I received my invitation in the mail and the first thing I read was “Do you have what it takes to be Elite?” I guess my first question was, is that rhetorical or what? Luckily, the next line read “We think you do.” The invitation went on to explain that in my coming week at camp I would learn, live and train like a professional runner. I’m not gonna lie, it was rather intimidating.
Day 1:
I left home at 4:30am ET (1:30am PST) and arrived in Portland at about 10am PST. I was joined by three other ‘Elite’ girls and we were chauffeured by a man in a black suite with black Nike sunglasses (he could've been in the matrix) to the Nike Headquarters. The day was only just beginning. No rest for the weary. When we arrived on campus we were brought to an area set out specifically for our group. We headed down a hallway filled with elite decorations crafted to the individuals attending the camp. Put simply, it made you feel like superstar.
At the end of the hallway was a set of lockers and what looked like my ideal man cave. With our lockers filled with gear, a room filled with couches, an X-Box and elite M&M’s, someone would have had to smack the smile off my face.
The rest of the day consisted of some pics, the recording of our bio videos, an easy run, and simple introductions as the rest of group trickled in from around the country one by one.
Day 2:
Today was “race day.” We ran 3 miles hard on a gravel trail, all of the guys finishing 15:20-30. We warmed down for 30min to bring our grand total to an hour of running for the day.
Without an itinerary, the group was very excited to see what Simon Bairu and Pat Werhane (our head counselors) had in store for us. Simon told us to shower and get on the bus and that’s what we did. We arrived at Glendoveer Golf Course, home of the new NXN course. We played foot golf and ate dinner there. I had filet mignon with mashed potatoes. We ended the day back at Nike HQ with an intense game of soccer. My team (Team Bairu) was victorious and so we road back to the hotel in style (Simon’s Lincoln) jamming out to “We Are The Champions” the whole way.
Day 3:
By now I had realized how inaccurately I had perceived the camp before experiencing it for myself. Who knew you could have so much fun with a bunch of distance runners - but I was having the time of my life. Little did I know how humbling today would be. Today’s run would take place just below Mt Hood at about 5000ft. The plan was to follow a trail 30 minutes out and take the same way back for a 60 minute run. The group was joined by Chris Derrick and David Laney. As we started our ascent, the pace got quicker and 15min in Drew Hunter and I found ourselves 100m behind the rest of the group. We got dropped. The nice thing was that after that we got to enjoy our view as we climbed around the mountain. After the run, we rode the chair lift up the mountain up and had lunch just below the peak.
Day 4:
I was looking forward to this day all week…workout day with Jerry Schumacher. Coach Schumacher had us do a fartlek, 9x400m at 75 sec with a 133m easy. To add to the fun, he broke us up into twos and switched us off the lead to see which two could pace the 400m closest to 75sec. Carter Blunt and I ran 74.9 for the closest split.
After the workout we hit the pool and then the showers. Next we were instructed to get on the bus and we headed to a local ropes course. Aside from my extreme fear of heights it was a great time.
Dinner was prepared by the time we were done pretending to be Tarzan. We ate and then we were rounded up and were presented with our ‘Elite’ singlets. Perfect ending to a great week.
Overall, it was a solid training week but, more than that, I had an awesome time bonding with so many people that share the same values and passion for the sport, that I do. We heard from so
many individuals like Matt & Michelle Tegenkamp, Galen Rupp, Paul Moser, Chris Derrick and so many more throughout the week. Each individual passed on a message or lesson to us. I’m excited to continue my running career carrying each moral learned. I can’t express how thankful I am to have had such an awesome experience.
Photo Highlights
Images courtesy of Aidan Tooker and NikeEliteCamp.com
