Story by Dan T1D
Running allows me to challenge myself and see what my body is capable of achieving. I also get to do some of my best thinking when I’m running which I’m grateful for as I can switch off to a certain extent from the outside world. I run with the running collective Mafia Moves in Tottenham, North London which makes running even more enjoyable. I get to run with great people in a great environment and know that regardless of the day or week I’ve had (we run on Tuesdays and Saturdays) I’m guaranteed to laugh at least once in the session. Mafia Moves was the real catalyst for me starting my running journey. After starting running I did my first 10k in July 2023 followed by my first half marathon in September 2023 and then my first marathon earlier this year.
Running is challenging because it requires a level of endurance and sometimes the ability to push through discomfort. My preference is for shorter distances (more sprinting) however running for longer distances means stepping out of my comfort zone. There are also lessons to take from training blocks for an event that you can use in life, particularly around discipline and setting and achieving goals.
Running with type 1 diabetes adds an extra layer of complexity like many others living with my condition, we can’t just get up and run we have to consider a few things. Type 1 diabetes is an auto-immune condition which means that my body doesn’t produce the hormone insulin. I need to inject insulin multiple times a day to keep me alive. Alongside this, daily I regularly check my glucose levels as both low (hypo) and high (hyperglycaemia) glucose levels can have a significant impact on me.
When running low and high glucose levels can significantly impact my running performance. It sounds easy on paper but it isn’t. When I first started running I was very worried about how my glucose levels would react because it was all new to me and I would carry extra hypo treatments with me just in case. However over time as I started to run more I began to learn how my body reacts to running. I’m better at understanding however there is still a lot to learn. Running helps me to manage my type 1 diabetes as it helps to keep my glucose levels stable and also increases insulin sensitivity which means I need to take less insulin. Although it takes time to manage type 1 diabetes when running (there’s preparation before the activity, during and hours afterwards) the positives outweigh any negatives.
My biggest running achievement was completing the London Marathon this year and growing up in London it was an experience to run the marathon after watching it on TV over the years. I recommend anyone run it if they get the chance to do it.