Running away for the weekend: Cross country camps at Clinton Lake

From September 26 through 28, the cross country team went on their annual summer camping trip at Weldon Springs.

One of the major events of the trip is a running event where athletes go on a long run through the woods around the edge of Clinton Lake. This gives the runners an opportunity to run somewhere outside of just Urbana and get a real trail running experience. Players also participate in seminars led by their coaches, filled with mental advice for the runners and their running journeys.

But running isn’t the entire point!

This year’s camping trip was a bit later than usual due to the heatwaves this summer, so the group didn’t visit the beach as they normally do. However, this gave them the perfect opportunity to visit a pumpkin farm, where they painted pumpkins as a team bonding activity and played other games around the farm.

“I personally loved the trip. This trip is the only time I’ll go camping, and that’s because it’s such a huge fun thing we do from the new running environment to random side quests with teammates!” said junior Genisis Walker.

The overall goal of the trip is to have the runners bond as a team and get to know each other before the official season starts. Holding the trip in the fall for the first time allowed them to get to know each other even more!