The terrain is hilly and challenging. The trails are grass while the roads are gravel.
Ideal conditions — soft on the legs as well as cooler temperatures — for preseason workouts for Rosemount's cross-country teams. It just doesn't happen to be near the South Suburban Conference school.
Coach Chris Harder and his squads recently completed their 14th year making the trek to Deep Portage in Hackensack in northern Minnesota. He took his teams to the southeastern part of the state his first three years at the helm of the Irish.
"The challenging terrain at Deep Portage makes our wooded trails at the high school seem small," Harder said. "The kids work hard, play hard and most of all have fun. Camp and what we do at camp is one of our many traditions for Irish cross-country."
Junior Ryan Brumm just completed his third camp in Hackensack.
"It's a lot of fun, but it's a lot of hard work, too," Brumm said. "It never gets old because it's a lot of fun."
Harder puts his boys' and girls' teams through a primary workout in the morning and a secondary workout in the afternoon. Then it's back to camp for some fun and games.
"Besides training benefits, we hope to accomplish some team-building and bonding," Harder said. "It's an opportunity for veterans and newcomers to meet and get to know each other."
