I've talked a few times about Run Across America and that Tom, along with 9 other Type 1 diabetics from Team Type 1 Sanofi will run from California to New York in 16 days. The run starts Thursday. Holy smokes.
I've added a banner to my sidebar. Once the race starts, you'll be able to track where the guys are. I'll be updating things along the way as much as possible too. Please keep these guys (and their families) in your thoughts as they embark on this amazing journey!!!
Marcus Grimm, one of the TT1-Sanofi members wrote a great kick off story about the adventure. Enjoy...
|
A Recipe for Success
- Marcus Grimm
|
Assuming you wanted to send a bunch of diabetic runners across the
United States in sixteen days, here’s what could be called an
approximate recipe for success. “Approximate” because the journey
doesn’t actually begin until Friday, October 28th. Whether or not the
results will be as stellar as those anticipated by the management,
sponsors and supporters of Team Type 1 remains to be seen, but most
great accomplishments start with a plan, so let’s begin there.
The first move is to start with a field of some of the top diabetic
runners in the country. Truth be told, this is the “gimme” in our
recipe, something the team has had for some time now. Many of the squad
descended on rural New Jersey in March for an “Ultra-Fest,” which
consisted of five races ranging from marathon distance to one hundred
miles. By the time the runners left, Team Type 1 had representatives
finishing no lower than 7th in any of the races, including a victory in
the in the 100k (62.5 miles) and a second place finish in the marathon.
But because 3,000 miles is very far and because 16 days is very long,
the runners have been chosen as much for what makes them different as
for what makes them similar. In order to maintain steady pace, there are
a few speedsters on the crew; guys like New York’s Matt Patrick, who
hasn’t run a marathon slower than three hours in more than ten years.
Patrick, Casey Boren, Kevin Powell, and Kona Ironman participant Ben
Semeyn are certainly here because of their ability to pound out miles
quickly.
But there’s more to the recipe than speed. There’s endurance, too.
That’s why ultra-specialists like Jon Obst and Ryan Jones are on the
team. Jones, from Morrisville PA, won a twelve-hour race on a very hot
and humid Labor Day a little more than a year ago, covering seventy
sweat-soaked miles along the way. Meanwhile Obst is looking forward to
his birthday in January, at which time he’ll run one hour for each year
of his life, just as he did last year (when he turned 28) and for the
two years prior to that.
Experience is critical, of course, because no man on this team has ever
run across the country before, but team manager Tom Kingery has raced
across the country two times on his bicycle with Team Type 1, setting a
world record in the process. Kingery was indispensable in this entire
process, and if he’s only one cog in the wheel once the run starts, he
was pretty much the whole engine in getting the run to this point.
You might look at a guy like Eric Tozer and feel that with just two
marathons under his belt he’s a little green for this journey. But know
this: his marathon a few weeks ago in Chicago was around three and a
half hours, a full one hour faster than the one he ran in March. Plus,
he’s young – barely 27 - and when you’re running 18 miles per day, young
muscles recover faster.
Of course, we won’t mention young muscles to Tom Grossman and Brian
Foster, both of whom have had diabetes about as long as Eric Tozer has
been alive. These men will serve as the diabetic sages for the squad,
simply because there probably isn’t a technique they haven’t tried in
their own relentless pursuits to control a disease that for the most
part, has little interest in being controlled.
Many cross country runs strive to have a doctor on the support crew, but
with space at a premium, Team Type 1 upped the ante by including a
diabetic runner who also happens to be a doctor. Dr. Chris Zenker’s
duties, one could expect, might involve a bit more than delivering the
requisite miles.
But the runners are just the beginning. The next move is to divide the
roster into two units. Certainly, running ability is part of the recipe,
but so is personality, as each of the groups will spend more than two
weeks together, of which their time will be spent mostly running, or
trying to be comfortable in the van.
With the squads divided up, the next move is to divide the country into
more than 60 more or less equal chunks. Team A eats up miles for about 8
hours, and then Team B does the same. Rinse and repeat until California
eventually gives way to New York. An RV also follows along, providing
the runners with the comforts that can’t be found in the van.
With the runners and logistics taken care of, there’s still the matter
of financing this dream, and for that Team Type 1 has their sponsors to
thank. Drug company SANOFI is the team’s title sponsor and don’t think
for a moment this run would happen without them, but they’re not the
only ones. From the Newton shoes on the runners’ feet to the hundreds of
Clif Bars they’ll consume and the sleek sunglasses courtesy of VSP
VisionCare, if it takes a village to raise a child, it takes more than a
few companies to get a team of diabetic runners across the country.
If there’s a secret ingredient in our recipe, it’s the spouses and loved
ones of the athletes waiting at home. While a supportive wife might be a
prerequisite, it wouldn’t hurt if you were lucky enough to be married
to someone who qualifies for wings and a halo. From Jennifer Semeyn and
Tricia Foster, looking after Ben and Brian’s young babies at home to
Colleen Kingery, who’ll be watching over the family business while Tom
is out, the sacrifices endured during these two weeks stretches far
further than the soles and shins of the athletes.
Ironically, what our recipe doesn’t need is a nurse or an
endocrinologist to monitor the blood sugars and insulin requirements of
the runners. These athletes learned long ago that they each hold the
greatest responsibility in controlling their diabetes. They’ll be their
own guardians, even as they’re watching out for each other, counting
carbohydrates, doing blood sugar tests and adjusting insulin intake as
their bodies adjust to the pounding of each mile.
There is a joke among diabetics that used blood sugar testing strips –
barely one inch long and only a quarter of that wide – have a habit of
clinging to clothing and falling in the strangest of places. Expect that
by the time the vans reach the East Coast, the floorboards of both vans
will be littered with these strips, much like confetti, celebrating an
incredible journey that has been years in the making.
About the Run Across America and Team Type 1:
Team Type 1 is made up of 100 of some of the finest professional and
diabetic athletes in the world. Their mission is to promote wellness and
achievement among diabetics worldwide. The Run Across America, a
journey of more 3,000 miles, culminates on November 14, World Diabetes
Day, in New York City.
