Dates: July 14-16
Location: Lawrence/Kansas City
Lodging:
We will be staying in cabins at Clinton in Willow Springs. The cabins are air conditioned with their own bathroom and shower. Athletes will stay in one cabin. Adult chaperones will stay in a second cabin nearby. Attendees will be responsible for bringing their own linens.
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Activities:
Monday
- Picnic Lunch: We'll eat lunch at Gans Creek Recreation Area, home of the state cross country meet, and get a chance to explore the course.
- Sightseeing: We'll spend some time exploring at Rock Bridge Memorial State Park in Columbia.
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- Food: We'll stop for dinner at Pizza Shuttle in Lawrence.
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- Fun: We'll spend the evening playing disc golf at the lake.
Tuesday
- Aerobic Workout: We'll get the chance to run at Rim Rock Farm, home course of Kansas University and site of many high school and collegiate championships over the years.
- Educational Talks: We'll travel to the Lawrence Public Library and get a chance to learn from various running experts on topics such as nutrition, mental skills, strength training, and faith in sport (see more below).
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- Food: We'll have a Mexcian dinner at La Estrella and follow that with dessert at Syla and Maddy's Homemade Ice Cream.
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- Fun: We'll finish the evening with a swim at Clinton Lake.
Wednesday
- Easy Run: We'll do some easy miles on the state park trails.
- Service: We'll do some volunteer work at Harvesters, one of the local distribution warehouses serving food pantries in the area.
- Fun: We'll do lunch at Cardboard Corner Cafe, where we'll also dabble in some of their board games.
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- Sight Seeing: We'll spend the afternoon visiting iconic locations like the WW1 Memorial and Union Station and ride the KC Streetcar.
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- Food: We'll close out the trip with a BBQ dinner at Wolfepack.
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Speakers:
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Jacob Cofer: Originally from Overland Park, Kansas, Jacob Cofer ran at St. Thomas Aquinas High School, where he was part of two state championship teams. He ran a PR of 15:59 in his final high school 5K. Jacob went on to compete at Baker University, where he finished third in the conference in the 10K and 21st in the nation in the half marathon his senior year. After spending time in seminary discerning the priesthood, Jacob currently serves as an assistant coach at Benedictine College. He is also part of LIFE Runners, a pro-life organization that uses races to raise awareness for the unborn. Jacob played a major role, winning the 2024 Garmin Kansas City Marathon while sporting one of their jerseys.
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Allika Pearson: An Arkansas native, Allika ran on a Siloam Springs High School cross country team that won state titles in all four years she was there, where she finished as high as 7th at the state meet. She went on to run collegiately at John Brown University, earning All-American honors at the NAIA level while finishing 5th at Cross Country Nationals and running 17:46 for 5000 meters. After graduating, Allika completed her master's degree in nutrition and dietetics from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs and interned at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. Currently she works as an assistant dietitian at the University of Kansas, where she serves athletes on multiple teams.
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Katie Follett: With Colorado roots, Katie grew up in a running family and attained success in high school, where she was a twelve-time all-state runner between track and cross country. She attended the University of Washington, earning all-american honors eight times, including a 2nd place finish in the 1500m at the NCAA Indoor Championships her senior season. After graduating she went pro, running with Brooks. Some of her career accolades include a bronze medal in the 1500m at the 2014 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, silver medals in the USATF Indoor Championships in the mile (2015) and 3000m (2018 & 2019), and a championship in the 6k at the 2016 National Club Cross Country Championships. Katie also earned a Masters in Counseling from Colorado Christian University. She currently works with teams and individual athletes to help them cultivate mental resilience.
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Nathan Carlson: Growing up in Blue Springs, MO, Nathan's earliest passions were basketball and weightlifting. But in college he picked up running and didn't look back. His own learning curve as a runner and a pivotal kinesiology class steered him toward attending physical therapy school at Rockhurst Unversity with an emphasis on treating runners. Since graduating in 2012, he's worked with athletes at many levels from many sports, including Olympians and NCAA All-Americans. Before starting his own practice, Running Mate KC, he served as the head physical therapist for UMKC track and field and cross country.
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Cost:
The cost to attend is $180. This covers all transportation, lodging, speaker fees, breakfasts, snacks, lunch on Monday and Tuesday, and dinner on Monday and Wednesday.
Beyond this cost, athletes will be responsible for dinner on Tuesday, lunch on Wednesday, and any other food or shopping purchases.
Beyond this cost, athletes will be responsible for dinner on Tuesday, lunch on Wednesday, and any other food or shopping purchases.
How to Sign Up:
To sign up, talk to Mr. McLain. Spots aren't reserved until full payment is received. Spots are limited to the first 8 athletes. Priority will be given to returning runners until April 25 before being opened to newcomers, so don't miss out!