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Women Harriers Travel To Mountains For Preseason Camp
DURHAM, N.C. - The women’s cross country team headed back to the western mountains of North Carolina for their preseason camp from Aug. 18-21.
ZAP Fitness, located in Boone, N.C., is the ideal place for a runner to train and keeps Duke coming back year after year. A non-profit organization run by 10 elite post-collegiate distance runners, the facility provides dorms in a rustic lodge-style setting, healthy meals, a weight room, a hot tub, a stream for ice baths, equipment for fun sports like ping pong and foosball, a bonfire for s’mores, cooler weather and nearby access to miles of shady dirt trails in the Moses H. Cone Memorial Park near Bass Lake.
Arriving on Sat., August 18, decked out in their best costume attempts, the girls were divided into four groups to contest the second annual Duke Cross Country color wars. Several team building activities later, the blue team successfully defended their title from last year and re-emerged as champions.
Over the course of the next few days, the team spent time getting to know the new freshmen, catching up on everyone’s summer experiences and setting goals for the fall. The commons room in the lodge was the perfect place to hear from the coaches and captains and allow for open discussions on what it means to create a “culture of excellence”, a theme for the 2007 team.
Other highlights from the weekend included a dunk in the waterhole after a morning run, a workout at the Appalachian State University cross country course, a visit to downtown Boone, an afternoon excursion to Linville Caverns and some more waterfall areas, and two team birthday celebrations. The team also got to meet the latest addition to the Duke track family, head coach Kevin Jermyn and wife Kristie’s new eight-week-old son, Myles, who came along with Kristie for the weekend.
“It’s a great way for the team to bond and get to know everyone in an isolated environment when we have time to spend together without the stresses of school or other obligations,” said junior captain Patricia Loughlin. “You can really see a transformation from when we arrive at camp to when we leave with how familiar we all are with each other. It’s an ideal place to discuss team goals and get everyone on the same page. The goal of the weekend was to have fun, and we had a great time.”
The team arrived back on campus in time for freshmen orientation and the start of classes last week. Five of the women's cross country team members competed in the Wake Forest Relays on Aug. 31. The Duke women will have a week off before heading to the Western Carolina Open in Cullowhee, N.C., on Fri., Sept. 15.
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