2009 marks the seventh edition of the Boulder
Running Camps. The camp has quickly
become the nation’s premier high school running
camp, with three Footlocker Finalists, six
individual state cross country champions and a
dozen NCAA Division I athletes as alumni.
More importantly, the camp has provided
attendees with a balanced experience – training
runs in Boulder, learning opportunities during
the daily presentations on exercise physiology
and training principles along with a fun week
of hiking, bowling, skits and meeting fellow
athletes. The counselors that comprise
the staff are not only accomplished NCAA
Division I athletes (the majority of them
University of Colorado athletes) but they are
tremendous mentors who make the week of camp
enjoyable, fun and educational.
The Boulder Running Camps schedule is dense,
with most campers thinking that “we didn’t have
much free time, but I had a lot of fun and a
learned a ton.” While most camps fill a
large chunk of the day with a second run or
training session, we’ve worked hard to provide
valuable learning opportunities: Q&A forums
with trainers and dieticians, shoe fit
evaluations for each athlete, guest speakers
and group training presentations that teach
athletes core strength, general strength and
dynamic warm-up routines. The feedback
we’ve received from campers, especially those
who have attended other camps, is that they
learned more about running and were able to
take useful information home.
A final schedule will be given to all campers and parents during check-in. To download a PDF of the schedule click the icon to the left.
A final schedule will be given to all campers and parents during check-in. To download a PDF of the schedule click the icon to the left.
What is the staff to camper ratio?
The ratio of campers to staff will be
roughly eight campers to one staff
member. During the individual
camp, campers will be running in
groups, with a counselor assigned to
each group. There is a chance
that these groups could grow as large
as 10 campers per counselor, yet the
average group size will be 8
campers.
Can a team with fewer than five athletes attend the team camp?
Possibly. Please contact us to
discuss the possibility of attending
the team camp with fewer than five
athletes.
Can I come to the team camp as an individual?
Unfortunately, the answer is no. Sorry,
:-(
Why don’t you run twice a day during camp?
This is a very important question,
because it is a great insight into not
only the planning that goes into the
Boulder Running Camps, but the answer
also highlights how a summer running
camp can either help or hurt an athlete
for the upcoming cross country season.
The best way to answer this question is point out that the main reason other camps have athletes run twice a day is to fill time. However, this is often an inappropriate amount of running that early in the summer. Plus, if the athlete will not be running twice a day during their normal training at home, then two runs a day during a week of camp is not only inappropriate, but potentially harmful. Secondly, because athletes will be running in groups based on ability there is a good chance the pace of those runs will be faster than runs the athletes are used to home. While we do a great job of keeping the intensity of the runs appropriate, serious athletes enjoy the pace of the runs at camp, yet as a coach I cannot ethically encourage athletes to increase both their volume (miles or minutes run during the week of camp) and their intensity (i.e. running pace).
The best way to answer this question is point out that the main reason other camps have athletes run twice a day is to fill time. However, this is often an inappropriate amount of running that early in the summer. Plus, if the athlete will not be running twice a day during their normal training at home, then two runs a day during a week of camp is not only inappropriate, but potentially harmful. Secondly, because athletes will be running in groups based on ability there is a good chance the pace of those runs will be faster than runs the athletes are used to home. While we do a great job of keeping the intensity of the runs appropriate, serious athletes enjoy the pace of the runs at camp, yet as a coach I cannot ethically encourage athletes to increase both their volume (miles or minutes run during the week of camp) and their intensity (i.e. running pace).
Why do you take buses 4 of the 5 days of camp?
This answer is simple – we want campers
to experience a variety of running
venues and many of the best places to
run “in Boulder” are a 10-15 minute
drive from campus. The
infrastructure of trails in and around
Boulder is unparalleled in America, yet
to fully appreciate to variety of
topography, scenery and difficulty of
training runs, we need to venture off
the University of Colorado’s
campus. Plus, the reality for
athletes training in Boulder, be they
collegiate athletes or post collegiate
athletes, is that they utilize a
variety training venues; the week of
camp simulates a typical week of
collegiate or post training in Boulder
- at a significantly lower volume of
running :-)