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Economics Of A Running Camp

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Unfortunately, I have seen instances where the running camp’s growth correlated with an increased desire to maximize profit. Today, almost every running camp is sponsored by a major running shoe company. One of the drawbacks that can occur when big business gets involved in a running camp is that certain aspects of the camp can change. Many of these modifications are based solely on the financial determinants of dollars and cents and not on making sure the individual campers are having an enjoyable experience.
When that happened one of those four features of a good camp always seemed to change and not for the better. Economically, it seemed that the one thing those running camps seemed to forget was a basic economic fact; the greatest advertisement …show more content…

Not surprisingly, this can result in an exodus from the camp for both staff and campers. Fortunately, this doesn’t occur at all running camps.
While no one wants to lose money in running camps or in any other business investment, there’s a fine line between the actual profit margin and the overall success of a camp. In the running camps I’ve had interactions with, the influences of shoe companies upon the camp have ranged from “overbearing” to “almost non-existent.”
A case in point. Several years ago, during one of my visits to a running camp, I watched as the campers were given a daily speech filled with propaganda about the shoe company, its benefits, and the reasons why every camper should consider buying a pair of the company’s running shoes at what they claimed were “special camp prices.” As I would find out later, those “special camp prices” were almost exactly the same as the MSRP (Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price) listed on the shoe company’s website for the same shoe. While it may have been my interpretation, but I was fairly confident that the runners at that camp were there to learn about running and not to listen to a day-to-day sales pitch in an attempt to raise …show more content…

These teaching sessions were highlighted by the appearance of speakers, many of which were successful coaches and runners from the area who provided a variety of informative and motivational information to the campers.
One of the newer and contemporary ideas which the camp offered was the filming of each camper while running. The purpose of this was to allow the coaches to analyze each camper’s individual running form and offer advice to smooth out their running stride and improve their overall performance.

The process would entail that each runner run towards the person filming and then veer off in a curve around cones which would be set up in the grass. Being filmed from multiple angles would allow an analysis which was biomechanically complete for each camper. In one of the early years of the filming, I volunteered to demonstrate the process for the campers. That day after explaining the procedure on an athletic field at the Connecticut College facility, I began my run towards the camera in order to show the campers “exactly how to do it.” Unfortunately, I never saw the sprinkler head on the side of the field and when I caught my foot on it and tripped, I proceeded to do a not-so-graceful somersault in front of the entire camp. As I rolled to a stop on the grass and the campers laughed, as I also did, I jumped up and in my best attempt

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