Training Camp 2014, Report
This year’s OUCCC Training Camp took place at Carroty Wood adventure centre in Tonbridge and the beautiful Kent countryside of the surrounding area. As well as having bumper attendance, we were joined by new coach Eric Shirley who spent the five days running sessions, providing vehicular/navigational support during steady runs, piloting the minibus and generally getting stuck in - a fantastic start to what will be a very fruitful relationship with the club. In addition to laying down some good quality early season miles, we had two interval sessions of 8 x 2mins on Thursday and a ten minute tempo run followed by 12 x 30 secs on Saturday, which settled into a perfect mix of teamwork and competition, a solid foundation for some great training during Michaelmas.
As well as Eric, we were lucky enough to have soft tissue therapist Lesley Bryant staying with us, whose massages and advice on conditioning and injury prevention will prove invaluable in the run up to Varsity and beyond. The grimaces of some of those newer to massage provided great entertainment in the living area and were more than worth it for the lovely loose feeling the next day (and the edible rewards).
There was a marked increase in foam rolling…honestly.
After a tour of the Varsity course from kind guide Simon Molden from Thames Hare and Hounds - during which several detours served as an apt reminder of the difficulties of navigating Wimbledon common- we had a talk from Tim Hutchings, Commonwealth 5000m bronze medallist and twice silver medallist in the world cross country. A hugely entertaining and inspiring character, highlights included stories of self-massage using motor oil (of the legs) and an antipathy for rest days (“If you run on Thursday and then don’t run again until the same time on Saturday that isn’t a rest day, it’s 48 hours! That’s two rest days!”).
Another highlight of the week was most definitely the food, courtesy of mastermind Beth Murray and her various kitchen minions. With a gourmet menu each night, the home-cooked meals were satisfying, healthy, touched with ingenuity (see photo) and easily outshone the pizza express trip. Thanks again Beth, that was definitely one of the most important ingredients of a great week.
In between runs entertainment included a tough High Ropes activity (which emphasised the need for some upper body and core strength work in many of us!), a Scrabble masterclass from Jack, cringe-inducing moments and hilarity in equal measure thanks to Cards against humanity, and a hotly contested quiz. Suzana’s brilliant suggestion of ‘Extreme Pictionary’ exposed once again the burgeoning relationship between our men’s captain Alex Howard and popular favourite Will Christofi, always the life and soul of the party.
The final day consisted of a lovely long run from which we returned to hear of the new marathon world best, before a final ‘surprise’ (for some of the more oblivious attendees) was revealed: a trip to meet Kelly Holmes at her new local venture, ‘café 1809’. It was an inspiring way to end the week, with an Olympic champion, some tasty cakes and the possibility of working with Kelly’s charity in the future.
As an incoming Fresher I had such a warm welcome from everyone on the camp, an experience I am sure was shared by fellow freshers Luke and Hugo. It was very well organised by Alex and there was a fantastic team spirit which makes the prospect of starting my first term much less daunting. Thanks to all who were so welcoming and made it such a fun week.
Miles Chandler