Kilrea and fellow state foe Dylan Jacobs (#222) of Sandburg attended the camp (Ben Crawford photo)
When I boarded my flight to Portland for the Nike Elite Distance Camp, I didn't know what to expect. My initial thoughts were just a long, hard weekend of running, and running only. However, it went down a little differently than I imagined, as the weekend was full of fun times.
I'm sure people are wondering, like I was, about the running part of the trip. Were there any insane runs? Did every day feel like a race? The answer is no.
On Wednesday when we got there, we went for about a seven-mile shakeout run. It was on Hollister Trail across from Nike World Headquarters. It was a super fun soft surface 1.5 mile loop. We all just got to know each other at this point and talked colleges, training, etc.
Thursday was workout day on the grass field outside the Tiger Woods Center at Nike. The workout was 5x1 mile repeats (3 laps around the field) at 5:15 pace. It was really nothing challenging and was manageable for all of us there. We all took turns leading and it was fun to run because Chris Derrick, a Neuqua Valley alum, was our guest coach and he had us playing of a "game" of how close we could be to hitting the suggested pace.
The best run was on Friday, mostly because of the scenery. After the two-hour bus ride from our hotel, we went for a run. It was a stunning take. When you looked to the right, the landscape was full of bright green trees, and there was a mountain with a snowy cap that looked identical to the one on the Ice Mountain water bottle. Everyone had to be careful though because it was a thin trail, and if you fell, you'd end up rolling down the side of the mountain. The terrain made the run enjoyable, and between all the hills, rocks and logs, the run flew by. There were a few ankle twists, falls and stumbles and now that we were acquainted well, it was fun getting to talk and laugh more comfortably with everyone. We did about 9 miles on the trail at conversational pace.
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Saturday was "race" day. Some people decided to tempo it, others decided to take it easy, while some wanted to race. Everyone was at different fitness levels because some had just finished their post-track break. I decided to just go with the flow and see how I felt as I did not want to hurt myself over a July race. We were racing 3 miles at the same place as Wednesday's run, Hollister Trail. I felt very comfortable during the race and did not run all out. It was a good check-in point for my fitness. After the race, we all cooled down various distances. I went to cool down on the track in the Woods. It was the best track I've ever run on and even saw Alberto Salazar and Jordan Hasay. It was awesome seeing the people you watch on TV in person.
The trip wasn't all about running, though. The initial question my friends and family asked when I got home was what my favorite thing was besides all the running. The simple question caught me off guard though only because it seemed too impossible to choose just one thing. After I thought about it, my answer ended up being going to Mount Hood. After we were done with the run on Friday, we got on the bus and headed higher up the mountain. We passed the lodge that was used in The Shining. After, we took a ski lift one mile further up the mountain to get lunch. There were a ton of skiers and snowboarders at this point because there was snow. It was a pretty awesome feeling getting to be in the snow when it wasn't freezing! Once we ate lunch, we ended up having a snowball fight. This was the part that really made Mount Hood my favorite part of the trip. It was awesome being with amazing people enjoying the most breathtaking views that Portland had to offer and just having fun.
I won't venture into every detail of the trip, but among some of my other favorite activities were the high ropes course, go-karting and playing deal or no deal at the arcade.
All in all, I am thankful to Nike for having me all the awesome gear they gave us. It was truly an honor to be picked, and I am so grateful that they treated me so well. Hopefully this camp is just the beginning of another high school cross country season.
