Here is everything I currently have packed for Training Camp, which will be 10 days in Atlanta, Georgia!
Everything I am writing post TC will be in red. I want to do this for future Racers, and also for when I am looking back at what to bring for the Race.
First of all, my TC was in October. It was super cold (Nights in the low 40s and 50s)
Clothing
1 long, cool pajamas (Worn frequently)
1 leggings (for pajamas or extra layer. The nights are going to be chilly!) (One of my best last minute decisions. Worn frequently)
Long Heat tech shirt (Worn a couple times)
1 pajama shorts (Never worn)
1 pajama t-shirt (Maybe used a couple times. I mostly slept in the shirts I wore during the day)
7 pairs of socks (I used 5. I know this is gross, but I typically slept in my socks and wore them the next day. Did I mention how cold it was?)
1 long skirt (Never worn…we were never told to wear a skirt and it was too cold.)
2 pairs of jeans (I used both but probably could have gotten away with one. I wore these most of the time I was there. One pair got super muddy, wet, and gross. I used the other pair when we went out for ministry)
1 baggy capris (Never worn, cold)
1 long, loose pants (I wore these a lot)
1 nice shirt (Never worn. We were told we had to bring one. Not sure why)
5 t-shirts (6, including my team shirt I got at camp. Wore 4, including team shirt)
2 sports bras (I only wore one)
3 regular bras (I brought 4, counting the one I wore on the plane. I only wore two.)
10 underwear (11, including the ones I wore on the plane. Too many, I will spare you the exact count…I acknowledge that that is gross, but it was cold weather with cold bucket showers, and we had almost no time to shower or change clothes even if we wanted to)
1 sweatshirt (Wore every day. 1 worked, but it smelled. I almost should have brought two.)
1 rain jacket (Wore)
Tennis shoes (Wore, best footwear among what I brought)
Tevas (Wore, convenient, but I got blisters 🙁 )
Flats (Wore for the plane (Standby regulation) Highly regret wearing during camp 🙁 They got really ruined in the wet grass. I may still wear them on the Race if we are not camping, but definitely don’t recommend them for TC)
Flip-flops (Wore, for the shower)
Slippers (Technically snoozies. Wore a lot. Definitely recommend, for keeping the inside of your tent relatively clean. Your feet will be gross.)
1 dress (Wore the first and last day for the airport)
3 tank tops (undershirts) (I wore two)
2 Hats (1 knit, 1 baseball) (I wore the baseball hat, not the knit one. I also brought a warmer hat last minute, which I wore a lot)
Sunglasses (Never worn)
2 bandannas (Wore a lot. This is my new favorite clothing item.)
Belt (Ending up not bringing, thanks to advice given)
Ponytails, clips, and bobby pins (I wore these)
Orange glasses and necklaces for Training Camp Squad Wars (Wore, but only day 1)
Gloves (Brought last minute, wore)
Jacket (Brought last minute, wore)
Camping Gear
Tent
Footprint
Pillow
Sleeping bag
Sheet/Liner (Used once)
Airporter
Camping Towel
Collapsible Bowl and Cup (Never used)
Plate (Never used)
Fork and Spoon (Never used)
Headlamp
Toiletries
Deodorant
Face wash
Body Wash
Shampoo
Conditioner
Razors (I brought too many)
Pantiliners (Too many)
Pads/Tampons (No period, praise God, yeah, I seriously prayed about this)
Q-tips (I brought too many)
Brush (Used a grand total of once…Remember when I talked about my newfound love for bandanas….Also, my hair is thin so I just rain my fingers through it and it was fine.)
Face lotion
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Loofah (Never used, mostly cause they stay wet too long and I didn’t want to deal with it)
Essentials
Bible
Journal (Never used)
Prayer Journal (I used this journal for everything- Note taking, prayer, journaling about the day, etc. It was a relatively small and new journal, so it was fine to re-purpose it for all things Training Camp)
Electronics
iPod and Charger
Portable Charger
Phone and Charger
Camera and Charger (Never used. I brought this in case they said we couldn’t use our phone, even for pictures. But we were allowed to keep our phones on us.)
Waterproof Bag for Toiletries
Other
Eye mask
Advil (Didn’t use)
Band-aids (Didn’t use, but borrowed one from a friend)
Dramamine (Used once, but only cause I insisted on talking to people behind me in the van when I know that makes me nauseous.)
Throat lozenges
Wet wipes (I brought 45 and ran out. Bring more!!)
Bug Spray (Didn’t use. It was October… Unless you are highly prone to bugbites- I am not- I wouldn’t recommend it at least in October.)
Alarm Clock (Mine was broken, which was annoying to discover at TC. I highly recommend investing in one of these! It is not easy to charge your phone, and relying on it for an alarm clock wastes battery. Most of the time, others will wake you up. But if you want to wake up on your own time, get an alarm clock)
Clothesline (I didn’t bring this, upon someone’s recommendation.)
Extra satchel-like bag for carrying purse, Bible, and notebook when we don’t need everything else (Definitely recommend, especially if you carry something like this in the States. Otherwise, you will have to carry around your heavy daypack all day.)
Purse
Wallet
Eyeliner (Never used)
Cover-up (Never used)
Nail Clippers (These are way more multi-purpose than people realize. I have been made fun of having them on hand but I used them twice at TC for non-nail related tasks! They are basically mini scissors.)
Tweezers
Pens
Keys (I ended up leaving these at home)
Hand lotion
Lip Balm
Pocket Mirror
Snacks
People make it sound like you’re gonna starve at TC. For me, it was more a limit on time, not the amount of food (I am a slow eater and we were typically not given much time). But even so, I brought way too many snacks. Better safe than sorry, but just to give you an idea…
Cheese Crackers (I used 4 of 8 packets- each containing 6 cracker sandwiches). I shared the ones I did use)
Belvita Breakfast Bars (I brought 6 packets, each with 4 biscuits. I used 3, also shared)
Protein Bars (Brought 5 Nature Valley protein bars. Used all 5, don’t remember how many I shared/ate myself)
Mixed Nuts (Didn’t use at all)
More mixed nuts + Dried Fruit (Didn’t use at all)
Iced Coffee Packets (Used/shared 3 out of 5 packets)
I also ate a muffin and a peach when we were allowed to go off campus.
Everything together weighs 40 pounds (It actually weighed 46, according to the airport scales), which is over my target weight (37), but honestly I think it’s all the snacks, and the fact that my heavy shoes are packed cause I need to wear my flats.
Wish me luck! If you have any advice, please let me know!
I will return to this blog for future racers too and let you know what was good, and what I would do differently!
For the Race itself, I will have a few more toiletries, a lot less snacks, and my laptop, but it should more or less look like this. My flight is 15 hours from now!!!! Pray pray pray! <3
All I would say is 1. Know yourself and 2. Prioritize. It’s a delicate balance. I didn’t bring a mini umbrella, and wished I had. I also wish I brought more plastic grocery bags for dirty shoes/clothes/wet toiletries. Good luck future Training Campers!!
