By Nicole McGrew

My first thought as I approached the Craftsbury campus was “yes, please!” Driving over various hills, holes and humps, my mind raced ahead to imagine a wooded running wonderland with awesome trails, gorgeous vistas and topnotch beer. I’d wanted to do an adult running camp for awhile and this one, Craftsbury’s Trails to Ales Running Camp, seemed like a perfect blend of purpose and pleasure. 

Of course, I was a bit worried because I was not even remotely in top shape, and coming from Virginia (Alexandria, not Shenandoah), was not used to hills. But because I was there to learn and have fun, I figured I’d make the most of it. Which I totally did. 

Following our sustainability tour, we had a late afternoon shakeout run through grass, pine needles and twigs. Not bad, I thought, until I tried to stretch on the floating dock and came way too close to losing my balance. Note to self: no more balancing on moving objects, though it did provide a nice icebreaker with my fellow runners, a really wonderful group from all over the country. 

By now, I’m getting very excited about our first run on Friday, to Hill Farmstead Brewery. I’d opted to run five miles following Running Director Susan Dunklee’s sage advice to save our legs for Sunday, and even that distance kicked my butt. I honestly never walked more during a “run” in my life, but Coach Jack Pilla was fantastic with support and tips and some epic storytelling as we made our way to the top of the trail. And let me tell you, the beer was worth it. 

Saturday brought a new day, a new trail and a new brewery (or two). Shaken by yesterday, but not deterred, I chose an easy run through the trails around von Trapp. Apparently there are no easy trails in Vermont, but I was in much better condition for a run after morning yoga with Coach Jada Wensman and had a blast searching for the Sugar House and learning about tree tapping and syrup making from Coach Sam Davis. I felt redeemed, I felt happy, I felt ready for a beer. It was a great day. 

But of course, nothing could compete with Sunday. The 10-mile Ridge Run. Our big event. I was so keyed up for this run that I barely slept. Hardly a recipe for success. Nevertheless, at 6am I was ready to go. I bounced across the wet grass, did my dynamic stretches and began my 10-mile appreciation of the Northeast Kingdom.

It was beautiful, it was fulfilling, it was tough. But I did it. I ran the whole course – even the Craftsbury Matterhorn at the very end – with all the coaches and my fellow campmates cheering me on. And for the first time in a long time, I felt like a runner. In fact, I left feeling so reconnected that I signed up for the Fall Backyard Burn, a series of trail races here in Virginia and have been having fun training for it. The biggest hill is inertia, and camp helped me tackle that one mud-splattered step at a time.