About Don Muchow

Why I Run (and Ride and Swim)

In case you haven't noticed, even though as of 2022 I still hold the record for the first-ever run from Disneyland to Walt Disney World (2020-2021) and the Fastest Known Time run across Texas (2019), it's rare when I set or break a record. I'm not Scott Jurek, Karl Meltzer, or Pete Kostelnik. I'm "Joe Everyman." I started late. I didn't do a full Ironman until age 57.

Which means that nothing I've done should be out of reach for OTHER T1D Joes and Janes out there. Sure, I constantly test my limits, but I try to do it carefully and methodically. With Type 1 Diabetes you have to be that way. If I learn something, I share it.

There's a saying among Type 1s that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the same blood sugar result. Sometimes stuff just doesn't go your way. I've bailed on unsafe races and had sucky races due to super-high BGs at the starting line. And sometimes I get lucky. Once I accidentally came in third place in a quadruple marathon because I didn't know my running buddy was going for first place. Those moments are treasured gifts and remind me I'm capable of more.

As someone whose blood sugar might drop suddenly during exercise and cause seizures, pushing my limits is more than a little scary. You don't know how things are going to go, and I want to know how to do them safely. Sometimes that means not waiting for answers or examples, but going out and getting the data yourself.

My mission is to show fellow Type 1 diabetics that while our mutual fears of low blood sugars are justifiable, with help, we can find safe ways to be physically active and even epic. That starts with finding others who've already done what we're trying to do, and when no one's done those things, DOING them, sharing what you've learned, and lifting each other up.