Marathon Running

[MisterMints]

Hi all,

I've been type 1 for about 17/18 years so know about handling my condition pretty well but in the last year I have taken up running to the point where I've gone and entered the London Marathon.

I've never covered anywhere near 26.2 miles before, but have done 3 half marathons, and at the end of each one I'm getting to the point where I'm feeling wobbly. Whether that is low blood glucose, being exhausted, or a combination of the two I'm not sure. I always carry glucose tabs and/or energy gels with me on all runs (5km+) but with the huge increase in distance a full marathon demands I'm a little nervous about managing things.

I obviously don't want my glucose readings to be too high (although I accept they will have to be above my normal readings for the day) but a little unsure how to manage food, glucose levels, general running ability and everything else where I will basically be in the middle of London in nothing more than shorts and t-shirt and some gels in my pocket.

Has anyone with T1 here ever ran a marathon? Any tips on how to manage it (both the distance and the diabetes)? Any tips you can give, or glucose managing stretgies (especially since I won't be carrying a meter during the run so will be relying a lot on guess work and feelings)?

Thanks!

 

[Copepod]

There's a good website with lots of information about physiology, principles of exercise, plus specific information about individual sports, including marathon running etc: www.runsweet.com

Unless London Marathon has specific rules, there's nothing to stop you carrying a blood glucose test kit in a bumbag or held by elastic loops on a triathlon belt, loops which can also hold sports gels. I only do off road / mountain / fell / trail running, so always carry kit / food / spare clothing / map etc in a bumbag or rucksack.

 

[Northerner]

Hi MisterMints, welcome to the forum 🙂 I was a marathon runner for 30 years before I was diagnosed (incidentally, the week I was due to run the Stockholm Marathon! 😱). I haven't run a full marathon since diagnosis, but I have done Halfs and 10 milers, and plan on doing the Yorkshire Marathon this year.

Firstly, I would highly recommend you take your meter with you, both on training runs and definitely on the marathon itself. You can't rely on how you feel to tell you if you are high or low, and it could end very badly. Particularly due to the sheer distance involved, you are likely to feel very different to how you may have felt previously, and it would be very difficult to know whether it was a blood sugar issue or something else.

Distance running on insulin is a very individual thing, and how your body copes will vary greatly from person to person, so you need to learn on your training runs what methods and tactics for fuelling yourself work for you. Personally, I have found that I can run for about 5 miles before my levels start dropping, then I need a jelly baby every mile or two to keep levels up. I prefer to start a run between 8-10 mmol/l, injecting and eating around 1.5-2 hours prior to the run. If running more than 10 miles then I will do a test to ensure my levels are OK.

If you take this approach on your training runs then you should discover what works best for you. You might also like to have a look at the runsweet website:

http://www.runsweet.com/DiabetesAndSport.html

 

[MisterMints]

Thanks for the links guys.

I had thought about carrying a load of equipment and food but wasn't really sure how to go about it. I understnad the reasoning behind carying the blood meter on the marathon, but I'm not sure about the practicality of it, and if I stopped to take a reading, if I would be able to get going again!!

Taking sugar sources out with me is almost difficult enough. I've searched long and hard to find shorts with zippable pockets to store things in as I find wearing gel belts or bum bags uncomfortable, just through the feeling of them sort of bouncing on me.

I'll take a look at Run Sweet in some more detail and see what else I can find or read on the subject. I understand it will be slightly more difficult running with T1 but it would be nice to be able to do the marathon as "normally" as possible without the need to carry bags etc with equipment in.

 

[Northerner]

I use a Spibelt to carry my meter in, plus a few jelly babies - it doesn't bounce around and you instantly forget you are wearing it 🙂

Stopping to test is an annoyance, but I think it is worth it, especially when you are new to the distance and learning how your body reacts.

 

[MisterMints]

Thanks Northerner.

I've seen DC Rainmaker talk about these Spibelts before, but wasn't sure if they were big enough to carry everything I need in. I have invested in an SIS gel belt like the one below, but haven't had a chance to test it out yet. The front pocket does seem reasonably large though.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SIS-GO-GE...K_SportGoods_CyclAcces_RL&hash=item3cf0cd0cd9

What do you do about insulin, in terms of when to take it? I'm on a mixture of Levemir (long acting, at 10am and 10pm) and NovoRapid (short acting, before each meal) so potentially 5 or 6 injections per day depending on what I eat. With the need to take Levemir twice a day, 12 hours apart I'm not sure how to manage this, and potentially start a slow change from 10am/pm now to maybe 8am/pm by the time of the marathon so I'm not having to a) carry it with me and b) inject it mid race. Obviously this is more of a question for my doctor, but any real world experiences you might be able to share would be most welcome