Cross Country Camp 2019 Lennox Head

Cross Country Camp was an opportunity for students to further test their running potential. It provided new experiences which created new perspectives towards running and fitness.

Some of the sessions incorporated over the weekend taught us not only how to physically recover, but also how to mentally recover and maintain our stamina.

We arrived at Lake Ainsworth on Friday night prepared to train hard but also have a great weekend. Once assigned our cabins we enjoyed a delightful dinner kindly arranged by the Lake Ainsworth Staff. After dinner students and staff underwent a leisurely walk around the campsite, where many students were shocked to see a one-metre long snake right in the middle of the path. Carefully we manoeuvred around the snake and continued back to our lodges to have a well-deserved sleep.

We had set our alarms for 5.30am New South Wales time and were ready for a 6.00am run. We managed to run seven kilometres along the beach to the headland and back. Several students saw their first real sunrise, it was beautiful. Once returned, the students enjoyed a lovely breakfast. We had time to shower and change before experiencing a painful yet effective stretching session. Many students were then introduced to heart rate monitoring where we tracked our heart rate throughout a tough circuit training session.

After this, lunch was provided and students moved to the lovely Lake Ainsworth where many activities, such as stand-up paddle boarding took place. Mrs McKenna was pushed into the lake by Nick Tan causing everyone to have a good laugh. After this long morning and afternoon the students were glad to hear that they had free time to relax until a three-kilometre twilight run around the Lake. Finally, dinner was served and an effective goal setting session helped many student to brainstorm about their future and what they wanted to achieve. Students were very glad to hear that it was finally bedtime.

Waking up the next morning was hard for some being that students were extremely tired yet surprisingly still motivated to complete our last three-kilometre run. Receiving breakfast soon after we had a great feast which included bacon, hash browns, pastries, eggs and much more. It was funny when somebody put BBQ sauce on their ice-cream thinking it was chocolate topping! When we got back to the lodges we packed our backed and hit the road ready to go home. On the way back we got to stop at McDonalds and we all indulged. We were all very thankful and Cross Country Camp was a great experience.

We are looking forward to returning next year! Thanks to all the staff (especially Coach Glauber, Mr Halloran and Mrs Sturges) who made it enjoyable and a great weekend!