This is Neve Gerard, checking in from Sjusjoen, Norway where myself and 8 other US athletes have spent the last week at International Junior Camp. We flew into Oslo, Norway and spent a week training there to get adjusted to the time change before taking the train two hours up to Sjusjoen and joining over 80 athletes from 15 different countries for a big week of training! In Oslo for our precamp, we trained at Hollmenkollen rollerski track, took the train exploring Oslo, and spent an afternoon on a sauna-boat!
On our first full day in Sjusjoen, we did bounding intervals. It was really fun to be able to train in such a big group of strong athletes and see what everyone does differently. The workout was 6 x 5 minutes, and everyone started together, so it was fun to see who we could hang on to. We made our way up a dirt road, and once we reached the top we turned onto a trail, which took us down a long 10k cool down into town. The views were awesome and our spirits were high.
A highlight for me was the marathon day. We ran through the Norwegian bogs, small towns, and around lakes. At our halfway mark, we enjoyed baked goods at one of the coache’s cabins which helped us push through the next 13 miles. The group split in half around mile 20, with some athletes opting for a shorter route, but all the US athletes decided to finish off the marathon. 5 and a half hours later, our watches hit 26.2 miles and we celebrated by jumping into the lake.
In addition to a lot of hours of hard training, we also got to listen to presentations from World Cup athletes and coaches every night. We were able to learn about training, sleep, and hear from inspiring people. This was a cool opportunity to ask questions in person.
Between training, we were able to socialize with the other countries which was very valuable, in not only making international friends, but also comparing training and being able to see how different countries train and race.
Thanks so much to NNF for helping fund this amazing trip, it was a great experience that we won’t forget.
Tusen Takk! (thanks so much)
Neve Gerard
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