East Community Cross Country runs two things each summer: group practice three mornings a week, June 1 to August 19, and a four-day camp near Talkeetna in late July. Both are free. Most athletes do both, but nobody has to.
Cost, gear, and who-can-join questions are answered in the FAQ at the bottom.
Coached practice Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, plus a plan for the days between.
Four days at a lake, two workouts a day, swimming and a sauna in between. Registers separately.
Summer training
We meet Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, except camp week, July 21 to 24, when there is no practice. Practice starts at 10:30, and the group leaves the lot at 10:30, so give yourself time to get there.
The week
Hill intervals and bounding.
Tuesday, Thursday, and weekends
Those days are on you. The plan for them is in CrewLAB, usually a ride, a roller-ski, or an easy run, and everything is easier to finish with a teammate along.
Where we meet
Monday is always East High. Wednesday and Friday move around: Hillside out of the Hilltop lot, Kincaid, Bartlett, or one of the Chugach front range trailheads. Check CrewLAB before you drive, because the spot sometimes changes the night before.
Carpooling
If practice is at a trailhead, a carpool leaves East High at 10:00 and comes back to East afterward. Anyone in the lot by 10:00 gets a ride. Pick up at East or at the trailhead, whichever is on your way.
The work
Mostly you'll run. Trails, roads, and mountains, every week, because running is the cheapest fitness there is and it carries straight over to skiing. Strength happens outside too, bounding and plyometric work on the hills, core on the grass; there's no gym in this program. The bikes and roller skis mostly come out on your independent days.
Helmets required
A helmet comes to every roller-ski and mountain-bike session. No helmet, no wheels. We hold to that every time.
Training groups
Plenty of kids show up worried they'll be the slowest one out there. That's what the groups are for. Everyone is one team, and we train in three groups by pace and training history, each with its own workouts and weekly load. A first-summer athlete is not handed a Comp racer's week.
First structured training. You learn the workouts and build a base.
Development. Some training and racing behind you, ready for more.
Experienced racers pointed at state meets and the Besh Cup† series.
Who can join
Anyone entering 9th grade through 12th, plus graduates home from college for the summer; we push the graduates toward helping lead. Junior high is too early, so come find us in a couple of years. And you don't need to have skied, ever. Summer is all dryland.
What to bring
- Water and snacks.
- Trail running shoes.
- A helmet on bike and roller-ski days.
- Layers. An Anchorage morning can do sun, wind, and rain before noon.
We keep loaner roller skis and poles and can usually scare up other gear. Ask a coach.
Your first day
Sign the waiver in CrewLAB before you come, then just show up: East High at 10:30 on a Monday, or by 10:00 if it's a carpool day. Bring trail shoes, water, and layers. You'll be running on day one, not roller-skiing, so don't buy anything. Find any adult, say you're new, and they'll get you into the right group.
Sign up for summer training
Sign-up and the liability waiver are both in CrewLAB, and the waiver has to be on file before your first practice.
If you'd rather ask a person something first, the contact form goes to a coach.
Talkeetna camp
Camp is July 21 to 24, up at a lake near Talkeetna. We train twice a day, the kids get the lake and the sauna in between, and the team cooks dinner together. Fair warning on the cabins: they're dry, meaning outhouses and no showers for four days, and the lake is the bath. Amy Purevsuren runs camp, it's free like everything else, and it registers separately in CrewLAB even if your athlete has been with us all summer.
A day at camp
The first workout comes in the morning and the second in the late afternoon, drawn from running, roller-skiing, strength, and hill bounding with poles. The middle of the day is the lake: swimming, boats, paddleboards. Evenings end early because the mornings start early.
Camp registration and consent are their own forms in CrewLAB, separate from summer training. Donations are welcome at whatever level works for your family. The exact site and address go out to registered families in the app.
What to pack
- Sleeping bag and a pillow.
- Training clothes for cool and warm weather.
- Rain gear. It is Talkeetna.
- Pants, shorts, and a sweatshirt for downtime.
- Spare socks and personal clothing.
- Swimsuit and towel.
- Running shoes.
- Hill bounding poles.
- Roller-ski kit if you have one: boots, skis, poles, helmet.
- Water bottle, with a carrier for long sessions.
- Toiletries.
- Daily medications.
- Food for special diets (optional).
- Personal snacks (optional).
Register for camp
Register and sign the camp consent in CrewLAB; both are separate from summer-training sign-up. The waiver has to be on file before camp too.
Questions? The contact form works for camp too.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What does it cost? Nothing. Training and camp are both free, and donating or not changes nothing.
- Do I need skiing experience? No. Summer is dryland: running, strength, bikes, roller skis. Runners do fine here without ever having skied.
- Who can join? Anyone entering 9th through 12th grade, plus graduates home from college. Not junior high yet.
- Do I have to do both programs? No. They sign up separately. Do one or both.
- What if I miss a session? Come to the next one. The week's plan is in CrewLAB if you want to make it up on your own.
- Do I need my own gear? Trail shoes and water, plus a helmet on bike and roller-ski days. Roller skis and poles we can lend. Ask.