PRESS RELEASE:

New Wilderness Running Camp this Summer on Spruce Knob

The West Virginia Mountain Trail Runners and The Mountain Institute are teaming up to create the Spruce Mountain Running Camp -- a new and exciting summer camp for high school runners in West Virginia. This wilderness camp will run from July 3^rd-9^th. Campers will be running, hiking and camping on the trails in the Seneca Creek Backcountry in Pendleton and Randolph counties.

The camp is targeted at high school runners as a way to expand their view of the world of running. The camp encourages local runners to attend with a special in-state tuition and various scholarship opportunities, but is open to high school runners nationwide. It will prepare runners for a successful fall cross country season and a lifetime of healthy running.

The idea of a wilderness running camp is to cultivate powerful, confident individuals who want to and are able to improve themselves and the people and world around them through challenges, experiences and learning about the natural world. The beautiful backdrop of Spruce Mountain, Seneca Creek and The Mountain Institute will create an inspiring setting for a fun and meaningful week of activities.

The camp is being directed by Katie Wolpert, Web Producer for the nationally circulated Running Times Magazine. The curriculum is being developed by Eric Grossman, a professor of education at Emory and Henry College in Emory, VA, and a national champion at the 50 mile distance. The West Virginia Mountain Trail Runners is a statewide club that supports trail running and exploration throughout the state.

Registration is open now and continues through May 15^th. More information and registration forms are available at http://wvmtr.org/camp . Several scholarship opportunities are available for West Virginia residents and more should become available before long. The latest scholarship information is available at our website. If you are interested in sponsoring a camper, please contact Katie Wolpert at 304-823-2960.

If you are interested in running an article about Spruce Mountain Running Camp, please use this information and feel free to contact camp director Katie Wolpert (kaerni@gmail.com, 304-823-2960), West Virginia Mountain Trail Runners president Dan Lehmann (irunwv@gmail.com, 304-924-5835) or Dave Martin at The Mountain Institute (dmartin@mountain.org, 304-567-2632). More information about the West Virginia Mountain Trail Runners can be found at http://wvmtr.org and further information about The Mountain Institute is at http://mountain.org/appalachia.

The attached photo, taken by Joel Wolpert, shows a runner ascending the Judy Springs Trail in the Seneca Creek Backcountry on Spruce Knob.