Former Zag Lindsey Drake Attends Elite RunPro Camp
7/29/2014 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
ARLINGTON, Va. - Former Gonzaga University distance standout Lindsey Drake was among the 14 up-and-coming distance runners who recently graduated from colleges and universities throughout the country who were in attendance at the recent Third Annual RunPro Camp in Arlington.
Hosted by the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA), RunPro Camp is designed to encourage, support and provide information for more top-ranked, post-collegiate, U.S. distance runners to stay in the sport and pursue a professional running career domestically and internationally.
Drake, a 2013 graduate, still holds school records for the 800M (2:11.27), the indoor mile (4:54.92), the 1500M (4:17.97), the 3000M indoors (9:46.32) and the 5000M (16:22.53). She capped her cross country career by earning All-West Coast Conference first-team honors in setting a school 6K record for the WCC Championship of 21:15 at Fernhill Park in Portland, Ore. She currently lives in Portland, runs for the Bowerman Track Club and is coached by Chris Cook.
The interactive camp provided a forum for runners to meet coaches and athletes from professional training centers around the U.S. It was also an opportunity for attendees to learn about sponsor relations, determine what type of representation would be best, find out more about the Track & Field Athletes Association, USA Track & Field and the USATF Foundation resources and long distance running initiatives, including the Professional Road Running Organization.
"We've seen some great successes from RunPro Camp attendees in the past three years, and we look forward to watching our 2014 attendees' running careers," noted Jean Knaack, RRCA executive director. "The success of RunPro Camp attendees, on both the roads and on the track, highlights the important of our ongoing efforts to attract and keep talented distance runners in our sport."
Attendees heard from Ben Rosario, head coach of Northern Arizona Elite professional running team. Rosario spoke on building relationships in the sport. Jennifer Dodd, USADA Olympic education manager, discussed the important topics of clean sport, drug testing, and compliance. Merhawhi Kelflezghi, of Hawi Sports Management, talked about the benefits of agent representation versus self-representation. John Elliott, owner of MarathonGuide.com, spoke about sponsor relations and opportunities beyond traditional shoe contracts.
A VIP dinner for RunPro Camp attendees, speakers, and supporters featured the elite athlete panel including 2012 Olympian Julie Culley (5000M), 2008 Olympian Amy Begley (10,000M) and Tyler McCandless, a top American distance runner and recent RRCA Roads Scholar grant recipient. The panel spoke about lessons learned as professional runners and the Olympic experience.
