Has anyone participated in the Diabetes Training Camp?

I keep getting email updates from this organization for some reason, and now I am starting to wonder if it would be worth doing. It looks legit, and is actually going to hold a session near me. Has anyone here done this? I’d love to hear your experiences.

Diabetes Training Camp

This organization is totally legit. I’ve been to the Diabetes Training Camp and it definitely changed me. I considered myself active and fit prior to going to the camp but after leaving the week long tri training, I was an athlete. For me it was a frame of mind in addition to a physical state. While the camp is focused on tri training, there were many who were just cycling enthusiasts or runners only and some that have never really engaged in any of the sports. It’s open to everyone of all athletic levels. No matter your level, you will get a lot out of it athletically. The coaches are tops in the world. Read their bios on the web and you will think, “I have access to this level of expertise?!”. Yes, you too can be trained by the best of the best.

The MD and the amazing medical team is…well…amazing! You will learn so much about exercise physiology and then how to apply that to diabetes management. They’ve given me the confidence and knowledge to move forward with my own athletic goals. I’m now part of an amazing group of woman who have diabetes from all over the country (and Canada) who will be doing the Longhorn 1/2 Iron Man in October and many of us met through the camp. Watch out for Team WILD.

I went to DTC last June and it was an amazing experience. I’d heard rave reviews from a friend who attended, so I expected to have fun and learn a lot - but I was still really pleasantly surprised. I ended up doing the cycling sessions only, I planned to do some running and swimming too but got so much out of the bike sessions that I didn’t want to miss anything. Their coach at that camp was Nicole, she was a lot of fun and improved my bike handling skills in a huge way. They did a couple bike sessions per day, usually with skills training and drills first thing in the a.m. and a group ride in the afternoon with lecture sessions in between. You could choose between these and running or swimming sessions at the same time, and they had other yoga/pilates/strength training sessions throughout the day. The lectures were really helpful and quite interesting, and I got the feeling the staff were just as interested in learning from us as we were from them. The staff were all available for private meetings as well, so you can schedule sessions with the physical therapist, dieticians, MD, sports psychologist, etc.
The meals were ok, decent for dorm food (and with a pretty good salad bar) and with nutrition information posted for all the entrees. DTC also had a huge variety of snacks and sugar sources piled on every available surface in the dorms and gym. They seemed incredibly well-prepared for all diabetes emergencies, and always had a medic with extra meters, glucose, insulin, etc. out with every training group. Also, anyone who didn’t have a CGM had the option of getting hooked up to a Medtronic sensor for the week. They also include a VO2 max test and go over the results with you, which was incredibly helpful for me in learning how to train effectively.
The best part for me by far was the camaraderie, it was really amazing to be around so many other like-minded diabetics (although you would never tell whose pump alarm was going off), and it was really hard to leave at the end of the week. I laughed and cried harder at DTC than I have in years, and made a lot of good friends. It’s expensive, but you get way more than your money’s worth. If you can make it happen, do it!

DTC blew my freaking mind. It totally messed me up (in an amazing way) being around all of those other diabetics. Sign up dude. The coaches are world class and so is Dr. Matt and the rest of the camp staff. I learned more about living with diabetes than other doctors have taught me in 29 years of this insulin dependency. Then there was the fact that I learned to swim like a real swimmer, and got my first road bike all at the same time. The experience was one of the most meaningful of my entire life. It helped transform a struggling diabetic into an Ironman. Don’t make excuses. Just do it.

I heard from Triabetes that someone was asking about Diabetes Training Camp (DTC). I had to jump in. Up until a few years ago I was an old fashioned diabetic - NPH, regular, ultra - the whole 9 yards. I kept in pretty good control - I was always kind of active. Things were going OK so I never really saw the need to see an endocrinologist. I mean lets face it about doctors in general - you see them only occasionally, they tell you to do something which you either do or don’t and then you get no feedback for a few months. Lather, rinse, repeat. Well, they stopped making ultra so I figured it was time to become a 20th century diabetic and I went to an endocrinologist. I did get caught up a bit (lantus and novolog) which was nice. Lather, rinse, repeat. Well, my type 1 neighbor was one of the forces behind the formation of the Triabetes project (www.triabetes.org) and he talked me into doing Ironman. I wasn’t a runner or swimmer at the time. Long story short - Triabetes was absolutely wonderful for me as a diabetic, but the real gift of it was a chance to go to Diabetes Training Camp. I learned more about diabetes and myself in that week than in the previous 25 years of doctor visits combined. Dr. Matt Corcoran is one of the few real doctors I have ever met. He had a vision for what diabetes care should be and made it a reality. He really works with diabetics as individual human beings. He is both teacher and healer. But it doesn’t end there. His staff is not just good, as Tony the Tiger would say - they’re grreat. Dr. Matt’s belief is that exercise is a necessary component of diabetes care and so DTC is designed to help anyone and everyone incorporate exercise into their lives - whether you were a seasoned triathlete or a non-athlete. I fell in the middle (to low end) of that spectrum and I got to be coached by people like Rick Crawford (Team Type 1, Levi Leipheimer, Lance Armstrong, etc etc etc), Josh Gold (Push Hard), Celeste St. Pierre…they saved Ironman for me. Rick simply because he is a cycling genius, and Josh and Celeste because they taught me how to swim…I’m really only barely joking about the swimming part. In short, no matter where you are as an athlete, DTC will will be incredibly worthwhile. No matter where you are as a Diabetic, DTC will be incredibly worthwhile. I think that DTC added years to my life. I believe DTC to be the best thing I have ever done concerning my health. And did I mention that is was a blast as well?

A few months ago my husband (who is my biggest supporter and amazing) said, “I wish you could go back to camp right now, it’s the happiest I’ve ever seen/heard you when you were with other diabetics.” It was amazing to be with other athletes and diabetics too. We bonded on many levels and were able to talk about diabetes a lot, talk about our lives, and work out a ton! It pushed me and educated me in a deeper way about my body than I ever could have imagined. I can’t wait for it to work with my schedule again! It’s something that I could go to over and over again for sure!

I totally recommend taking the plunge and going to camp! I went to the DTC in Chicago last June and it completely changed how I thought about life with diabetes. The camp is set up so well that everyone can benefit from something; from fine tuning your current exercise regime, to finding motivation to start and exercise regime, to making friends with diabetes…and so on. Like my Team WILD teammate, Kathleen, camp inspired me to try doing triathlons. I’ll be joining her in completing the Longhorn 1/2 Ironman this fall in Texas. Go Team WILD!

As if you haven’t already heard enough rave reviews about DTC, here is one more. I have attended the camp two years in a row and definitely plan to go again. I was very intimidated at first because while I am active, I am not an athlete. I borrowed a road bike from my brother-in-law, so I could cycle while I was there. I owned a mountain bike already, but had never really road biked. With the amazing coaching and assistance and motivation, I was a cycling fool, loving every minute of it. I bought a bike when I returned home and have really taken to it. I always tell people who ask about my experience, that it was “life changing”. I learned more in 1 week than I had in the 7 years since I was diagnosed. I refer to my first camp as Diabetes 101 – everything was new and informative and I soaked it all in. The second camp was Diabetes 201 for me – the staff stepped up the information and were able to really help me focus on taking my training to a new level. One of the biggest benefits of both camps is what it does for me mentally. Dealing with diabetes on a daily basis can be wearing, and I found that with swings in numbers, I was beating myself up. What a dream is was to be around an intelligent group of people battling the same issues, struggles, and successes. And lastly, it needs to be said again that this is an unusual medical staff that cares as much about learning from people who are living it day to day as they do about teaching us something we may not know. And, I guarantee – you will learn so much that you did not know!! Go! Sign up! You will not regret a minute of it! Tell everyone you know that is diabetic and could benefit from it. Good luck and I hope to meet you there.

I went to camp three years ago- and it saved my life! I loved it, meet wonderful people… and the greatest caring doctor: Matt Corcoran. I hope to do an Ironman in the near future- and with Matt’s help I have been able to spend thousands of miles on my bike this year! I learned so much on how to be an athlete with Type 1- I was diagnosed with Type 1 at the age of 42- and the camp was the best experience for me. A friend of my went to this camp last year and he thought it was the best too! You need to go! You will feel great! You will learn so much…go!

Amazing - the camp is simply amazing. It’s changed my life. I’ve been to it twice and plan to go again. I can’t say enough about it–the staff is fantastic. Matt Corcoran has pioneered the greatest thing since insulin and sliced bread. DTC is not just a week long camp; it’s an entry point to a community of support with wonderful people.

Wow, thanks everyone! Ok, I’m sold.
Eugene, here I come!

You will not be disappointed in camp! It will be an experience you will enjoy- and you will learn so much about yourself and diabetes! Go for it!

Well, I signed up for the Oregon camp in August, paid half the fee and sent an email to the program director. She replied that they are changing the format for the Eugene camp to be more “general fitness” and there won’t be cycling or swimming, but maybe a running coach, strength training, pilates, etc.
I’m reconsidering whether I really want to attend now. The director didn’t do much to really sell me on what this new program is all about. She suggested that if cycling is my focus that I attend the Arizona camp in March instead, but that doesn’t work so well with my schedule. If I wanted to go to Arizona in the spring I would go watch the Mariners spring training, not shack up with out-of-shape diabetics for a week. And I’ll be damned if I am going to do pilates.
How disappointing. I’m still kind of interested, I guess, but reconsidering. From all the rave reviews here I am surprised they want to change anything to their program. :frowning: