MEET THE STAFF
 MELODY FAIRCHILD — Camp Director
Melody grew up in the mountains just west of Boulder, where the beauty and challenge of the surrounding wilderness helped her discover her natural talent for running and sparked the passion for pursuing that talent to heights of state, national and international competition. At thirty-three years of age, having run professionally for Nike after her collegiate career at the University of Oregon, she is still well known for her stunning successes as a high school runner.
During her three years at Boulder High School she was an eight-time Colorado State champion—six in track (1600m and 3200m), and two in cross country. She placed second in her first outing at the Foot Locker National High School Cross Country Championships, and went on to win the following two years, setting the course record her senior year. Her early success inspired an even broader vision for what is possible and she pursued international competition, making U.S. teams in track and field and in cross country. Melody finished third in the World Cross Country Championships in Antwerp, Belgium, earning a Bronze medal. She made U.S. running history when she became the first high school girl to break ten minutes for two miles, running 9:55 at the Scholastic indoor championships in 1991.
At home, Melody won the Bolder Boulder citizen’s race three times in high school, with times that would have placed her among the top five of the elite field. She claimed National and Pac-10 titles and All-American honors as a Duck at the University of Oregon, where she graduated with a B.A. in English in 1996.
In 1997 Melody made the World Championships Track and Field team in the 5000m, representing the U.S. in Athens, Greece. She was twice an Olympic Trials qualifier, once in the 10,000m and once in the marathon.
The Denver Athletic club named her Colorado Athlete of the Year in 1991, and she was recently voted best high school athlete in the history of Boulder County by The Daily Camera (free Daily Camera registration required).
Currently Melody is pursuing her passions of running, coaching high school athletes and exploring the potential that lies within through her training in Cortical Field Re-education, a process of discovery and learning through gentle exploration of new patterns of movement. She is passionate about women’s athletics, and her vision for Camp is to be part of creating a new paradigm in which young girls will be empowered to explore their talents and abilities while keeping their integrity as Women intact, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
“While participation in sport among girls continues to increase, there remain attiudes and beliefs about how to treat and coach young women that are limiting and even detrimental to to health of girls who have a passion to succeed. It is my intent to teach techniques for staying centered and remaining true to oneself in the midst of the intense competitive environment that exists today, techniques that will acknowledge the unique need girls have, for honoring their bodies and the ways in which they contribute to the world around them.” — Melody
• The Boulder Daily Camera has a June 30, 2007, article about Melody and the camp
• Rocky Mountain News reporter Stock Stocker writes about Melody (May 18, 2007)
• Melody won the 10-Mile Pear Blossom Run on April 15, 2007. Read about it here
• Read the October 3, 2005 article about Melody in Eugene’s The Register-Guard
KRISTEN UHLER
High School Teacher & Coach
• 18 years of high school teaching experience
• 24 years of high school coaching experience
(has coached individual & team state champions)
Professional Triathlete
• 8-time member of USA Triathlon Team
• 3-time top-5 finisher at the Triathlon World Championships (1985, ‘86, ‘87)
• Winner Japan Strongman (1992)
Miscellaneous
• Sportswoman of the Year 1974 Newport Harbor HS, Newport Beach, CA
• Record Holder at University of California Santa Barbara/Track and XC
• Member of the first women’s team to run across the U.S.
• Currently run 30-50 miles/week, and cycle 50-200 miles/week
• Mother and wife
EMILY LAWRENCE
 I am a sophomore, Environmental Science major at Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA. I have lived in Boulder my whole life and I still come back during breaks. I love hiking and running on all the wonderful trails around town. My brother and my dad are both competitive runners and they inspired me to start running in middle school. I have been running cross country and track ever since and I absolutely love it. I love being in really good shape so that when I go on long runs it feels like I can run forever. Running has a certain freedom that most other sports do not have; you can take it wherever you want it to go.
I am currently running indoor track at Dickinson and hope to set personal records in the 5k and 3k. My goal for the outdoor season is to run a 10k on the track for the first time. I also run cross country and was the first alternate on the team for Division III nationals last fall in Minnesota.
ELIZABETH CAREY
 Elizabeth Carey stumbled upon long distance running during her freshman year at Cleveland High School, in her hometown of Portland, Oregon. Before graduating in 2002, Elizabeth won cross country, 1500-meter and 3000-meter Portland Interscholastic League titles, qualified for state in every season in which she participated, and in her senior year placed 2nd and 3rd at the State meet's 1500-meter and 3000-meter races, respectively. While posting personal records of 4:39 for 1500m, 10:02 for 3000m, and 19:03 for 5000m (cross country), Elizabeth found the most rewarding experience of her high school running career to be co-captaining the first ever Cleveland Warrior girls’ cross country team to qualify for the Oregon state championships.
After applying to thirteen colleges, Elizabeth decided to take advantage of a challenging opportunity to attend a Division I, Ivy League university in New York City.There she competed in cross country, indoor and outdoor track, and donned Columbia blue as a Lion through her senior year. As she ran into and out of afflictions common among collegiate runners, such as the Female Athlete Triad, Elizabeth sought to learn about nutrition, injuries and other issues influencing the competitive athlete's well-being. She graduated in May, 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in urban studies and political science.
Elizabeth returned to her hometown to catch up with her family. In Oregon, she can return to Steens Mountain High Altitude Running Camp—where she has been a camp assistant for five consecutive years, and has acquired some sweet sagebrush and barbwire scars—as well as other amazing trails and environs across the state. Currently, Elizabeth hones her passion for running (posting personal records in cross country, track and road races for Team XO; coached by Sean Coster of Complete Running Programs; captaining Team XO's Co-ed All Stars Hood To Coast Team to third place), for community building and public health (as Director of the Cleveland Community Field Project, a collaborative partnership aiming to improve athletic facilities for the public’s use), for coaching (as assistant track coach at Franklin High School), and for writing (producing a weekly focused on women's running for www.RunnerSpace.com).
Melody Fairchild photo by Deigh Bates, Waterbug Images.
copyright© 2007, 2008 Melody Fairchild. All rights reserved.
|