17 People with Diabetes Accomplish NYC Marathon

I’ve been to a few marathons (as a spectator!) in my days, but this past weekend for the first time ever, I experienced the New York City Marathon. What an amazing experience to cheer on over 50,000 runners as they ran from Staten Island up through The Bronx. No matter what mile you were at, you could feel the energy and excitement of this race, even despite the constant drizzle that started shortly after many runners took to the pavement.

My reason for attending the marathon, was to cheer on 17 runners – all living with diabetes – who signed up with the Beyond Type Run team. Medtronic was proud to sponsor the team this year and that allowed me to play a unique role throughout the entire weekend. I can speak on behalf of myself and the Medtronic team to say that we are each incredibly inspired by the Beyond Type Run team and their determination to cross such a monumental finish line.

I was fortunate enough to get to know a few of these awesome people the day before the race and it was truly an honor to cheer them on as they ran their hearts out for 26.2 miles! It was great to get to know their personal stories of living with diabetes, because we all know that living with diabetes can be hard. Combine diabetes with training to run for somewhere up to 6 hours, is nothing short of inspiring.

We started marathon day with the Beyond Type 1 team, at a local restaurant where the group took to making signs and anxiously watched the app that allowed them to track the progress for each of the runners. We all headed from the restaurant to position ourselves on the side lines of mile 8 where we waited for some of the runners to pass by and recorded a Facebook Live event. The energy was electric.

After many of the runners passed by, we knew we wanted to find them at a few other mile markers so we they could hear us cheering for them to help motivate them to keep going. We took the subway and made the trek from mile 8 to mile 18.  Being on the subway and seeing groups of people with homemade signs, ready to jump off and cheer on the runners was so refreshing.

At mile 18, you’d think these runners would be exhausted! Yet, as we cheered for each of them, they had smiles on their faces and waved proudly out to us. We followed on with the race by heading over to mile 23. I’ve heard how hard this part of the race can be because you’re so close to the finish, but still have a little over 3 miles left to run. This particular part of the race looked excruciating. It was up a hill, the rain had started to come down a bit more and night time was upon us. Yet again, as each of the runners went past us, they looked excited.

I think overall, it speaks volumes to the runners who were each running for a cause that went beyond their own personal story. They were running for all others out there who are living with diabetes. For those who are newly diagnosed, questioning if diabetes might change them or limit their aspirations. For those who have had diabetes for a lifetime and are weary from the years of needles and symptoms. They were running to inspire and empower the entire diabetes community. They were running for you.

While I can’t call out all 17 runners, there are three teammates who I do want to acknowledge:

#InspiredbyCaitlin – Caitlin has been living with diabetes for only 2 years and was determined to run her third marathon to show that diabetes doesn’t hold her back. She had been fighting a head cold for three days leading up to the marathon. Running a full marathon with diabetes is hard enough, add to that a cold and the havoc it plays on your blood sugar. Wow! Way to go Caitlin!

#InspiredbyJulie – Julie is one of our MiniMed Ambassadors who recently transitioned to the MiniMed 670G system. She has done a ton of crazy adventurous things in her lifetime (including a solo bike trip across Iceland) but this was her first marathon! She put her mind to do something new to challenge herself and showcase her commitment to the diabetes community, and she excelled. Julie – I hope you feel like a champion!

#InspiredbyMary – We saw Mary a few times during the race and she always ran past us jumping up and down with excitement. She didn’t have the smoothest day with her diabetes management but showcased how resilient she is, taking the moments as they came and rolling with the punches. Some of the most touching moments of the day were seeing her react to her mom and boyfriend on the sidelines. You could tell that the support of her loved ones put an extra spring in her step. Mary, you truly were an inspiration. We are so proud of you!

It was such an inspiring day and one I will not forget. Thank you to all of the runners for being an inspiration to me, the Medtronic team, and the rest of the diabetes community. We are truly inspired by you!

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

The Medtronic MiniMed 670G system requires a prescription and is intended for continuous delivery of basal insulin (at user selectable rates) and administration of insulin boluses (in user selectable amounts) for the management of Type 1 diabetes mellitus in persons, fourteen years of age and older, requiring insulin as well as for the continuous monitoring and trending of glucose levels in the fluid under the skin. The MiniMed 670G System includes SmartGuard technology, which can be programmed to automatically adjust delivery of basal insulin based on Continuous Glucose Monitor sensor glucose values, and can suspend delivery of insulin when the sensor glucose value falls below or is predicted to fall below predefined threshold values.

WARNING: Do not use Auto Mode for a period of time after giving a manual injection of insulin by syringe or pen. Manual injections are not accounted for in Auto Mode. Therefore, Auto Mode could deliver too much insulin. Too much insulin may cause hypoglycemia. Consult with your healthcare professional for how long you need to wait after a manual injection of insulin before you resume Auto Mode.

The Guardian Sensor (3) is not intended to be used directly for making therapy adjustments, but rather to provide an indication of when a finger stick may be required. All therapy adjustments should be based on measurements obtained using a home glucose monitor and not on values provided by the Guardian Sensor (3).

Pump therapy is not recommended for people whose vision or hearing does not allow recognition of pump signals and alarms. Do not use the serter on products other than the Enlite sensor or Guardian Sensor (3). Medtronic cannot guarantee the safety or efficacy of this product if used with other products. The reservoir is contraindicated for the infusion of blood or blood products. Infusion sets are indicated for subcutaneous use only and not for intravenous (IV) infusion or the infusion of blood or blood products. Insulin pump therapy is not recommended for those who are unwilling to perform at least four blood glucose tests per day. As insulin pumps use rapid acting insulin only, BG testing is required to help identify rapid glycemic deterioration due to insulin infusion occlusion, infusion site problems, insulin stability issues, user error, or a combination of these. Pump therapy is not recommended for people who are unwilling or unable to maintain contact with their healthcare professional.

The safety of the 670G system has not been studied in people with impaired kidney function. Please let your healthcare professional know if you have kidney disease so you and your healthcare professional can determine if the potential benefits of using the system outweigh the risks. The safety of the 670G system has not been studied in pregnant women, people with type 2 diabetes, or in people using other anti-hyperglycemic therapies apart from insulin. Please let your healthcare professional know if any of these conditions apply to you so you and your healthcare professional can determine if the potential benefits of using the system outweigh the risks.

For complete safety information, please consult the appropriate User Guide.

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