We arrived at Oceanside, Oregon on the second day of the first session of the Ultimook Running Camp. The camp is based at the Hydrangea Ranch in Tillamook, Oregon. There were two summer sessions of the Ultimook Camp, July 30-August 5 and August 6 to August 12.
Camp founder Patrick Zweifel explained that 150 athletes attended the first week and another 120 athletes attended the second session. Athletes come from all over the US as they picked up athletes up at the Portland Airport and train station. Most of the athletes are equally distributed between the states of Oregon and Washington. Patrick also explained that they have a number of athletes from small schools. Many of those athletes attend schools that can not have a team camp and the Ultimook is an opportunity for small school athletes to have a camp experience.
The athletes and counselors arrived at Oceanside on four school buses for the morning run. Oceanside is about fifteen minutes from the Hydrangea Ranch. Once the athletes made it to the beach, the counselors led the athletes in exercises. Then the athletes went on an extended run on the beach.
The camp is grouped in to four different teams and during the week of the camp, they competed to win a camp backpack. Today's activity was a relay race around a counselor standing in the sand, another counselor standing in the ocean at shin level while athletes carried a long, thin log. Four teammates ran with the log and when they returned from the route, they dropped the log to the ground and another set of four athletes picked up the log and ran the route. Each person on a team needed to run at least once.
Each team had about ten to fifteen members and the log and athletes went around the counselors ten times. The boys raced first and the girl's race followed after the boy's relay. The Crater boys and girls won the relay.
Afterwards the athletes gathered their belongings and headed to the bus. Once they arrived to camp, each relay group waited their turn for lunch. The Hydrangea Ranch also hosts the Ultimook Race on September 2.
To learn more about the camp and the upcoming Ultimook Race, click HERE
To look at the photo gallery from the relay race, click HERE
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