Welcome to War Eagle Running Camp!

Camper Carson Waln Speaks Out on His Off Day

As a returning camper and one of the older runners, I am glad to say that this is one of the better experiences in my running career. The WERC is to me a wonderful place to meet new people, have fun, and work hard at the same time. The name War Eagle Running Camp represents this. WERC. Say it all together and you notice is sounds like work. This corresponds to what we do here because it is work. It is the perfect place for a competitive runner like me to excel in this sport and is also a wonderful place to start training or continue training for the upcoming season. The C in WERC is camp. Even though we run and work hard, the camp setting is always there.
As for me, camp is going great! With a little expected soreness, the runs are enjoyable and a blast. I am running with guys that I have competed against in races, and I am now getting to know them. I had the great experience of trying water running or aqua jogging. For those who don’t know what it is, you place a flotation belt around your waist and mimic the running motion in the pool. It is not about moving forward but is about having good form and moving your arms and legs fast. It is a great way to cross train, and as I found out, it works the upper body as well as the lower body.
Even though my team is second to last in the team competition, we have had fun with all of the activities. Today we finished 3rd due to, in my opinion, a bad call by Coach Heintz (no offense) [none taken]. Our last teammate was said to have used their open hand to get the hula-hoop on the ground faster. This resulted in an automatic disqualification, which aroused some mixed reactions. The worst part was that we had to sit there as both teams in the finals struggled to succeed. If we had been in there, we would have one hands-down!
Pacing as always was a challenge more mentally than physically. On Monday, we selected times that we could run a 400 (one lap around the track) and a mile (four laps around the track) [that corresponded to proper training or workout paces]. As a group we have to try to get as close as we can to those times. The catch is that during the actual competition no watches or helpful “hints” from any bystanders are allowed. Our team is looking strong and ready for some gold!
I can’t wait for the rest of the week to unfold at the War Eagle Running Camp!

-Carson Waln
[edited by Coach Heintz]