Virus That Caused Loss Of Spring Track Season Has Also Infected The Summer Calendar

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

In an ordinary summer, influential coaches like Tom Cuffe and Pat Tyson would travel a well-worn circuit and appear at running camps to inject enthusiasm and motivation to thousands of young runners. 

In the high-elevation mountains of the West and the leafy hills of the Adirondacks of New York — and many places in between — summer running camps occupy valuable real estate on the calendar. 

"In eight weeks of the summer, I usually spend five weeks at camps," said Cuffe, a coaching legend from Staten Island who his now based in the Chicago area. 

Summer running camps have almost entirely been wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic as local social distancing guidelines continue to discourage gatherings and travel and are aimed at limiting the spread of the virus. 

The camps not only generate revenue for operators and their programs, they are an important touchstone for young runners gaining traction in the sport and hubs for creating connections and friendships. 

"The underpinnings of building the foundation, not just running-wise but building the foundation intellectually, the camaraderie of the sport, seeing that other boys and girls do this, we're in this together, camps provide all of that," Cuffe said.

Leaving 'Flatland America'

At the Steens Mountain Running Camp in Oregon, camp founder Harland Yriarte typically operates two sessions for 225 high school runners, 50 staff members, 12 college-aged counselors and two dozen volunteers. 

This year's Steens camp was booked by January, a registration record, and eagerly anticipated kids arriving from 14 states, plus Hong Kong. 

Yriarte consulted with Oregon public health officials, but there were no guidelines put forth for holding the camp in the remote southeast corner of the state. The verbiage that came from the Governor's Office did not leave any room for modification: "All overnight camps in Oregon are disallowed and cancelled through this summer."

On top of the lost 2020 spring track season, a lack of socialization and diminished opportunities to have unique camp experiences persists for now. 

Yriarte, who began the Steens camp in 1975, has witnessed generations of young runners find deeper meaning in their running and their lives through the physical exertion and emotional bonding that happens at camp.

"It takes campers and staff three days to purge themselves of 'Flatland America' and take on the pure truths, the natural beauty, to take on the characteristics of, and become one with, the rugged, beautiful mountain called Steens."

Camp alum Ella Donaghu, an All-American at Stanford, was set to return to the mountain this year as a staff member. 

"I know how upset so many high schoolers must be to see it cancelled this year," she said. "Steens was definitely the most fun week of my summer when I was in high school — it is a week jam-packed with adventure, and even though it’s a pretty grueling experience, I always looked forward to the suffering. There’s something very rewarding — and in a twisted way, something very fun — about physically suffering with other people.

"It definitely brought teammates closer together. And getting through very physically demanding experiences also gave me a lot of confidence about my ability to be tough as an athlete."

The Steens camp, much like the runners it serves, will have to endure this challenge and wait for the next opportunity.

"We are where we are," Yriarte said. "Have to adapt. Everything will be delayed another year or plus. Athletes will have to be even more patient, follow their coaches' much longer range plan for them, and know “This too will pass.”  

Finding A Way

Perhaps one of the only summer running camps in North America to proceed was the Northwest Montana Running Camp, which takes place at the remote Dickey Lake Bible Camp. 

The four-day camp was in session last week and again this week, albeit with smaller numbers and increased attention on social distancing. 

The Northwest Montana Running Camp usually offers three sessions with 150 students each. The first session, slated for June 12-15, was canceled.

Montana, which has the fewest COVID-19 cases of all 50 states, has guidelines that allow for gatherings of up to 50 people. 

So camp director Bill Brist made the decision to adhere to the local guidelines and operate the camp with 44-45 runners per session. 

"With fewer campers it created more space between everybody," Brist said. "We have been able to run our traditional schedule."

The biggest adjustment has been trying limit the number of rides to distant trailheads in 12-passenger vans. When those rides do happen, everybody has to wear a mask. 

Brist said he did not worry about the financial hit. His camp is not expensive to begin with ($200) and he operates it with his wife, Sara, as a "labor of love."

"When this all began in mid-March, we knew there would be issues," Bill Brist said. "But back then we thought, 'Is it going to reach mid-June?' We did not go to a negative thought about it, and hoped we would not have to cancel."

Until recently, state rules would have made operating the camp impossible. Montana advanced from Stage 1 reopening (10-person limit) to Stage 2 (50 people) on June 1. 

The Northwest Montana Running Camp, for now, appears to be an outlier. 

Shuttered For 2020

The Nike-sponsored Five Star Cross Country Camp in Rock Hill, N.Y. is canceled for 2020. So, too, are the Craftsbury Running Camp (Vermont), The Running School (New York) and the High Peaks Elite Distance Camp (New York), among many others. 

The Jim Ryun Running Camps, which are held in Virginia, Colorado and California, are canceled for 2020, but are offering a virtual format throughout the month of July.

The Running Academy in Connecticut is going virtual in August. The Shore Running Experience in New Jersey has also created a virtual format, and so has the Boulder Running Camps in Colorado.

On college campuses across the U.S., sports camps of all shapes and sizes have been wiped off the schedule. In many cases, camp revenue supports the paid positions for assistant coaches.

The Falcon Running Camp on Whidbey Island in Washington, the oldest summer running camp in the U.S. (began in 1962), and put on by Seattle Pacific University, is yet another canceled this summer. 

"I'm pretty worried about the longevity of things," camp director Chris Reed said. "I was talking to a few colleagues of mine a few months ago at the start of the shutdown of things, and our sport is not one that kids really decide when they're 5 years old that they want to be a runner. It's one of those things, once they start doing it then they find what the magic is in the sport of cross country and track field. 

"You've got to give it a shot. There are a lot of really neat things that people do to get kids interested. Camps are one of them."