Packing for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure

Jennifer, Gear/Tent Captain and Shawn from Susan G. Komen for the Cure®

Packing for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure® has been a challenge for me. I wasn’t sure what to bring or how to fit it all into one bag that weighs less than 35 lbs. So I was happy to hear they had a packing clinic not that far from us. I loaded everyone in the van (we had plans for later in the day too) and headed off to Road Runner Sports in Elkridge to learn some more.

What a day of learning! The first part of the clinic was about equipment. We learned about the difference in shoes. I honestly had no idea there was a difference. I always walked in found the shoe that looked good and went with that. However I learned that there are actually 3 types of shoes: Motion controlled, stability and neutral. Most people are in stability and neutral shoes but a few people that protonate their feet should be using motion controlled shoes. The inside of all shoes are basically the same and that’s when you need to find inserts. The inserts are to provide heel support and can come from stores like Road Runner Sports (who even custom make inserts) or from a podiatrist who will make custom orthotics. Once you have the shoes down the next step is socks. The biggest suggestion was no socks. Gather some socks that are made with the dry wicking material such as cool max. Road Runner Sports even sells socks with individual toes. This is a great option for those people that develop blisters or hot spots between toes.

The next step is attire. Women need to start with a good supportive bra. You can find these with the dry wicking material as well to keep you cooler. The support needs to come from the bottom band and not the straps. Road Runner Sports had a wide selection and ranged up to DD. My only problem was that while they had the high cup sizes they did not have high band sizes. The highest I was able to find was a 38.

Once we have the outfits down the next step is to work on hydration. Road Runner Sports had an array of water bottles including some fuel packs. These belt packs had water bottles built into them. Shawn’s suggestion was to look at the mouth of the bottle though. When you’re waiting in line to refill you want to have a bottle with a wide mouth for easy pouring into. The big hint during the hydration portion of the clinic was to make sure you train with what you’re going to use. In other words don’t wait until the night before or day of to try out a new meal/powerbar or drink aid. The manager at Road Runner Sports was nice enough to pass along a Nuun sample for us to try. I will be trying mine out this weekend as the kids and I go for a long walk around town.

Accessories: We talked about accessory items to purchase to make life easier. While we’ll be walking in October we still want to wear sunscreen. I’ve seen the debates over Body Glide versus 2Toms Blister Shield. I have tried both but found for me the 2Toms Blister shield worked better for keeping blisters at bay. You place a scoop of the powder in your socks, shake them a little and place them on your feet. I’ve been using the 2Toms for a month or so now and haven’t had a single blister or hot spot. Heavenly news for this walker! The other cool item I found was Stuff-its. These cedar filled, foot shaped pouches go into your shoes to wick away moisture.

Onto the good stuff: Packing your bag for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure®. What do you need, not need, and how to pack it all! Make sure anything you pack has your name, tent number and ID number on it. If your bag happens to break or open in route to camp the crew will try to match your items back up but they need to know who it belongs to. For your clothing purchase some 2 gallon Ziploc bags to place your clothing in. They have the write on area on the front for your ID information.

Tenting needs:

2 tarps or shower curtains. I was able to purchase mine at Walmart. One is for inside your tent so if it rains there is a barrier between the wet ground and your stuff. The second one goes on top of the tent to act as another water barrier.
Clothespins or Binder Clips. These are for holding that tarp down.
Tent Decorations: Make sure there are no sharp or pointy objects with your tent decorations. You don’t want them poking through your bag or poking a crew member.
Pool float/airbed/sleeping bag. You want something to sleep on. I chose an airbed from Target. It has a pump built in and just requires some batteries.
Flashlight. You need something to be able to walk back and forth from tent to potty in the middle of the night. Bring some extra batteries for it just in case.
Flip flops or other easy in and out shoes for walking around camp. I would think something more open would be better for letting your toes air out after a long day of walking. I grabbed a pair of flip flops at Target and this is the best time to grab them with it being end of season.
Ear Plugs, especially if you are a light sleeper. We are sleeping in close quarters with 3000 other men and women who will be getting up at different times to use the bathroom or start their day.

Clothing needs:

Make sure to pack a set of clothes for each day, including two extra pair of socks.
PJ’s. As Jennifer stated this is not the time to pull out the Victoria’s Secret! Gather some comfortable. I grabbed a pair of sleep capris and a sleep tank from Lane Bryant. I can easily walk around camp and not feel exposed. (Trust me you all don’t want me exposed either.)
Poncho We’re walking DC in October. The weather is fickle so grab a poncho in case it rains.
Sweat shirt. Depending on your own desires you may want a sweat shirt for the morning or evening. Remember though if you go out for the day with that sweatshirt on and decide to take it off you still have to carry it. Many of the packs (either fanny or camelback) have space that would make it easy to hang or roll up your sweatshirt to carry it.
Shoes. Bring an extra pair or two of shoes to walk in. These need to be broken in BEFORE the walk.

Tolietries: Purchase the trial sizes to make your life easier. As for tooth brush and toothpaste a great suggestion from Shawn was the new Colgate Wisps. Disposable brushes with the toothpaste built in. They don’t even need water! You might want to grab some lip balm. And definitely bring some sunscreen.

While walking you will want to carry an extra pair of socks, at least one water bottle, your ID and some money. We’re walking in DC, we’re going to go past hundreds of stores and you just might decide you want to grab that Frappicino from Starbucks as a mid day pick me up.Your camera, the best idea I’ve heard ever for this was to take a picture of your contact info with your camera. That way if you happen to lose the camera the crew can find who it belongs to.

Things not to bring:
Anything with an electric cord. There is no space to plug it in. If you bring your cell phone you might bring the charger. If you run into the Starbucks ask them to use a power outlet to give your battery a quick charge. OR think about investing in an Energizer® Energi to go Charger. They come in all different price ranges and are easy to use with any phone. If you don’t want to carry that charger make sure you stop at the Energizer® Tent. First you get to meet me! But more important for you is there will be chargers of all kinds to recharge your phone as well as computers with internet to post a Facebook update or send an email home. Also if you are bringing your cell make a scheduled time to call home. Phones are not allowed to be used while on the route. You can use them at Pit stops, lunch and camp. To make your battery last longer, turn the phone off. Remember you also cannot have headphones in while walking.