11 Things That I’m So Happy I Brought to Training Camp (Gap Year)

We leave Training Camp tomorrow. I can’t believe it. I’m going to miss my little tent and the home I made here. I have learned so much here, and known God in this place. For future racers, soak up your time here, and don’t take a moment for granted or wish an inconvenience away. I asked around my squad and found 11 of our favorite things we brought to Gainesville. You’ll be here for a month, so make yourself at home! For everyone else, I hope you’ll be able to glean a bit of what life has been like the past couple weeks. Ok, let’s get started!

Tote bag– Most people use their daypacks to carry their stuff all day, but several girls on my squad don’t like lugging around their whole backpack. I like using my backpack, but I put my clothes and toiletries in my tote when I take showers. I also used it when we went on a day trip to Atlanta and on a Target run. It’s relatively light and packs down easily, so I’d say take it even if you only use it a few times. 

Baby Wipes– Yes, there are showers. No, you are not going to want to take one every night, no matter how clean-minded you think you are. Sometimes, all you want to do is crawl in your tent and go to sleep. I HIGHLY recommend bringing baby wipes so you can wipe off your feet and legs before you zip yourself up for a good sleep. 

Fairy lights– These were VERY recommended by everyone on my squad. Most of us hung them up in our tents for a little ambiance, but they were actually so much nicer than hanging a headlamp which swings around and never really shines in the right places. The guys especially liked them to hang around our hammock village. 

Hammock– Even if you aren’t planning on taking them on the field (I’m not!) You will be at training camp for over a month, and doing the most to make it feel like home is so refreshing. The guys on my squad engineered a hammock village, so we could all hang out (pardon the pun) at the campsite, and I used mine to spend time outside of my tent. Some girls bought blankets to sit on the ground, but I think the hammock is more comfy and less likely to expose you to spiders. 

Compartment Storage– This is an item I didn’t bring that I wish I did. Keeping your tent clean and organized is a MUST, since it’s so small. Some girls use them for clothes, so they don’t have to keep unzipping their packing cubes, and others use them for food, toiletries, or literally anything. If you don’t believe me, wait until your first week trying to find things in the dark of your tent, and  you’ll be running to the home organization aisle on your first Target trip. 

Dryer sheets– I LOVE THESE!! I keep them in my sleeping bag and packing cubes to keep all the fabric in my tent nice and fresh. You are able to do laundry, but since you have to do it by hand, you’ll find yourself re-wearing a lot of weird-smelling clothes. Keeping dryer sheets on hand has been so helpful to keep the odor at bay until the next laundry day. 

Mini hand broom– One of my favorite items that I brought, and it was only 2$ on amazon. You’ll have a pretty small space, and keeping it neat is ESSENTIAL to your sanity. Of course, you’ll get used to a little dirt, but I promise you’ll feel so much better about sleeping on the ground for four weeks if the ground isn’t peppered with dead bugs and dirt. 

Coffee mug/ Instant Coffee/ Tea bags– If you drink coffee at home, you’re seriously going to miss it on the race. I brought a silicon pour-over apparatus and coffee grounds, but the water wasn’t hot enough to make more than slightly bitter water. Later, one of our Team Leaders let us use her hot water heater to boil water, and my friend and I ended up using instant coffee every morning instead of coffee grounds. I know, it’s not as good as the real stuff, but after caffeine deprivation for several days, the cheap Starbucks packets are pretty much heaven. Also, on our first Target trip, we picked up some of the Land Lakes cream packets you would find at a hotel breakfast. Again, not the best, but it does the trick. 

Snacks– This one was very adamantly and loudly recommended by the guys on my squad. They have vending machines on campus, but they mostly consist of candy bars and cokes, which are good for a treat, but not super filling, and kind of expensive. Let me stress this: THE FOOD HERE IS SO GOOD. It’s better than camp food, better than cafeteria food, and super diverse. However, there will be things you won’t like, and the portions aren’t always large. I’ve never gone hungry, but sometimes a midday granola bar sounds really good. I wouldn’t overload on snacks, but you’ll be thankful to bring a few of your favorites. ALSO, if you’re like me and you’re on a budget, you won’t have money to Uber eats every night. Your parents aren’t here to tell you how much you can spend at the vending machine. It’s a good idea to conserve your money for when you actually go overseas instead of spending it on pop-tarts every morning just because you don’t like oatmeal. 

School Supplies! Sticky notes, highlighters, index cards, tape, scissors, etc– I didn’t bring these at first and instantly regretted it. I borrowed tape from my teammate every day until I got to Target and bought my own. You’ll be studying the Bible for a good chunk of time every day, so sticky notes and highlighters are helpful. The scissors and tape are used for random things, but you’ll be grateful for them if you want to stick a note from a friend in your journal, or cut off your bangs. (Around week 2, about half the girls on my squad– including me– decided they needed this modification to their appearance)

Rain Coverage– This is SO IMPORTANT!! If you don’t bring anything else on this list, BRING APPROPRIATE RAIN GEAR. Georgia has a pretty rainy fall season (although there have been some pretty gorgeous days too) and when it rains, it rains HARD. Most of my campsite flooded within the first week, and 20 out of 26 of my squad mates experienced rain seeping into their tents in the middle of the night, or finding mold on their belongings. Bring a nice rain jacket, (mine’s just a black North Face and I have nothing to complain about) make sure your tent has a rain cover that reaches all the way to the ground, and grab a tarp for the inside of your tent in case your footprint leaks (I didn’t have any problems with flooding, but that mostly depended on where my tent was located.) This might seem a little much, but you won’t think so when it pours down rain for 10 hours straight. 

I hope this was helpful! My weeks in training have been the most informative and transformative of my life. Don’t let the difficult things you see in this blog scare you, because I PROMISE that sleeping in the woods, hand washing clothes, and eating bananas every morning won’t matter at all when you get here and see how much there is to learn. If you’re a current or alumni racer, feel free to drop your own tips for training camp packing in the comments!