On May 23rd, Cory Camp ran a solo full marathon in order to raise money and awareness for TGP’s commitment to health literacy and sport for development for DC youth. We decided to interview him and get to know about him and his journey to accomplishing this amazing feat!
Cory Camp is the Assistant Fitness Director at Columbia Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland where he teaches group exercise classes, personally trains clients, and runs a year round swim program. Outside of his work at Columbia Country Club, he runs an online-based personal training and mindset coaching program that focuses on helping athletes around the world reach their peak performance. He also hosts a podcast called The Athletic Mindset, that explores what makes up a successful athlete’s mindset and how the next generation of athletes can implement those lessons into their lives. He heard about TGP from Loree Lipstein, the CEO and founder of Thread Strategies.
Read on as we got to know Cory on his marathon journey!
What about TGP inspired you to take action? Why a marathon? Why did you choose to support TGP specifically?
I was inspired by the cause you all stand for because I’m a former collegiate athlete myself and strive to help the next generation of youth through my coaching platforms; much like TGP does.
I chose to do a marathon because I’ve always had completing one on my life bucket list. COVID-19 just forced me to speed up when I would complete one. I picked this distance because I wanted to inspire those around me that even though we are going through some tough times right now, we can all get through it by just placing one foot in front of the other and taking it one day at a time.
I wanted to give back to TGP specifically because I think this message is relevant especially to youth right now and being from just outside the DC area, I want nothing more than to see the youth of my city become successful.
On your GoFundMe page you mention the impact that athletics has had on your life, can you tell us more about that?
I grew up swimming locally for a club team called RMSC where I was introduced very early at age 5 to the sport. My Dad is a former collegiate swimmer and a coach for the past 40+ years in the area. He got me introduced into to the sport and I absolutely fell in love with it. While my career had plenty of ups and downs, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. It has taught me such valuable lessons and brought me to so many places that would not have been possible without swimming. I ended up swimming collegiately at the University of Delaware and enjoyed a very successful career there. I see what swimming did for me and hope that as a coach now, I can provide those opportunities to the people I work with.
Tell us about the marathon itself. What was it like running alone, and how did you stay resilient throughout? What challenges were you faced with? What kept you going?
The marathon itself was a true test of my mental capacity for work. I promised myself I would start at 7 am and, despite pouring down rain at that hour, kept that promise. The first ten miles were in on and off pouring down rain, and led to soaked shoes/socks. For better or worse, the rain cleared and it became hot and humid. I quickly realized that wasn’t much better than the start, but I pushed onward. Running alone provided a unique challenge as there was no one around to keep me moving forward. That is why I decided to partner with TGP, because at those times when the running seemed insurmountable, I was able to tie it back into why I was doing it in the first place. When I hit a wall both physically and mentally those last 6 miles, I had to dig deep and break up the remainder of the race into much smaller manageable chunks. One foot in front of the other and to stay moving forward became the goal at that point. That is what got me to the finish line and I think that is what will get all of us to our finish lines we are forever chasing in life.
We are so thankful for Cory’s support and are so impressed with this accomplishment. He ended up raising over $1000 for TGP. You can follow Cory on his Instagram linked here.
Written by Dylan Wolfe
