Distance Running Camp

July 5-9, 2009

Grades 7-12

Staff

Camp director Jeff Wettach has been on the camp staff for 21 years, twelve of them as director of the camp. He was the Luther men’s cross country coach from 1997-2004. Jeff is currently the Luther men’s and women’s head coach for track and field. This past season was his 23nd as head men’s coach and his fourth season leading the women’s team. Jeff was named the Iowa Conference coach of the Year in 1995. The 2008 men’s squad had 16 All-Conference (top 3 places) performers and 12 men received Iowa Conference All-Academic recognition. The women had 22 All-Conference performances and 13 women received All-Academic honors. A 1979 graduate of Luther, Jeff earned a master of arts degree from The University of Iowa. Since joining the Luther College Health, P.E., and Athletics Department in 1985, he has coached 333 All-Conference athletes, 57 conference champions, 75 NCAA meet qualifiers, and 34 NCAA All-Americans. This includes the 2001 Indoor NCAA Champion men's distance medley relay team.

Yarrow Pasche is finishing her fourth year as the women’s cross country and distance track coach at Luther College. She continues to build on the strong tradition of women distance runners at Luther College. Her Luther women won both the Varsity and JV team titles at the 2007 Iowa Conference Championships, and went on to finish 10th in the country at the NCAA National Cross Country Championships. The 2008 team placed 7th at the National Championships following a team runner-up finish at the Iowa Conference Championships. Likewise, she leads a great group of distance runners on the track in the spring that are among the best around. Coach Yarrow Pasche is a graduate of Macalester College (MN) where she ran both cross country and track. She was a two time All American in cross country and a four time All American in the 1500m on the outdoor track.

Steve Pasche enters his fifth year as the men's cross country and distance track coach at Luther College and third year on the staff of the Luther College Distance Running Camp. Under his guidance at Luther, the Norse men distance runners have established their position as one of the top squads in the country. They are similarly one of the best distance groups in the conference on the outdoor track. His 2008 cross-country team won both the Varsity and JV Iowa Conference team titles. In 2007, the men's cross country team won the Iowa Conference Championship and placed eighth at the NCAA National Cross Country Championships. Steve has coached five All-American cross-country runners at Luther. Pasche is a graduate of Saint John’s University and holds a Master’s degree in exercise physiology from the University of Iowa.

Additional Camp Staff

Dee Brown — Iowa Central Community College Cross Country and Track and Field Head Coach for Men and Women. Dee’s men’s cross country team placed 2nd at the NJCAA championships in 2005 and 2007 and the women’s team was crowned National Champions in 2007 and 2008. Dee was named the 2005 Men's NJCAA National Coach of the Year and the Women's Coach of the Year in both 2007 and 2008
Jane Wheeler — Head Girl’s Cross County Coach and Assistant Girl’s Track Coach at Pleasant Valley High School in Bettendorf, Iowa
Rob Serres — Head Boy’s and Girl’s Cross Country and Track and Field Coach at Platteville (Wisconsin) High School, where his track and field teams have won 2 state championships. Rob has served on the camp staff for 23 years

Camp Format

The Luther College Distance Running Camp includes a daily "coaches hour" in which staff members present topics such as training theory and progression, nutrition, goalsetting, and motivational topics. Each day also includes a master workout emphasizing a theme for the day: hill-training, threshold-pace training, trail running, interval training, hydro-training (water workout), and a long run.

Morning sessions involve either an earlybird run or group stations with coaches, covering hydration, core strength training, relaxation and visualization, and running form development drills. Our week also includes recreational time after supper for ultimate-frisbee games, bocce ball, sand volleyball, and a night at the Decorah public pool. Each evening has a special camp activity:

Sunday: recreation and a counselors clinic
Monday: pool party and foot massages
Tuesday: pizza party and movie night
Wednesday: camp picnic and dance

We encourage you to run at least 20 to 30 miles per week in the three weeks prior to camp. The camp is designed for boys and girls, grades 7-12, and we typically have between 90 and 120 campers. Our coach to camper ratio is 12:1.

Housing and Meals

Campers live in a comfortable, air-conditioned residence hall on the Luther campus and eat in the Dahl Centennial Union dining hall. College athletes serve as counselors and provide full supervision and help direct all camp activities. Medical services for campers are available through local clinics, as well as the emergency room at the Winneshiek Medical Center. Individual campers are responsible for any medication, and hospital and physician fees.

Luther College Sports Facilities

Regents Center indoor facilities include six tennis courts; a six-lane, 200-meter track; six full-sized basketball courts; 25-yard, six-lane swimming pool; three racquetball courts; wrestling room; dance studio; and locker, training, and equipment rooms. The Legends Fitness for Life Center offers a strength and fitness facility with its own climbing wall. The outdoor facilities include 12 tennis courts, a large field area, fitness trails, and an all-weather track.

Past Participants Comments

"I was pleased from the start that the focus of your camp was on learning to become a better runner through intelligent training, not intense competition."

Paul Bolstad
North Crawford High School
Gay Mills, Wisconsin

"Your camp was so positive and motivational; it made me realize that I had a lot of desire to win."

Cara Kennedy
New Hampton, Iowa
(Former cross-country captain and three-time all-conference runner)

"Going to camp at Luther College has really motivated me to become a better runner and to make myself work harder to achieve that."

Emily Klein
South Hamilton (Iowa) High School
(State Champion in cross-country in 3,000 meters senior year)