As Danny Kilrea ’18 woke up to the sound of his alarm one morning before practice, he noticed a unique email notification on his phone. As he checked his inbox, there it was: an offer from Nike, asking if he wanted to attend the Nike Elite Distance Camp over the summer from July 19 to 23.

“[It] was an unreal experience for me,” Kilrea said. “It was an honor to be selected and training with nine of the most elite high school runners in the country.”

The Nike Elite Camp has been selecting 18 of the best high school cross country runners, nine male and nine females, since 2010. It focuses on building up the nation’s best runners to keep the US competition up to high standards. Jake Discipio, the assistant coach for LT varsity cross country, felt the experience was well worth it for Kilrea.

“Danny was exposed to some of the best facilities, coaches and athletes in the country on his trip to Oregon,” Discipio said. “This probably helped solidify Danny’s understanding of what he is capable of and where he belongs in terms of competition and ability.”

Finishing second in state last year as a junior, Kilrea ran his three mile race in 14 minutes and 8 seconds, he said. That would be finishing each mile in about four minutes and 42 seconds.

“The camp has helped me realize that there are people around the country working just as hard as I am so I know I can’t settle,” Kilrea said.

Kilrea’s attitude towards running has impacted others as well. Teammate Charles Harders ’18 feels that Kilrea properly fills his role as captain.

“He’s a good teammate and he pushes everyone to try to run their best,” Harders said. “He definetly motivates us to be better. A lot of guys have improved because of Danny pushing them.”

From the experience he gained at the camp, Kilrea hopes to use his knowledge to train in the healthiest way, he said. For now, he is focusing on his final LT cross country season. He has already run a time of 14 minutes and 10 seconds, similar to last year’s pace.

“My training has been consistent and I have increased my work outside of running by doing new forms of cross training,” Kilrea said.

Harders also believes that Kilrea will run to a higher level, he said.

“Last year he ran really well but this year he has been doing way more,” Harders said. “He’s been running at a much higher standard. If he had the success he had last year, I think he is going to do very well.”

Kilrea’s running career is nowhere close to being finished. After this year, he plans to continue doing what he loves in college, Kilrea said.

“I’m glad that when I run in college I will already have awareness of who other good runners in the country are in case they end up being my teammates,” Kilrea said.