Northeast Kingdom Running Camp

Cole has just returned from a week at Lyndon State College, where he attended the Northeast Kingdom Running Camp. His track and field coach, Frank Daigneault arranged for Cole to attend the camp on scholarship!

  

Cole said they stuck to a rigid schedule, which included 2 runs per day (one of them being very early in the morning) guest speakers including Olympians, yoga, pool, and weight training activities, all the food they could eat, a dance one evening, and performances in the Alexander Twilight Theatre. On one of the days, called Lake Day, they had a 7 mile run around Willoughby Lake and spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach.

Morning run.  (Cole sent me these photos from the NKRC facebook page.) 

 In the afternoons, they would take a bus to different locations in the area to run back roads and trails.

 The afternoon runs always ended in a cold creek soak.

 Approximately 300 runners attended the camp this week. Cole was one of only 3 Vermonters at this session. In the evenings, the counselors and coaches would put on skits in the theater. On the last night, there was an awards ceremony called "the Paper Plate Awards."

 Cole won the award for "lack of forethought" which seems very fitting . 

 He won it because he always forgot to bring his swimming trunks for the afternoon run creek soaks.

 Also, on one evening in the theatre, Frank Daigneault and former Glover School phys. ed. teacher Peter Auclair (who both work at LSCin the summer), had Cole come up on stage where they gave him a "care" package including a LSC t-shirt and a mechanical sock mokey that danced and played music - apparently Cole was forced to do a little dance onstage with the sock monkey to a cheering crowd.  I was shown a video clip on a phone belonging to one of the counselors.  If I am ever able to get a hold of it, I will post it here.

 On the very last morning of camp, all 300 or so campers woke up early for a 6:00am "Graduation Run" up Burke Mountain. Below, Cole crosses the finish line.

 Some snapshots of Cole with new friends.