MELODY FAIRCHILD RUNNING CAMP

MEET THE STAFF

MELODY FAIRCHILD — Camp Director
Melody Fairchild is regarded as the best female high school distance runner in the history of the United States for these reasons:

First HS girl to break 10 minutes for two miles (9:55), 3rd in the World Junior XC championships in Antwerp, Belgium, two time Footlocker XC champion and current course record holder, 8-time Colorado State champion and state record holder.

Melody is living her Dream of creating an inspiring, challenging and life-changing experience for high school girls in the mountains of Colorado. A native of the mountains west of Boulder, CO, the inspiration and challenge these mountains provided her as a young girl led her to state, regional, national and international titles and records.

ELIZABETH CAREY — Assistant Camp Director
In Syracuse, NY, Elizabeth works in Grassroots Team Development for Head To Toe Athletics, volunteers with Syracuse University cross country/track team and trains for the marathon and road races.

As an assistant coach of the Oregon State University women’s cross country/track team in 2008-09, she gained valuable experience working with a Pacific-10 and Division I program. With a focus on recruiting, she supported the program in various aspects.

At Columbia University, Elizabeth cut her teeth in Division I competition in cross country, indoor and outdoor track, setting PRs in long distance events with her Ivy League Championship-winning team. She earned her bachelor’s in Urban Studies and Political Science.

She first discovered her passion for running in high school at Cleveland (Portland, Ore.), where she won titles and led the first Warrior girl’s XC team to the State Championships. Since then, she’s coached at several high schools, dropped drastic PRs post-collegiately, led efforts to improve Cleveland’s athletic facilities, written various running columns and gained tremendous experience working at summer high altitude running camps.

REBECCA HESSION
Becky joins the staff with several years of coaching female runners at the high school level. Currently, she coaches Cross Country and Track at Phillips Academy at Andover, an independent boarding school in Massachusetts. She has also coached track at Hanover High School in New Hampshire. Additionally, she has extensive experience in residential settings. From serving as a dorm parent, teacher and Sustainability Coordinator at Phillips Academy to spending summers as a camp counselor at Gates Camp in Ward, Colorado, she has enjoyed her time coaching, teaching and mentoring young adults. She completed her undergraduate work at Bowdoin College and is currently a master's candidate in environmental policy and planning at Tufts University.