New Hampshire is a beautiful state in the United States of America. I am fortunate enough to be born in the Northeast (Boston), Massachusetts to be exact, so the NH(New Hampshire) border was forty-five to an hour drive away. When I was younger the memories that I remember was visiting the amusement park Canobie Lake, my Aunts use to take me and my cousins there when we were younger. Memories don't live like people do - In my Beenie Man voice
Now that I am older and the sport of running has brought me full circle, I am happy to share that the State of New Hampshire is providing me new memories and friendships that will last a lifetime. Foss Running Camp is located in Strafford, New Hampshire on the YMCA Camp Ground. I was fortunate that my colleague my brother from Another Boston English's Finest, Massachusetts Track and Field Hall of Famer, Arkansas Razorback Said Ahmed, introduced me to some amazing individuals that changed my life Coach Kevin Maloney over 40 years of Coaching experience, Coach Rich Kates, Coach Dennis Sheppard opened their arms and embraced me into the #FossFamily FRC (Foss Running Camp is one of the oldest running XC(Cross Country Camps) In New England.
The first year I attend Foss I went for half a day check out the piece from the Boston Public Schools XC team blog, Thank you Coach Kevin Maloney , I fell in love with the scenery, the peace of the wilderness, mother's natured awe and most important the energy. Student Athlete's travel from all over the New England Area, to kick start their XC season. I joined the Foss Staff and the first year I served as the Cabin Coach for the wildcat Cabin which hosted the students from Hingham High Schools, For a week there wasn't an issue of race, class, didn't matter the car your parents drive or the school you attended, for this one or two weeks in August it was about synergy. The common goal was to become a better runner.
As I entered Year 2, I was a seasoned Cabin Coach, I was advised by my other peers to come up a day early between the transition weeks between week 1 and 2 where some of the counselors rent a boat, and enjoy a beautiful saturday afternoon on Lake Winnipesaukee, this set tone to be for me an amazing week. I was assigned to the Zelander Cabin where I shared the cabin with the boys XC team from North Attleboro. Addressing the campers by the last name was easy for me to remember, the names (Flood, Prem, Joey Bags, Liam, Skye, Dylan, Mac Daddy, Cam, Bradley, Clarke). The goal and rules of the cabin was simple do the morning runs chill for the remainder of the day, keep the cabin clean and when it's time for chores we take care of business.
Foss is such a great experience I get to pick the brains of some of the best Coaches in the area, from New Balance's own Head Coach of h Mark Coogan from Newton's South Great Coach McChesney, Coach George Rose, Coach Fletcher from Woburn, Artie Demers just to name a few, plus get to meet some of the talented runners and teams in the New England Area. This year was a real treat because the week started off with a guest speaker Ryan Wagner who was an amazing competitor in High School who is now the Assistant Coach at Colby College, this was a real treat. Most importantly I was impressed and even more proud of my student athelet's behavior for the week and that Douglas Alvarado & Sarah Lawton were voted Camper of the week in their respective cabins.
