Announcement
Mustangs enjoy first Summer Running Camp!
From Sunday July 22nd through Friday the 27th, 14 Mustangs joined over 120 other runners from the Bay Area, the North Coast and even Reno Nev at the HSU Running Camp. This camp first started in the 1980's by legendary coach Jim Hunt, who at 81 years old, is still an active participant in the camp. Sponsored by Asics, and run by Kevin Searls of the Asics Aggies Running Club, the camp totally immersed the participants in all aspects of "a running lifestyle".
After checking in on Sunday afternoon, the first run was at 4 pm that day, through the scenic redwood forest that borders Humboldt State. Each day started with the bone-jarring cowbelling and boombox of Coach Searls, as he woke the campers at 6 am for the first run of the day. Ugh! After breakfast in the dinning hall, the campers spent an hour in a lecture before heading to the track for speed and agility and form drills. Rotating through 5 stations, including a detailed filming of their running form, the Stangs picked up lots of helpful training ideas. After the track work, those interested in the Steeplechase stayed to work on that (way to go Dustin and Kristin!). Lunch was next, followed by a couple hours of free time (read: sleep). Up next was the main workout of the day - the long run! Each day the campers were bused out to a new location, and they ran along the beach, into the Tall Trees, or along the Arcata Marsh. Great trails for training. Upon returning, it was dinner time, followed by an evening session that featured guest speakers, and then back to the dorms for some down time before "lights out" at 11pm. And then it started all over again.
On Friday, Dustin ran the Steeplechase and finished 2nd overall (and the first high school runner, with the winner being a college runner). Kristin Hugo also successfully competed the barriers and had a blast doing so.
Guest speakers included Lindsey Allen of Stanford (current collegian record holder in the steeplechase, ex College Park HS runner), Mike Pigg (former US Triathlon Champion) and Gabe Jennings (2000 US Olympic Trails 1500 winner and former Stanford star). Guest coaches also spoke to the runners, giving advice from nutrition, shoes and general lifestyle tips.
As this was the first year that MV has attended this camp, we all were uncertain as to how it would go. The answer was a resounding "It's GREAT!!!". If you are a Jr, Soph or Freshman this year, make plans for next year, because you don't want to miss this!
