2010 XC Getaway in the Maryland Mountains

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XC Getaway in the Maryland Mountains
Day 1

GRANTSVILLE, Md., July 19 -- Nearly a dozen runners gathered on Monday evening at New Germany State Park to kick off the Mountain Maryland Marathon Club's first "XC Getaway in the Maryland Mountains."

The group, led by camp counsel Joe Bever and New Germany State Park trails guru Tom Ruckert, went on a 5.25-mile trail run after sufficient rest from a spaghetti dinner by D'Atri's in LaVale.

The retreat continues through Saturday's Salem Challenge 5K cross country race on July 24 at Maryland Salem Children's Trust. Sessions throughout the week include interval training, hill tactics and race strategy by Jennifer Sober, core training by Rhonda Johns, wildlife and other safety tips from Joe Bever and presentations by local running star Jordan Davis, now with Nike-sponsored Stotan Racing in New York, and Roy "Bucky" Whiteman Jr., of Progressive Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine Clinic, among others.

The high school runners are in various forms of fitness. At least two are in top shape with a sound foundation of base training headed into the fall cross country season. Others have just started their training but were encouraged by their legs' reaction to Monday's distance on the low-impact trails.

The camp, which includes runners from Garrett, Allegany and Washington counties in Maryland and Hardy County, W.Va., wraps up Sunday morning with a long run followed by a 10 a.m. awards celebration on the east beach.

For more information, call 301-697-6035 or log on to www.marathonclub.org.

Blayke Hall, right, listens to Tom Ruckert (second from right) as runners in the Mountain Maryland Marathon Club's first XC Getaway in the Maryland Mountains nears the finish of the second mile in a 5.25-mile run on Sunday at New Germany State Park

Day 2 at training camp features fast finish for young runners

GRANTSVILLE, Md., July 20 -- The second of six days passed for the first XC Getaway in the Maryland Mountains with a start.

And a pretty good finish, too - at least by Josh Testa, a soccer convert preparing for his first season of high school cross country for Boonsboro High School. All of the runners in the inaugural summer running retreat, coordinated by the Mountain Maryland Marathon Club, completed a 1.5-mile time trial but no runner had a finish quite like Testa.

The runners completed the out-and-back trail run individually. With about 300 meters to go, Testa, who ran third, began to pick up a little steam. Then a little bit more. Testa is an honor roll student and incoming sophomore for the Warriors and joins fellow sophomore Ethan Allnutt as those young harriers who have traded in their soccer cleats for running shorts and trainers.

Allnutt led all the boys with a time of 9:47.1. Incoming Boonsboro sophomore Sarah Zielinski led all girls in 10:52.1.

The day ended with a core workout session with local fitness guru Rhonda Johns.

Sarah Zielinski seems to actually enjoy pre-run push-ups.

Davis, Whiteman, Sober and Ruckert mold young minds
Veterans in their own fields, professionals share expertise with high school harriers
Day 3

GRANTSVILLE, Md., July 21 – Jordan Davis, of Nike-sponsored and New York-based Stotan Racing, talked about how important it is to keep training.

Through good times. Through bad times. And there are bound, Davis said, to be more bad times than good times.

Davis, graduated Allegany High School in 2003 with four state titles, including one in cross country and one each on the track in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs. He’s since lowered his 4:18 personal best in the mile to nearly 4:00.

Davis left Allegany High School with four state titles, including one in cross country and one each on the track in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs. His 5K PRs on the road and track are 14:18 and 14:07, respectively.

But those kinds of performances seem like such a long time ago, Davis told the group of about a dozen runners on Wednesday during Day 3 of the Mountain Maryland Marathon Club’s first XC Getaway in the Maryland Mountains at New Germany State Park.

For the past six weeks, he’s been in a slump. So he’s backed off his training from 125 miles a week to about 80. He’s implemented other changes as well. Through it all, he’s kept running because he knows the slump will eventually run its course.

Jordan Davis, 2003 Allegany High School graduate, tells high
school runners on Wednesday that it is important for them to know about
the process of choosing a college if they have a goal of running for a
Division I school. Running in college can be an administrative
nightmare, Davis said, but the stress can be eased by knowing what to do
and when to do it. The first step, he said, is for runners early in
their senior year to begin the NCAA Clearinghouse process.

Also on Wednesday, Roy “Bucky” Whiteman Jr., co-owner of Progressive Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine Clinic in Cumberland, Keyser and Romney, spoke about foot and knee injuries and how selecting the proper running shoe can help runners of all abilities avoid layoffs from the sport.

Whiteman said training errors, muscle imbalance, biomechanical faults and the wrong shoes are the leading causes of runners’ injuries. Many of those elements are controllable by the runner or a coach.

“These are things you guys can really work on to make a difference whether you get injured or not,” Whiteman said.

Whiteman said increasing distance or intensity too much, too soon also leads to issues that keep runners off their feet.

Late Wednesday evening, Jen Sober – certified personal trainer, elite runner sponsored by Saucony and a high-energy motivational specialist – talked to the runners at the site of Saturday’s 5K cross country event at Maryland Salem Children’s Trust.

Sober emphasized the importance of proper mechanics while running up hill – and she stuck around to ensure runners took her message to heart.

Roy "Bucky" Whiteman Jr., co-owner of Progressive Physical Therapy
& Sports Medicine Clinic in Cumberland, Keyser and Romney, talked to an
attentive group of runners on Wednesday about how to avoid injuries. He
said the most common ailment suffered by runners is in the knee - and
that's caused mostly by doing too much too soon. Just as often, Whiteman
said, it's the selection of the wrong style of cushion, stability or
motion control shoe.

Student athletes get schooled by professional
Jordan Davis, Allegany High School Class of ’03, provides lesson on proper form

Day 4 Wrap-up

GRANTSVILLE, Md., July 22 – Josh Testa is hearing the message.

And if he keeps listening to his elders, Testa is going to enjoy a very successful fall cross country campaign – the soccer convert’s first for Boonsboro High School.

Testa, an incoming sophomore, gained a bit of confidence and earned himself more than a little admiration and respect from his fellow runners during the afternoon training session on the fourth day of the inaugural XC Getaway in the Maryland Mountains. The week-long venture from July 19 through July 25 is sponsored by Progressive Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine Clinic.

The afternoon’s run – preceded by a morning 5.5-mile run on the Herrington Manor Trail system – emphasized strength and form. Testa listened to professional Jordan Davis, a 2003 Allegany High School graduate who now runs for Nike-sponsored Stotan Racing, on how to perform better.

Josh Testa (left) finishes the third of five 1,000-meter loops.

Testa then demonstrated he was paying attention. With 3-minute jogging recovery in between each repetition, his intervals were timed in 4:13, 4:36, 4:00, 4:23 and 3:55. The second and fourth intervals featured two hills, including one at a particularly significant grade and length.

The former soccer standout was the only student-athlete who completed all five laps on the horseshoe-shaped loop, consisting of trail and grass, to register consecutive decreases in time on laps one, three and five. He improved his uphill laps from 4:36 on lap two to 4:23 on lap four.

The XC Getaway continues Friday with an easy run along the Great Allegheny Passage from Deal, Pa., to the Big Savage Tunnel and back. On Saturday, camp participants are getting timed in the Salem Challenge 5K cross country race at Maryland Salem Children’s Trust.

The adventure wraps up Sunday morning with an easy long run before tents come down and campers head home.

Video by Joe Bever
Jordan Davis (in orange) of Syracuse, N.Y.-based Stotan Racing, leads the first of five 1,000-meter intervals at New Germany State Park. The younger runners shown here are participating in the Mountain Maryland Marathon Club's first XC Getaway in the Maryland Mountains. The event is a week-long retreat to help provide runners information on proper mechanics, training tips and injury prevention. The venture is proudly supported by Progressive Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine Clinic, with offices in Cumberland, Keyser and Romney

One-on-one sessions open honest, frank dialogue
XC Getaway runners set goals, commit to excellence

Day 5

GRANTSVILLE, Md., July 23 – Sarah Zielinski finished her freshman cross country campaign in 13th place in Maryland’s Class 1A championship at Hereford High School.

The incoming sophomore at Boonsboro High School is a lightweight in stature but in any other form, Zielinski is as dominant as anyone can be on two feet – on any terrain.

Zielinski, 15, sat with XC Getaway in the Maryland Mountain’s camp counselors on Thursday afternoon and discussed her goals and plans to improve from last season to this one – one in which, despite her underclassman status, she will be looked upon as a leader of the Warriors squad.

The cross country camp at New Germany State Park, which began July 19 and runs through July 25, aims to help high school runners avoid injuries and improve their racing strategy, technique and mental fitness. The camp is sponsored by Progressive Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine Clinic.

Bohemia Manor’s Jennifer Cleary, then a senior, won the Class 1A title going away in 20 minutes, 46 seconds. But places two through 13 were only 69 seconds apart. And with a bit of hard work, Zielinski said she wants to beat Coach Becky Walter’s personal record (20:01), her schools’ 3-mile record (19:36 by Pam Holtzman) and maybe a Top 5 finish at the state meet.

And maybe – just maybe – she could contend for the championship. If she does, you can bet she will do so with the same youthful exuberance with which the bouncing sophomore-to-be carries with her through her daily workouts.

Bang! Crunch
Camp’s final full day goes from start to finish

GRANTSVILLE, Md., July 24 – The sixth and final full day of a summer running retreat started with a bang and finished with a crunch.

Runners from Garrett, Allegany and Washington counties opened Saturday morning with a 5K cross country time trial at a private facility in eastern Garrett County. The goal was not necessarily to achieve a good time but to “run smart” – that is, achieve success by focusing on mechanics and race strategy while aiming for negative splits.

After a day of swimming and kayaking, physical fitness guru Rhonda Johns finished the day by leading a group core strengthening session for participants of the first XC Getaway in the Maryland Mountains at New Germany State Park. The event is sponsored by Progressive Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine Clinic.

Runners are scheduled for a light run of 4 – 6 miles Sunday morning before packing up and heading to their respective homes.

For more information, visit www.marathonclub.org.

Ethan Allnutt attempts to do squats while balancing on a piece of
equipment designed to make the leg and abdominal muscles work to maintain balance.