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PE Class

Youth Running
Fun. Speed. Endurance.

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After over a decade of success in endurance and field sports, the youth running division of BaseCamp Athletic Club was launched in 2023 as an opportunity for youth athletes in Hunterdon to have fun, increase speed and build endurance. Our mission is to create a safe space for youth athletes to learn about the sport of running while improving their overall health and well-being, and prepare them for upcoming sports seasons and initiatives.  

 

The 2024 summer program will run for 10 weeks (June 17 - Aug 22) on BOTH Monday and Thursday nights from 6:30-7:30pm and is designed to target students entering grades 5-8.  The athletes will run on a variety of surfaces (pavement, grass, cinder, etc.) at a variety of locations around the Clinton, NJ area.  Final practice locations will be announced prior to the start of the season but will not be more than 5 miles from BaseCamp. 

 

Please reference our Review our Frequently Asked Questions  and / or Contact us with any questions

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Club Leadership

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Club Director

Kristen Prendergast

Dr. Kristen Prendergast is a graduate of the University of Virginia and the UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical school. Following medical school she completed her residency training in pediatrics at the Children's Hospital of Colorado in Aurora, CO. She went on to specialize in Pediatric Hospitalist Medicine and currently works at the Lehigh Valley Reilly Children's Hospital in Allentown, PA.

Kristen has been pounding the pavement in Hunterdon County since high school. After competing in middle-distance and cross-county for the University of Virginia she went on to coach briefly for NHHS and compete in local races. She is still an avid runner and enjoys training for distances from the mile to the marathon. She lives in Annandale, NJ with her 3 crazy children and her very patient and understanding husband.

Lou Palma

Running Coach

Lou Palma has been a nearly lifetime runner, having competed in track/cross-country in high school and at Bucknell University.  With a a background in coaching local youth sports in track & field, soccer, and basketball, Lou himself has completed numerous marathons and continues to follow his son and other Basecamp members around the streets of Hunterdon County

Lou Palma
Frank Batiste

Running Coach

Frank Batiste

Frank Batiste (aka the "course doctor") started running in his late 20s, not long after running his first marathon in 2003 and last year hit number 33. He's been a member of BCAC for 10 years and for the last 5 years has added strength training at Pro-Activity to the routine, while also spending time as a partner of Main Street Marathon, LLC, the team that puts on the Clinton Country Run 15k & 5k, the Run Before Christmas 8k, and the Main Street Half Marathon. Last summer's BCAC XC Camp was a first formal foray into coaching.  In our experience, no one knows how to get in the "spirit" of the (running) season like Coach Frank.

HALL OF FAME

Notable athletes to have completed training programs with the professional staff at BaseCamp.

  • Ryan Pomrinca, North Hunterdon, Hunterdon / Warren all-time wins leader, 3x NJ Place-winner, Lehigh University, National Qualifier

  • Mike Pongracz, Delaware Valley, 3x NJ Place-winner, U. of Tenn Chatanooga, National Qualifier

  • Bobby Stevely, Delaware Valley, NJ State Runner-Up

  • Kyle Lightner, Delaware Valley, NJ State Champion, Rutgers University

  • Todd Preston, Blair Academy National Prep Champion, Harvard University, National Qualifier

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