Hi, my name is John-Paul Vitucci a junior at Titusville High School. Recently, I went to the Nike Smoky Mountain Running Camp in North Carolina at the UNC-Asheville college campus and it was definitely the best week of my life.
We ran on mountain trails every morning and did pacing workouts on the track in the afternoon. We would soak in very cold streams after every morning run for recovery purposes. The counselors were awesome, really making the camp that much better and the camp itinerary made sure everybody always had things to do. It's difficult to narrow down a favorite part of the camp since so much happened over the five-day period but I'd have to say the talent show was definitely something special and I'd be willing to watch all the same performances again cause it was awesome seeing what other people my age were capable of doing on stage.
I will definitely be going to the same camp again next year because I'm eager to see lots of friends that I made once again and to be in such an exciting, positive environment again that will certainly be worth the trip to North Carolina from Florida. The camp wasn't just about getting miles in and having fun, though. The campers are required to go to two 15-minute classes everyday at camp. The classes range from how to deal with heat and hills in training/races to helping you determine, if you hadn't already, why you're a runner in the first place. Is it to better yourself, cause you like it, is it your calling? The classes make the camp such a great learning experience, and you really learn a lot from the staff members and counselors as well.
One of the most important features of this camp, though is a video analysis of form. Basically every camper is videotaped running for a short period of time and then later in the week called to a room to receive advice from one of the many coaches in the camp staff. The coach tells you exactly what you're doing wrong and lets you know how to fix the problem and get the most out of each and every workout. Nike did an amazing job with this camp and they have outstanding staff members to thank as well.
More Coverage
- John-Paul's Athlete Profile
- More On Smoky Mountain Running Camps (Runningcamps.org)