Riptide Running Club Attracts Some Of Lower Cape’s Top Athletes

A who’s who of the Cape’s top high school track and field and cross country runners gathers each morning Monday through Friday to take part in Riptide Running Club sessions at Dennis-Yarmouth High School.

While some runners join Riptide to meet like-minded individuals with a shared passion for running, the club also offers rigorous training for recent high school graduates preparing to join a college program in the fall.

Regardless of the runners’ backgrounds or past experiences, Riptide is helping runners build a special kinship while pushing them to reach their full potential.

“The most important part of Riptide is our community,” said Dylan Moreno, a Barnstable resident and recent Sturgis East graduate who will continue running track at Tufts University. “There is a like-mindedness and willingness to conquer any challenges. It will be tough, but it’s a group of people that want to pass the barriers of what they are capable of, and that’s a great environment for a lot of people.”

Riptide is led by USATF certified coach Justin Torrellas, a Brewster resident who captured the bronze medal at the 2012 U.S. pentathlon championship before setting the world record in the event during the 2013 World Cup.

Runners meet at the D-Y track for four on-track sessions each week in addition to running on trails one day per week. Past cross country sessions have been held at Nickerson Park and on various trails in Harwich.

The Lower Cape is well represented within the club, including Nauset runners Ethan Kufos, Will Crowell and Madeline Mahoney, former Monomoy runner Rhiannon Vos and Sturgis runners and Harwich residents Bailey and Jonathan Ford.

In addition to Torrellas, Monomoy coach Adam Syty also helps coach the athletes.

Moreno said participating in the club made an immediate impact and helped improve his endurance and mechanics.

“Every year that I’ve done it I’ve worked on progressing my mileage,” he said. “I’d start with an average weekly mileage and then we worked it up progressively throughout the year. It helped improve my endurance drastically and my form. My first year I did it, it took four minutes off my 5K.”

Riptide’s registration is open to Cape Cod runners ages 10 to 18. The group holds two summer training sessions — the first is three and a half weeks and the second is four weeks — that run until Aug. 16. There is also an eight-week performance training group for experienced high school runners.

Visit riptiderunning.com for more information or to register for a training session.