Rob and I just put on our second annual ultra running camp last week, and once again it has been a wonderful experience that is hard to put into words. When we first floated the idea of a camp we wanted to find a way to give back to the ultra community that has given us so much in a few short years. We wanted to not only show our trails, but also our beautiful town and community. I feel silly for not expecting it to be such a powerful experience. When people come together with shared interests and open hearts it is normally nothing short of magical, and this past week was the epitome of this. We have had a rough year – I changed jobs, Rob had an injury and we found ourselves allowing difficulties to overshadow the good and the pure and the simple. This week shook us out of that – it evolved into one filled with hope and love and joy and a whole lot of laughter and fun times. I feel truly blessed to have had the experience and I find new energy to engage in projects new and old. One of my favorite parts of the camp is putting together the lunch spread. We plan our runs the way we would run every run of our lives if we could – a gorgeous point to point with a picnic on site at the finishing location. I would be remiss if I didn’t thank Kyle for making this happen each day! Also all of our wonderful friends in Flagstaff who shared their knowledge and their hearts.

Quite a few recipes from the camp are on the blog already as they are our favorites – simple, delicious, and hearty. Look for links below for three recipes not yet up: Kale and Pepper Salad, Spicy Mixed Nuts the base recipe for these can be found in Moosewood Celebrates , and an incredible Rice Salad inspired by a salad created by the muse of many a dinner in the “Krauer” household, Yotom Ottolenghi in his book Plenty More. Also thank you to Flora Health – their culinary and nutritional oils are daily staples in our house, and at the camp! The quality and variety are unmatched and Rob and I feel fortunate for the partnership.

Please accept my apologies for the lack of photographs – my take on this blog has always been to keep it simple. I take photos of the food as I make it for dinner in the evening, and I didn’t do this during the camp so for now photos will have to wait until we eat them again (which I am sure won’t be too long from now) We are planning a new Fall RKUC Retreat and I can’t wait to see how it evolves. If you are interested check out robkrarultracamp.com.

From our Central Command to yours hope you enjoy!

Kale and Pepper Salad

Spicy Mixed Nuts

Incredible Rice Salad

Thanks again for an incredible week everyone!

Christina & Rob