JOIN US FOR AN AMAZING SUMMER TRAINING
RUNNING RETREAT
BLOWING ROCK, NC | THURSDAY, AUG 20 TO SUNDAY, AUG 23rd
North Carolina Fall Running Retreat Details
When: August 20th to the 23rd (4 days).
Where: Blowing Rock, NC
Cost: $990 - includes housing, all meals, coaching, & everything you need while at camp. You are responsible for travel to/from Charlotte airport (or you can choose to drive).
What: Back again for the 6th year, our trip to Zap facility is an amazing break from the summer temperatures and a chance to learn from some amazing athletes and coaches. This camp always fills up fast (I think because returning athletes just want to come for the food from Chef Michael, haha)
PLANNED EVENTS
Join the RunnersConnect coaches a as we host an amazing 4-day running retreat weekend. Relax and enjoy nothing but running, learning how to train smarter, and getting individual coaching at one of the most scenic training destinations in the United States.
We provide our campers with an intimate, informative, relaxing, and amazing running experience for all ages and abilities.
6 Lectures from our Coaching Staff from training to nutrition
Amazing runs on the hills and trails of Moses Cone Park
Strength, stretching, drills workouts and instructions
1-on-1 Coaching and Video Analysis of your running form
Meet and make new running friends who share your passion
HOW THE RETREAT WILL WORK
REGISTRATION
The deposit due today is $495. The deposit is refundable up until we ask to confirm the final payment May. At this point, the deposit will not be refundable. The final payment will be $495. Thus, the total cost of the retret is $990.
Once your deposit is confirmed, we will email you confirmation and keep you updated on the itinerary, etc.
We will also collect travel details and arrange airport pickups when we collect the final payment. We will then email you 4-6 weeks with exact airport pickup times and all travel details.
ACCOMODATIONS
We will be staying at the Zap Fitness Facility in Blowing Rock, NC. The location is home to a professional training group and set in a quite, scenic valley.
The facility is a 24 bed, 2 story lodge with wood floors throughout all the rooms and carpet in the main lounge area. The rooms are equipped with comfortable double pillow-top twin beds. Most of the rooms have 2 beds for double occupancy, but we do have a limited number of single rooms with just one bed. Each room shares a full bathroom with an adjacent room, with the exception of 2 private bath suites reserved for couples. Guests will be provided sheets and towels for their stay. The adjacent building includes our dining room and weight room.
TRAVEL AND LOGISTICS
You should plan to fly into the Charlotte airport. It’s a large airport, so it should have numerous flight options from your location. If you are local, you can also drive to facility.
We will pick you up from the airport. We will group everyone into 2-3 groups depending on arrival time. Activities will start Thursday afternoon, so it is best to arrive sometime before 1pm.
We will drop you off at the airport on Sunday around 11am
FOOD
Food will be provided by the amazing Chef Michael. He will create runner-specific lunches and dinners for the entire stay. Coach Michael specializes in creating meals for the elite runners at the facility and the food is beyond amazing.
If you have dietary restrictions, we will collect this information when we take the final payment and we will accomodate anything you need.
TRAINING AND ABILTY LEVEL
We schedule all running locations and times to accomodate your training. We have athletes running from 3-20 miles during the weekend depending on their goal race distance and current fitness.
If you need help determining what would be best for you, we can help you determine the optimal runs for you. This ensures that the training while at the retreat will fit perfectly with your fall racing plans.
All speeds and experience levels are welcome.
The weather in Blowing Rock this time of year is perfect for running. The high temperature is usually only in the high 70's with low humidity. Training in the morning means runs are usually about 60-65 degrees!
As you know, we don’t care how fast or slow you are, we just want you to have fun and run well! I guarantee you will have someone to run with and make new friends the entire weekend. In 2018 we had everyone from a 5:30 marathoner to a 19 min 5k runner...and we had a blast!
WHAT DOES A DAY LOOK LIKE?
Thursday we will kick off the day with a run of 3-6 miles (but you can go longer or shorter if needed). We'll start with some warm-up drills and get you own your way. We will then have dinner and a fire/marshmellow and wine social to get to know each other.
Friday and Saturday will begin with a run. Friday is 6 to 12 miles (again, you can easily go longer or shorter) and Saturday is when we do a longer run. Before each run we will have a dynamic warm-up session (teaching you how to do each move) and after the runs we will have active stretching sessions.
We will return to the facility for showers and lunch, followed by lectures on nutrition, training and injury prevention and also 1-on-1 coaching sessions (which includes an analysis of your running form). Later in the afternoon we will have strength training or drills sessions and of course solo time for you to nap and relax.
We will end each day with dinner and relaxing or exploring the town of Blowing Rock. We do our best to balance the day with fun, infomative running activities, while also giving you time to relax and rest.
WHO COMES TO A RUNNING RETREAT?
Am I fast enough to come to a running retreat? Will there be people my age? I'm worried I won't fit in...
These are questions we get a lot when we announce the retreat, so let me try to answer them for you. First, All speeds and experience levels are welcome.
Here's what some of our past attendees have said about their experience.
"The camp was so well organized and the balance of running and non-running activities was perfect. The trails were awesome and I got the do my first ever mountain hike/climb. The accommodations were clean, comfortable and convenient. I’ve told everyone that it was oddly strenuous, yet relaxing. I will definitely be coming to camp again.”
- Kara Schmidt
"Being with such amazing people that as dedicated to their sport as I am. Being able to relate and talk about training with knowledgable coaches and other athletes. I would put this up there as one of the neatest experiences I have ever had and will cherish the new "friends" I made. It was amazing and I already miss the free and easy banter that developed over those 4 days. For someone like me who lives in a very rural area where runners with this amount of dedication are rare, and for someone who rarely gets to travel, it was worth ever penny."
- Cynthis Morris
"Jeff's and the staff's expertise and their sincere desire to impart as much of that as possible to us over the long weekend made the camp, from a technical standpoint, well worth the investment of time and money. Amateur runners get excited about having a few tips and tricks from more talented runners. It should never be underestimated just how transformative it is to the everyday runner when a pro/elite shows genuine interest and gives his pupil some assignments to work on over the next year. And finally, the bonding between runners and with the staff, though we might seldom see one another in the future, not only forged new friendships among kindred souls, but also showed us that we are not alone in this often solitary sport. We're a team. "
~ Ken Brown
Copyright 2019