The team makes annual trek to Mammoth training camp.

By Dennis OLIVER

On Saturday, July 28, 48 members of the Crescenta Valley Cross Country Team headed north to Mammoth for their 22nd annual training camp. The camp is held in Mammoth Mountain RV Park in a large tent camping area. Besides the 48 current runners, the group included approximately 30 parents, 11 younger siblings, 11 alumni and three coaches.

The training camp began each morning with a wake up call from Head Coach Mark Evans at 6:30 a.m. The runners needed to be ready to head out for their morning workout by 7:30 a.m.

The morning workout was the most demanding of the day. The runners were running between an altitude of 7,500 and 8,000 feet and covered up to 10 or more miles in the morning run. The boys and girls varsity runners covered 80 miles during the week and the younger runners averaged between 65 and 70 miles.

Many of the traditional runs were used including Obsidian Hill run, Sawmill Road run to Highway 395, Inyo Craters run, repeat miles in Shady Rest Park, and Mammoth Rock run. Following the morning run, the runners headed over to Cold Creek for a 15 to 20 minute soak in the stream.

In the afternoon, the athletes headed over to Shady Rest Park for the afternoon run. This run was between 15 and 20 minutes followed by stretching and core work. After the run back to camp, the team members were ready to clean up and have dinner.

On Wednesday, representatives from the Nike Store joined the team’s morning workout, running with the CV athletes and filming them during their repeat mile runs. That evening, the Nike Store hosted the team to pizza, games and karaoke and offered information on their latest shoes. Nike also provided each athlete a shirt with a Crescenta Valley Cross Country logo on it designed by the runners.

On Thursday, the athletes made the traditional trip to Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park. Group pictures were taken on top of Lambert Dome. Then the group headed down and over to their favorite swimming and jumping hole.

Friday evening the team was invited after dinner to watch the Olympics at the Nike Store.

All of this would not have been possible without the help of the parents of the athletes who attended the training camp with their runners. They drove the athletes to and from La Crescenta, provided transportation whenever the runners needed to be in a location too far away from camp. They also provided meals for the runners three times a day as well as snacks whenever necessary.

  DENNIS OLIVER