{"id":16466,"date":"2017-06-19T13:20:27","date_gmt":"2017-06-19T20:20:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=16466"},"modified":"2023-06-08T15:11:58","modified_gmt":"2023-06-08T22:11:58","slug":"summer-camps-for-grownups-who-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/run\/summer-camps-for-grownups-who-run","title":{"rendered":"Summer Camps for Grownups Who Run"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some of the country\u2019s best adult running camps\u2014and the reasons behind the running camp craze<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why should kids get to have all the fun? If you question anyone in the adult summer running camp scene about the existence of such camps, that\u2019s the answer you\u2019ll get. Sure, most people wouldn\u2019t exactly call a week of nonstop running \u201cfun,\u201d but trail runners aren\u2019t most people.<\/p>\n

Adult running camps have existed in the U.S. since the 1970s, but they\u2019ve exploded in the past decade.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea of adult camps just didn\u2019t exist in [most] people\u2019s minds seven or eight years ago,\u201d says Geoff Roes, who founded his Alaska Mountain Ultrarunning Camp in 2011. \u201cWhen I started, no one who came to camp had ever been to one before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Good habits are easier to kick start when you step out of your daily routine.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Now, most campers have been to at least one camp and researched dozens of others. The reason for the popularity surge? Pete Rea, the head coach at North Carolina\u2019s ZAP Fitness camp, says it\u2019s because people are starting to look for a vacation beyond the traditional beach-and-booze getaway. \u201cIt\u2019s not just runners. Generation Xers are getting into middle age, and most folks are looking for a healthy outdoor vacation,\u201d says Rea.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a fact of critical mass. As more running camps spring up, more people hear about them, and word of the benefits is spreading faster and faster. One of the most obvious benefits is education\u2014camps stack their speaker lists with nutritionists, physical therapists, physiologists, coaches, and pros. Another benefit: Good habits are easier to kick start when you step out of your daily routine, an act that also pushes the boundaries of campers\u2019 comfort zones, says Roes.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople come to Alaska with a certain amount of anxiety about going to run somewhere so different. They show up intimidated, but after realizing it\u2019s not so scary, they unlock this mental block and then they feel like they can run anywhere. Suddenly that race in Europe doesn\u2019t seem so daunting anymore,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cCamp is just one week of the year, but the people you meet there, you keep in touch with forever.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Now, runners are using camps as crash courses on technique and nutrition, motivation rechargers, and training season kick-offs. Many of them have also become reunions.<\/p>\n

Bill Fitzgerald has been going to Vermont\u2019s Craftsbury Running Camp for 23 years. When he first started, camp registration was completed by snail mail and magazines and pamphlets were the only way to get training information. Back then, camps served a unique educational role for many runners. Thanks to the internet, that\u2019s no longer the case, but it hasn\u2019t made camp any less valuable for Fitzgerald.<\/p>\n

For him, camp has been a source of deep friendships, and returning each year is a way to reconnect. \u201cCamp is just one week of the year, but the people you meet there, you keep in touch with forever,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Looking for a similar experience? Sign up for one of these:<\/p>\n

McMillan Running Camps,\u00a0Arizona<\/h3>\n

McMillan Running is one of the better-known coaching services in the West, but you don\u2019t have to have a year-round McMillan coach to get the benefits of their expertise. Throughout the summer and fall, McMillan puts on four-day to week-long camps for folks of all abilities<\/a>. Set at altitude in Flagstaff (6,900 feet) and Sedona (4,300 feet), Arizona, the camps balance education, running, and forays into town for a taste of local food, drinks, and culture.<\/p>\n

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