'The benefits of running with diabetes are so significant'

My diabetes story starts at the end of 2001 when I was diagnosed with Type 1.

At the time I was working with a group of colleagues that were very fit and motivated. We used to run together at lunchtimes and at the time I was also cycling 12 to 14miles each way from Bristol to Bath for work.

My diagnosis was self administered. Rampaging thirst, repeating thrush and rapid weight loss. When I typed into netdoctor, one result turned up. A visit to the GP confirmed the situation - Type 1 diabetes.

The detail of the next few weeks are a blur. I remember being on tablets and trying to control my diabetes with diet - that never worked so I started insulin treatment.

The first injection was the hardest - it was like my arm could not move! It was locked with the needle six inches from my stomach. Once the first one had been done it became easier, and like most diabetics I rarely consider the injection or even feel it.

The one thing that never changed was that I continued playing sport. I played football with colleagues and continued running.

This was all very low key stuff during the working day as I was commuting for work and had a young family, my son being two at the time with a daughter arriving before he was to turn three.

All through this period sport was about breaking up the working day and socialising as most of it was with colleagues. A couple of injuries (damaged hamstring and then a knee cartilidge) meant that I gave up playing football and concentrated on running and then latterly triathlon.

It was in 2007 in the May that year that I started racing with the Tewkesbury Triathlon  over the sprint distance of 400m swim, 22km bike and 5km run. It was a brilliant event - I loved everything about it and was hooked!

Later that year I did the first of three Windsor triathlons that I have done at the Olympic distance of 1500m swim, 42km bike and 10km run. I have also done the Blenheim Sprint Tri, London Olympic Tri (where I broke 2hr 30mins) and the Cotswold Tri.

Training for these events is great fun and has a massive positive effect on my diabetes control.  The time I have the most consistent issue is my blood sugar first thing in the morning. When I am training this improves significantly with morning readings rarely above 9mmol.

I also find that, when training, the amount of insulin I need to administer reduces with the same effect. This makes the control so much simpler as the doses are smaller and easier to predict.

Training also means that I manage to control my weight with that having been consistent at 70-72kg for the past six or seven years.

What I learned from having diabetes is that it needn't stop me doing anything that I want. I just need to be better prepared than my non-diabetic training buddies. So when we go on rides or runs, I make sure I have plenty of fuel with me in the form of glucose tablets, gels and energy bars. The last thing I need is to bonk during training or racing!

Managing blood sugar during these periods took some doing with, in the early days, my having to stop to take blood sugar readings. Now with years of experience I can manage my blood sugar in a session without the need to take readings. I know what I will need for specific types of sessions and manage with pretty much zero impact.

When I am with my training buddies there is no difference between us and I suppose for me that is the main point.

Aside from the fact that on any race number I have I need to write that I am diabetic, there is no difference between me and any other athlete. We have all trained, prepared and are ready to race. I may have an extra gel and my omnipresent glucose tablets but there's no difference.

Taking it one stage further I have been looking for a longer challenge. Something over and above an olympic distance triathlon. The natural progression would have been to try an Ironman triathlon. When I considered the training undertaking for an event such as that it is just too much, also I will confess to be a little daunted and scared by the distances involved!

As a runner first and foremost, I decided to look into ultra running which is anything over marathon distance normally 50km or 50 miles.

There is a local 50km run in May and then I will go for a 50 miler at the end of the season. Plan B was to do the Gloucester Marathon, I also have a couple of shorter running races already in the calender such as The Mayhill Massacre in February and Cleevewold  Cross country in March. I was a runner before I stepped into triathlon and I can get my head around the training and undertaking for such an event.

From my experience the benefits of running with diabetes are so significant. My weight is under control and my blood sugar control is largley very good. There are also the benefits that everyone gets from running, improved mental and physical health and well being.

Knowing your physical reactions to the training and racing you do, understanding when to train and when not to, and proper planning are essential, but not insurmountable. As a diabetic the amount of information you process every meal time is considerable, being active and competitive is, in my opinion, an extension of that.