July 17, 2019 (France) – Led by Susan Dunklee, Clare Egan and US Coach Armin Auchentaller, this July meant one thing to the seven women on the US Biathlon Team: a three-week long European camp starting with 10 days in Correncon-en-Vercors, France followed by 10 days in Antholz.

Breakfast, Rollerski Out the Door
It is 7:30 am, just 72 hours after a 16 hour trip from the USA and everyone is eating fresh baguettes, yogurt, fruit, and cereal on long communal tables at Zecamp, the new training camp hotel run by retired French star Marie Dorin Habert and her husband Lois. The talk level is low; everyone is still a bit jet lagged, feeling a few aches and pains from the previous evening with two hours of strength training in the hotel gym. At 8:30, everyone heads out onto the rollerski track that starts at the front door, taking them 800 meters to the Espace Biathlon stadium, surrounded by open fields, forest and a golf course.

Way of Life
The routine is nothing new for most of this group. It is the training camp way of life: up early, eat, train for 2-3 hours, lunch, rest, massage, train again 1-2 hours, eat, dry firing, massage sleep, repeat and repeat again. This camp is transitional: most of the last 2 month’s focus had been on building aerobic base and accuracy shooting. Now real biathlon starts with combo (interval) training with roller skiing and shooting. US Coach Armin Auchentaller explained, “We started this camp with volume; a long hike up in the mountains and classic skiing after the long trip. Now we begin combo training with low intensity. Towards the end of this camp, the intensity will go up. We will have several high intensity skiing and shooting days plus a time trial.”

Drills and Pushups
After the hiking and classic roller skiing, the team broke out the skating skis for this first intensity session. After 30 minutes of warm-up skiing and zeroing. The coach outlined the training, posting a written version on the ground next to the rifle racks. Auchentaller’s style of coaching is very interactive and personal; always teaching and advising. Before starting the shooting drills, he tells the group. “I want you to shoot 20 shots, prone or standing. Before we start, I want you to tell me what you are going to focus on.” Polling the group, the answers come. “I want to keep my rifle tighter on my hip in standing…Steady cadence…Solid in prone before shooting.” Before the last five shots, he adds, “The person with the most misses does 20 pushups.” No sooner than the last shot is fired, the numbers fly, “20, 19, 18, 18, 17, 17…and 15;’ Susan Dunklee without hesitation is on the mat doing push-ups.”

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