camp experiences produce such life-altering results. But the right running camp will: boost your motivation for months, provide you with a focused program to reach a running goal; correct your running form to help keep you injury-free; answer all those training questions that plague you; and produce lifelong friendships with fellow runners.

A good running camp will also help you distill reams of conflicting running information into a few powerful nuggets that you can use for years to come. The key is to pick a camp that’s tailored to your needs, with an instructor who has a running philosophy that matches your own.

CAMPING SAVVY
In general, running camps can be categorized as either competitive or lifestyle oriented.
Competitive running camps focus on mileage and speedwork, and incorporate challenging workouts designed to push your upper speed limit. Campers also attend nutrition, training, and motivational seminars daily, and get to swap stories with other competitive runners.

Lifestyle running camps offer training runs that boost endurance and speed, social runs, group hikes, seminars on a variety of health and fitness topics, tons of “running talk” over meals and breaks, and time for sightseeing or shopping. The top priority of most runners at lifestyle camps is to run injury-free.

No matter which category of camp you decide on, you’ll need to read all Web site information and literature available on the camps you’re considering. (You’ll get a ton of hits if you search the Web using the phase “running camps.”) You’ll also want to talk to someone connected with each program to determine if your goals and interests fall in line with those of the camp.

Here are nice questions to ask the camp staff:
1. What’s the average age of participants?
2. What percentage of attendees are high school or age-group contenders?
3. What kind of performance improvement can runners expect from the camp?
4. Does the camp offer individualized training programs?
5. Does the camp offer free follow-up advice via e-mail?
6. Is running form evaluated on an individual basis?
7. What types of clinics are offered?
8. What other fun and enrichment activities are offered?
9. What percentage of the campers are returnees?

HAPPY CAMPERS
Here’s a snapshot of those who attend running camps:
Median age at lifestyle camps: 43
Median age at competitive camps: 28
Years of running: 3 years
Running ability: average local runners
Gender: about an even split of men and women

A DAY AT CAMP
While each running camp has its own schedule, a typical day might go as follows:
7:00-8:00 Morning run
8:00-9:30 Breakfast
10:00-12:00 Clinics on training, nutrition, motivation, etc.
12:00-1:00 Lunch
1:00-3:00 Outdoor activities such as hiking or swimming
3:00-5:00 Shopping, sightseeing, T-shirt swapping, or cross-training clinics
6:00-7:00 Dinner
All followed by lots of running talk.

A CAMP OF YOUR OWN
Maybe you’d rather throw together your own running camp with a few of your training partners. If so, follow these seven steps:
1. Pick a location that has lots of great running trails and routes. For info on some of the best running spots around the world, go to runnersworld.com and click “On the Road.”
2. Select a well-respected book on running that you’ve all wanted to read.
3. Before you leave, have everyone read the book, with each participant focusing on certain chapters for discussion at camp.
4. Each day at camp, one person should be in charge of the running routes, and another should guide the discussion of the book.
5. Take time out each day to do other things such as shopping, sightseeing, hiking, or swimming. Remember, this is a vacation, too!
6. Consider entering a local 5- or 10-K race toward the end of your trip.
7. During the camp, have each person set a running goal for the next year, and determine how the group will follow up on these goals.