Every year we bring in exceptional speakers to motivate our runners at camp. The following are some of the 2011 Featured Speakers who are top college coaches.
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| Marcus O'Sullivan - Villanova University |
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Marcus O'Sullivan
Villanova University
Marcus O'Sullivan has been the director of Villanova track & field and head coach to the men's cross country and track & field programs since 1998. He did not start as a track prodigy in his native Cork, Ireland. He was a 4:25 miler coming out of high school and wasn't recruited anywhere. He worked for a year as a sail maker and trained at night through the winter, until he finished 4:05 the following year and went on to Villanova. As an athlete, O'Sullivan was one of Villanova’s all-time great distance runners during his collegiate career (1980-84) and is a four-time Olympian, three-time World Indoor champion in the 1500m, and previously held the world records for the indoor 1500m and the 4x1 mile relay. His professional career, which spanned 15 years, includes medals at the Goodwill Games, the European Championships, the World Championships and the U.S. Championships. He has the distinction of being one of three men to run more than 100 sub-4:00 minute miles. As Villanova’s head coach, O'Sullivan has guided his athletes to seven NCAA individual championships, two NCAA relay titles, two BIG EAST titles, and his 2002 indoor track team earned a fifth place finish at the NCAA Championships. He has coached 22 athletes to 50 All-American honors and 19 athletes to 59 All- BIG EAST honors. His team won the 5,000m outdoor national championships, competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials and the men's DMR team posted the third fastest time in the country in a time of 9:32. Outside of the collegiate ranks, O'Sullivan currently coaches three former Villanovans who are competing on the international level and previously coached former American record-holder Bob Kennedy to a personal best in the 10,000m. O'Sullivan was recognized as NCAA National Cross Country Coach of the Year in 1998, was a four-time (‘98, '01, '02, and '03) Regional Cross Country Coach of the Year, and earned BIG EAST Coach of the Year in 2002. Marcus O'Sullivan did not start as a track prodigy in his native Cork, Ireland. He was a 4:25 miler coming out of high school and wasn't recruited anywhere, so he worked for a year as a sail maker and trained at night through the winter, until he finished 4:05 the following year and went on to Villanova.
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Gary Gardner
University of Massachusetts
A native of North Attleboro, MA, Gary Gardner enters his eighth year with the UMass Lowell cross country and track and field programs after a vastly successful seven seasons which saw him guide 86 athletes to All-American honors and one to a national championship. Previously, Gardner served as the head coach at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) and as an assistant at Trinity (CT) College following a stellar career at Keene State.
Over his seven seasons, Gardner has earned coach of the year honors from numerous affiliations such as the NCAA, U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) as well as the Northeast-10 Conference on many occasions. In 2008-09, he was named the NE-10 Coach of the Year in men's cross country as well as women's indoor and outdoor track and field; and the USTFCCCA Women's Coach of the Year.
Gardner has led the men's cross country team to five NCAA Northeast Region championships in the last seven years and simultaneously guided the River Hawk women to the NCAA Northeast Region title in 2005 and 2008. At the 2008 NCAA championship, the UML men and women each finished 13th and 22nd, respectively.
In Gardner's seven seasons with the cross country teams, the River Hawk men have finished sixth, 10th, 13th, 17th, 16th and 13th twice while the women have placed 22nd three times, 17th, 20th and 21st.
UML's success in cross country has always carried into the track and field seasons. That trend held firm in 2008-09 as three individuals and four men's and women's relay teams earned All-American honors in the indoor and outdoor seasons. In the spring of 2007, the program crowned its second women's NCAA champion in school history in Nicole Plante, who captured the outdoor 10,000 meters in 35:23.49.
Additionally, 80 UML athletes have qualified for the NCAA indoor and outdoor track and field championships over the last four years. Highlighting those years were the spectacular efforts of the 2006 outdoor women, all five of whom earned All-American honors; as well as the 2007 men, led by All-American 400-meter sprinters Doug Caves and Andrew Grange, who were also part of UML's All-American 4X400 relay team.
A 1994 graduate of Keene State, Gardner was a five-time All-New England standout in the indoor and outdoor seasons.
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| Gary Gardner - University of Massachusetts |
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| Matt McCue - Author & Runner |
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| Matt McCue
Author and Runner
Author of "An Honorable Run", Matt McCue, an un-recruited University of Colorado runner, was a walk-on athlete who willed himself to become part of a championship team led by the legendary Coach Mark Wetmore from 2001-2005. McCue ran in the middle of a herd that was led by future Olympians and American Record holders, Jorge Torres and Dathan Ritzenhein. Only one person believed he’d succeed, the underdog himself.
His story takes a lonely trail and makes it full with insight and humility. McCue speaks for boys and girls chasing their dreams on the prairies, in small towns and on our forgotten urban streets. He gives voice to the contender who wakes at 5 a.m. when the wind is knocking on a sub-freezing door. He spatters the listener with the wet earth that covers head to toe mud-caked bodies of people who are willing to collapse as they cross the finish line.
Above all, McCue reminds us that we can’t achieve our dreams alone. His high school coach, Iowa City Regina’s Bob Brown, had a collection of motivational sayings that could fill more than a few T-shirts. Brown nurtured an entire town because his lessons about sports were really lessons about life. Yet McCue never listened. Only by leaving his mentor for college was McCue truly able to come of age and fully understand his coach’s wisdom: Success is not defined by a gold medal around your neck, but by giving “Nothing but your best”.
Born in Iowa City, Iowa, Matt McCue lives in New York city where contributes to ESPN The Magazine, ESPN RISE Dye Stat, Running Times, and New York Magazine.
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Renny Waldron
Northeastern University
Renny Waldron, the Northeastern cross country coordinator and distance coach for staff since 2006, works primarily with the men’s and women’s middle- and long-distance runners while overseeing all cross country activities. Prior to NU, Waldron coached the track teams at Cambridge Rindge & Latin for three years with several undefeated seasons and championships and a fifth place finish for the cross country team in the 2005 All-State meet. In high school, Waldron was a 2-time Massachusetts Div. I champion in the mile and two-mile and led his teams to two state championships. Waldron has served as counselor and staff coach at GMRC for several years. He has also served as advisor and organizer for the New England Chapter of USA Track & Field and is a certified USATF Level 1 coach.
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| Renny Waldron - Northeastern University |
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| Mark Coogan - Dartmouth College |
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| Mark Coogan
Dartmouth College
Mark Coogan, a professional long-distance runner from 1988 until retiring in 2002, represented the United States in the marathon at the 1996 Olympic Games, earned a silver medal in the 1995 Pan-American Games and was the first Massachusetts resident to break the four-minute mile. In June 2010 Coogan became Dartmouth’s new track and field assistant coach, where he looks to continue his coaching career and will be primarily engaged in training women’s cross country and distance runners.
Mark’s coaching career started as an assistant coach at Ivy League rival Brown University from 1991-1992. Coogan was head coach for boys’ cross country at Phillips Exeter Academy, NH from 2003-06, leading the squad to the New England Prep School team championship all three years and also coached the U.S. National Team in 2005. While coaching for three years at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology he was instrumental in helping the women’s team achieve its first NCAA Division III Cross Country Championship appearance in 2008 and the men’s and women’s teams win conference and individual titles. This past year at Tufts University, Coogan trained All-Americans on both the men’s and women’s squads.
For 29 consecutive calendar years, from the time Mark ran a 4:58 mile as a high school freshman through 2008, he ran at least one sub-5:00 mile. His 30th year, Coogan set out on Tufts' 200m indoor oval and at the start of his final lap, with his next sub-5:00 mile in sight, his Achilles tendon popped and his streak came to a screeching halt.
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Kerstin Stoedefalke
Associate Professor, Exercise and Sport Sciences
Ph.D. University of Exeter, Medical Sciences; M.S., University of Montana, Exercise Science; B.S., Pennsylvania State University, Biology. Certification: ACSM Exercise Specialist. Professional interests include pediatric exercise science, health promotion, sport nutrition and health and wellness.
Areas of Expertise
- Pediatric exercise physiology
- Exercise physiology
- Exercise prescription
- Sport Nutrition
- Risk factor management
- Health and Wellness
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| Kerstin Stoedefalke |
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| Nicole Wilkerson - Middlebury College |
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Nicole Wilkerson
Middlebury College
Nicole Wilkerson was an All-American track athlete at Rice University '93 and a four-year member of the cross country and track teams. After her collegiate career, she was a U.S. Track & Field National Qualifier in the 10,000 meters in 1995. The following year, Wilkerson was a U.S. Olympic trials qualifier in the same event.
Prior to her arrival at Middlebury, Wilkerson was an assistant coach at Texas A&M for three years. While at Texas A&M, she obtained her master's degree in Sports Management, and lectured on health and kinesiology.
Wilkerson took over the reins of the Middlebury College cross country program in January 2011 after working as an assistant coach with the program for the previous nine seasons. She also maintains her role as an assistant coach with the track & field program enabling her to work with several of the athletes for nine months a year. She has been responsible for creating several workout programs for both teams and has coached almost 30 All-Americans. Wilkerson’s women team were D3 National Cross Country champions this past fall.
Wilkerson has also served on several committees in the College community, while helping to develop the recently established LEAP (Low Energy Athlete Prevention) program.
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Eric Blake
Central Connecticut State University
Eric Blake, the Central Connecticut State University men's cross country and track head coach since 2009, was named coach of the women's teams as well in July 2010. A Central graduate, he was the 2009 NEC Coach of the Year in cross country after leading his team to a first-place finish in the conference and his track team finished third, the best by a Central team. He also led the outdoor track squad to a program-best third place finish at the NEC Championships this spring.
A four-year member of the cross country and track teams while at Central, Blake graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in education (mathematics). Prior to attending CCSU, the Lebanon, CT native was the 1996 state open cross country champion. Blake earned a master's degree from Adams State College, where he was a member of the school's Division II cross country and track teams. Following his graduation from Adams State, Blake was the head coach for the Plattsburgh State men's and women's cross country teams. He also was an assistant coach for the track and field squads. He served as an assistant with the Blue Devils prior to his appointment as head coach in August.
Blake is currently a member of the U.S. Mountain Racing Team. He finished second in the Mount Washington Road Race in 2010, his fifth two-two finish in the last six years. His finish qualified him as a member of Team USA at the World Mountain Running Championships in Slovenia. He recently finished sixth at the Litchfield Hills Road Race on June 13 in a tune-up race for Mount Washington. He posted a time of 35:49 on the 7.04 mile race.
In April of 2009, Blake was the first New England finisher in the Boston Marathon for the second straight year. He finished in 24th overall place with a time of two hours and 23 minutes. In addition to being a 2010 USA Track and Field member, Blake is affiliated with the Boston Athletic Association. He is also a USATF certified Level 1, 2 and 3 Coach.
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| Eric Blake - Central Connecticut State University |
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| Jim Mitchell - Bronxville High School |
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| Jim Mitchell
Bronxville High School
His skill as a teacher and a motivator are legendary. Jim Mitchell, began his coaching career at Cathedral Seminary in Queens from 1967-1971. From 1972-1978, he became the Fordham College men’s track distance coach, as a result of the relationship between the two schools.
In February 1978, Mitchell answered an ad in The Sunday New York Times – a school named ‘Bronxville’ was looking for a Latin teacher. By 1979, because of Title 9, he had his first real girls track team, who were treated just like the guys. The first meet of their first season, they killed Croton, the longtime reigning track school for all of Westchester County. That spring, the 4×800 relay went to the New York State Championships at West Point, and placed 3rd in the State running a 9:26.
In 1980, the team won their first 4×800 State Title. The following year was the first year Jim coached all three seasons: Cross Country, Indoor, and Outdoor. Since then, his team has had 15 4×800 New York State Championship titles, 7 State Cross Country titles, and 38 girls who have won a combined 138 All-American titles. Mitchell has one of the most successful high school cross country programs in the state. Bronxville School has been referred to as “The Best Square Mile of Track in the United States”.
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