What I learnt from training with the pros at The Campus Quinta Do Lago

I first found out about The Campus Run Academy via Susie Chan’s Twitter posts. I first came across Susie when I was training for my 50k ultra and was trying to find some inspirational athletes to follow. As a seasoned ultramarathoner who has the famous Marathon Des Sables 155-miler, Ring O’ Fire 135-miler, Thames Path 100-miler (amonst others) under her belt, Susie fitted the bill. So when she announced on Twitter that she was launching a running camp with British #1 marathoner Lily Partridge, the call was just too loud to be ignored.

The Location

The Campus is a training facility for athletes located in the beautiful Quinta Do Lago resort. It is located within 20 minutes drive from Faro airport and caters for a number of sports including cycling (the Bike Shed, is managed by Paralympian Mark Rohan), tennis, triathlon and will soon include a High Performance Centre that will be opening in November. So really the ideal place for anyone practicing any of these sports!

As Campus Run Academy participants we were due to stay at the Magnolia hotel but all got upgraded to the 5-star Monte Da Quinta, which was simply beautiful.

We’re clearly all pretty happy to be there (it’s Day 1, legs are still fresh)

The Running

As you may guess, a running camp involves quite a bit of… running!

Day 1 was very much an intro to the resort facilities and The Campus. As the resorts is vast, running was the perfect way to explore and Susie and Lily took us on a 5-miler that showed us the main sites, including a few good restaurants (The Shack, Koko), a juice/coffee shop (Pure), and introduced us to The Campus. But the main focus of Day 1 was really to meet our fellow runners and share what had brought us there. You may guess: a common love of running! We also met Susie’s husband Shaun, who was going to support the sessions, and organiser Forte Management’s director Danny Davis who would pretty much be handling everything related to our stay (with the exception of the running bit!).

Day 2 was all about the LONG run. We were kindly given a choice of 8 miles or 12 miles. I currently follow a personalised training programme and was due to run 10 miles that weekend, in preparation for the upcoming Cabbage Patch race. 8 miles would definitely have felt a bit short and I knew 12 miles wouldn’t be too much of a stretch so I signed up for that one. The great thing about the long run was that Susie, Lily and Shaun made sure that the long run was very inclusive, so nobody was left alone at the back and everybody ran either 8 or 12 miles with a big grin on their face (well, most of the way anyway). The reasonably frequent stops also helped to regroup and take a breather, which was welcome in the heat. The long run took us to the nearby trails past salt marshes and through sandy trails and back through the resort walkways, the scenery was such a distraction that the miles flew past and made for a very enjoyable run.

Off we go on the long run…

After lunch it was time for a nutrition workshop led by Mark, and supported by a chef and Brazilian elite triathlete Marcus Ornellas. Although I knew a few things about nutrition, having had to look into it for mu ultra, I still picked up quite a few useful tips from Mark, Susie, Shaun and Lily, that provided some alternative to my go to foods. As much as I love pasta, it can get a bit much if you have it frequently so potatoes feel like a welcome alternative. I will also be switching from my usual multi-seed bread to white bread on race day. Last but not least I will pack up the energy balls I make for my children and use as race food (why oh why had I never thought of using them as race food?!). I already have Susie to thank for having used my children’s fruit pouches for this year’s ultra, at this rate they will have no snacks left at home (soz, kiddos!!).

The workshop was followed by a well-timed recovery workshop incorporating foam rollers (I immediately recognised it as that thing that’s been lying in the corner of my living room and must have been used about twice in the past year - actually turns out to be quite a useful tool if you can’t fork out on a sports massage on a weekly basis like me!) and useful stretches, all nicely demonstrated by Lily.

A second run was scheduled for later that day but I bailed out as my legs were begging for mercy and I wanted to feel fresh for what Day 3 had in store for us. Respect to those who did that second run, you are my heroes!!

Whilst Day 2 was mostly about the long run and recovery from it, Day 3 was focused on speed work. I do speed work on a weekly basis, and despite hating it, I know how useful they are to improve leg turnaround and speed, but I have to say there is something quite nice about doing it on packed sand next to a lake. It just didn’t feel as hard as my usual speed workout running between lit cones on a rather dark street near my house. Most of us really pushed ourselves and some that had been dreading the speed workout found out their bodies were capable of so much more than they had thought. I think the session was just a huge confidence booster for all. Shaun had a drone capturing the run and that made for a nice little video.

Susie, Lily and Shaun showing us how it’s done

The afternoon of Day 2 was spent at the beach. Not quite a lie down (!), but some mobility exercises with the primary focus to strengthen the feet. We also got to do some planks, which reminded me how long it had been since I last did one (thankfully as I was at the back so nobody noticed). The bar behind was blasting some Ricky Martin, which I found somehow didn’t work so well when trying to hold a plank.

When we came back we gathered to listen to Mark talking about mental toughness. Mark told us his story and what he had gone through to become a Paralympian and it was such an inspiring story. Mental toughness is such a key element of endurance sports and something we all need to work on on a daily basis so we can be more resilient to inevitable set-backs.

The day finished with a lovely dinner at restaurant Bovino. Because it was our last night together, everybody let their hair down (some more than others!), which was undoubtfully helped by the free-flowing wine. There was lots of laughing and funny stories told and I think it’s fair to say everybody had a great time.

Day 4 was a bit shorter as some of the participants had early flights so after a 5-miler lead by Susie most of us made a bee line for the breakfast bar. As our runs on the previous days had been scheduled post-breakfast we had had to restrain ourselves but with the day’s run done and over with we felt free to indulge! Afterwards most of us headed for the pool and laid there for a number of hours. I think we all felt we had deserved it! We then said our farewells, but not without promising to stay in touch via our WhatsApp/Instagram/Strava accounts!

The Participants

The camp felt very inclusive as participants were of a wide range of age and running experience, which was truly fantastic. They may have done with a few more men, but I think it just goes to say that men have a bias towards women-led running camps! The two men who took part did very well though and I think and certainly hope that they had a great time too.

Everybody just got on with the running, chit chatted during the runs, and there was not a single moan even during the long run or the speed work. Clearly everybody was there because of and thanks to their love of running!

Still smiling after the long run

The Take-Aways

I did learnt a number of things from the Campus Run Academy. First, how to improve my hip flexor stretches. Although I was doing some stretching before, the stretch demonstrated by Lily was just so much better at completely isolating the hip flexors and I will definitely be using that one going forward. As I mentioned I also picked up some food tips, and I may start experimenting with various food pre-race, during race and post-race. Liquid calories are not something I had ever heard of prior to the camp, so definitely something I want to look up prior to my next ultra marathon next year. I will also try and be better at using the foam roller and doing foot strengthening exercises. Although it is hard to find the time when trying to fit in running in an already busy life, it is worthwhile if that means fewer injuries. After all, running performance all comes from consistency and being injury-free means you can run more regularly.

I am extremely grateful for everything that Susie, Lily, Shaun and Mark shared with us. I also need to take my hat of to Danny from Forte Management for his organisation skills, second to none. But I am equally grateful to my fellow participants, who I learnt just as much from. I found inspiration in every single one of them, from the older lady I was struggling to keep up with to the younger lady for who the 8 miles long run was the furthest she had ever ran and the participants who had run a number of marathons or even ultra marathons. They all exhibited real mental toughness (although they may not think they have it), and being in their company for 4 days gave me that running boost that I can still feel days after my return. You are all very special, and I am glad to have met you. I cannot wait to hear all about your future running adventures!

The outcome: a very happy - and sweaty - me! :-)

Happy running!