Today marks the second full day of Panorama Cross Country’s out of state team camp in Colorado. The Raccoon Valley Radio Network spoke with Panther head cross country coach Greg Thompson before the squad left for the Rocky Mountain State on Sunday morning, and he said the trip started thanks to a fundraising effort by his student-athletes two years ago. Colorado poses higher elevations than Iowa, and some consider the state an excellent training ground for cross country runners. Thompson says the goal of the trip is to combine training and education with a little bit of fun. “We don’t make it too stressful,” Thompson said, “We try to do some easy, 30-minute runs in the morning and maybe a 30 minute run in the evening. Then add in some core (workouts) like abdominal and flexibility work along with those runs.”

Twenty-three runners and coaches on this year’s Panorama Cross Country teams are taking part in the Colorado team camp this week. The crew’s scheduled to return to central Iowa sometime Thursday. The first official practice of the 2018 Iowa high school cross country season is Monday, August 6. The Panthers first race of the season is on Thursday, August 23, competing in the Gilbert Cross Country Invitational.