This guide covers why some camps include racing and others don't, what different racing formats offer, how to prepare for race day at camp, and how to make the experience count after it's over.

This guide is written for parents, by people who've worked with thousands of families navigating these decisions over 15 years. It's not designed to point you toward a particular camp — including ours. It's designed to give you a framework for evaluating any program, so you can make the decision that fits your family with clarity rather than anxiety.

This article compares the two categories honestly, covering what each offers, what each costs, and how to decide which fits your runner's needs right now.

Premium sport camps can cost $5,000 to $10,000 or more. That's a significant sum — more than many families spend on a vacation, and comparable to a semester of in-state university tuition. The question of whether that investment is justified deserves an honest answer, not a sales pitch.