Frequently Asked Questions

Camp Chipinaw

85 Silver Lake Road

White Lake, NY 12783

Camp Chipinaw is located less than two hours northwest of New York City in the Catskill Mountains. The site encompasses 300 acres, including a private 96 acre lake.

Once you complete the registration process, you will receive a direct link from Campminder.com with a personalized pathway to the account you set up. It is important to use the email you used as the main contact. All balances are due by August 1.

The deposit for camp is NON-REFUNDABLE, once your registration is confirmed. No refunds are permitted after July 1. Be aware, sometimes the email from Campminder.com may go to your spam, depending on your personal email settings. 

Upon arrival, all athletes will be directed to a series a fast-moving stations, including a check in table, medical staff review, and camper package pick up.  All campers who are paid in full will proceed directly to the medical table. To ensure that all medical documents are on file, special needs are met, and any medications are logged and stored, as per state law. Athletes with a balance will be directed to the accounts table before moving to the medical team. Once checked in, all campers will be directed to our friendly staff for package pick up before moving to their assigned cabins to select a bed. It is preferred that all campers complete this process on their own as parents wait on the perimeter of our check in area. This will help expedite the stages.

Parents will have an opportunity to reunite with their child and assist them in moving to their cabins. Preferably, parents will leave their child at the steps of the cabin and allow them to set up their bedding on their own. This helps the meet and greet with cabinmates. You may communicate any special needs during this process with any of our support staff, who will be visible and ready to assist, at any time. Campers taking our luxury coach busses will be dropped off at the check in area. Campers who are traveling on their own or with families will be directed to park in our visitor lot and carry their belongings to the check I area, less than 400m from the parking lot. No cars will be permitted near the check in area or on campus during the drop off and/or pick up process. 

The Running School is one of the largest and longest running camp in the United States. Annually, we support dozens of students-athletes who are recently or recovering from injuries. Our highly experienced medical team is prepared to give or continue care for recovering athletes, throughout the week. In addition, our athletic staff includes a rehabilitation team, which focuses solely on athletes who are on the mend, injured during camp, or simply in need of additional coaching support to bridge their work to successful outcomes.

Our facilities include many cross training and rehab-based options, including soft grass fields, an Olympic pool, a lake, stationary bikes, and a full array of rehab and strength focused equipment designed to improve overall fitness while addressing deficit needs. Campers with minor or serious injuries will get focused attention that may not be available throughout the week at home. Typically, there are an abundance of activities that injured athletes can participate in while working to heal. Don’t stay home and waste the week, join us and rehab the right way. 

The Running School includes a full medical team housed on campus from the time campers arrive until they depart. The team never leaves camp and is available for general and emergency needs 24/7.  The team is state and nationally certified in medical care and will address all medical care from running blisters to sudden illness, and minor sports injuries. Notable medical care will be conveyed to parents when necessary. 

Yes, our camp staff includes a highly professional medical staff that is available to ensure that all needs are met. Our nutritional staff will provide gluten free, nut free, or other specific food needs, upon request. Each meal includes a full self-service arrangement with salad and vegetarian options for your selection. There is no need to bring your own food options. 

Our camp employs a full team a certified lifeguards who will staff both the pool and lakefront during all activity hours. All lifeguards are certified, experiences, and CPR/AED/First Aid trained from the highest level of supervision and care. Campers who desire swimming in the deep end of the pool or lake are required to pass a swim test, instituted on the first day of camp. Athletes will be required to demonstrate a basic level of swimming proficiency before gaining access to the pool and lake. 

All campers are assigned swim partners and a personal number for use during frequent safety checks. Athletes who are not swim proficient may join our free swim lessons, throughout the week. 

The Running School has one of the lowest camper to staff ration among sleep away camps. Our camper to staff ratio is 4:1, with a hierarchy of competent adult leadership assigned to all camper groups. All cabins are managed by a lead counselor, generally a certified teacher or coach, supported by 2-4 adult assistant counselors with required sport specific training and competition experience.

All cabin teams are supervised by a state licensed educator with decades of high school and college coaching experience. Camper counts and check in are conducted several times per day and throughout the evening. All TRS staff are required to pass an annual state and national background check before arriving at camp. 

Unlike many other camps, our campers have an array of beneficial experiences available for cross training, sport education, and recreation. Campers can choose to have some personal free time to sunbath, rest, read, between workouts and classes, or fill their time with socially engaging activities. 

Options include:

Free swim, deep water training, kayaking and paddle-boarding, lawn games, game room with music, spin, pickleball, dynamic drills, rehabilitation and injury prevention clinics, core and strength training, form running workshops, movie nights, dances with live NYC DJ, talent show, tye-dye jam, push up contest, and much more. 

As we approach camp, all registered campers will receive an important fitness survey. Our system allows us to use existing performance data combined with current athlete feedback to assign campers to a proper training cabin. All athletes are grouped with 12-18 athletes with similar performance experience and fitness data. This allows our staff to effectively plan all training modules for a productive week. 

We ask that all campers complete this survey (sent in early August) as accurately as possible. Entering inaccurate information may have a negative impact on the best possible assignment. We DO NOT accept requests for teammates, friends, or sibling to be housed together, unless that are similar in performance and fitness. Our history and experience inform our process and ensures the best outcomes for our campers. 

Unlike many running camps, The Running School provides unique programs for athletes of all abilities and focus areas. We provide programs for middle and high school boys and girls entering grades 5 through 12. Middle school and high school athletes are housed separately, for appropriate supervision and programming.

High school athletes who desire a focus on building a capacity for cross country running and distance-based events should register for our Endurance Cross Country Camp. High School athletes who choose to focus on sprint, jump, and hurdle events should register for our Speed and Agility Camp.

Middle school athletes entering grades 5-8 should register for our Middle School Based Youth Camp. Middle school athletes once registered will have the option to participate in an endurance-focus or speed focus experience. Campers with less than a full season experience or interactive classes, clinics, choice activities experience should register for our Novice Camp.

Although, every day is unique with new experiences and opportunities to move towards success, here is a general overview of our daily structure:

7:00 am Campwide wake up with lively music and announcements

7:30 am AM Stretch: Professionally led flexibility session with a focus on exercise science and injury prevention movement

8:00 am Morning Training Session

9:00 am Cabin focused feedback, post run activities, daily schedule review

9:30 am Breakfast and refueling

10:30 am Session 1: Interactive classes, clinics, choice activities

11:30 am Session 2: Interactive classes, clinics, choice activities

12:30 pm Session 3: Interactive classes, clinics, choice activities

1:30 pm Lunch and refueling

2:30 pm Session 4: Interactive classes, clinics, choice activities

3:30 pm PM Stretch: Professionally led flexibility session with a focus on exercise science and injury prevention movement.

4:30 pm Afternoon Training Session

5:30 pm Cabin focused feedback, post run activities, daily schedule review

6:30 pm Dinner and refueling

8:00 pm Evening Activity (Guest Speaker, Camper Dance, Talent Show, Breakout Session)

9:30 pm - 10:00 pm Curfew, Cabin Checks, Group Debrief