Andrew King
Diabetes affects more than two million Canadians and requires people with the disease to carefully monitor their health, from the food they eat to the amount they exercise, in order to maintain a balanced lifestyle.
So when Westmount native and third-year medical student Anne Hospod decided to run the New York City Marathon Nov. 2 to raise diabetes awareness and funding, a disease she has lived with most of her life, she had to take extra precautions.
“What better city to run your first marathon in!” said the 25-year-old from Krakow, Poland, where she is studying medicine at Jagiellonian University Collegium Medicum, Europe’s oldest medical school.
Hospod took off for Europe, her favourite place to travel, after completing her undergrad at McGill. But she plans to return to North America to begin paediatric residency when she finishes.
“What a beautiful community,” said Hospod of Westmount. “I was very fortunate to grow up [there].”
“I have never known a life without diabetes,” said Hospod, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was only four, has to monitor her blood sugar level every day before she eats, and must self-inject insulin.
Hospod, who got involved with Team Diabetes in January, an organization that participates in marathons all over the world to raise money in support of diabetes research, education and awareness, said she had always dreamt of completing a marathon and raise money for a “worthwhile cause.”
“I [used to] consider 5 km a long run,” said Hospod, who led an active lifestyle but had never run a marathon before. “I just ran 18 miles in the rain yesterday,” she said, adding she just decided to run the Barcelona marathon in March next year.
She began her 16-week training program in early July to prepare for the big day, but she said training as a diabetic has been “tricky,” having to test her blood sugar levels multiple times a day.
Of the three types of diabetes, type 1 is commonly something people are born with, said Randi Garcha of the Canadian Diabetes Association.
Garcha stressed that anyone with diabetes thinking of running a marathon should be in close consultation with their doctor to find out what “requirements are needed in terms of training, in terms of exercise,” and diet.
“I must recognize my symptoms, diagnose the problem and give myself the appropriate treatment. I am always on call,” said Hospod.
So far, she is well on her way to achieving her goal, having raised $3,600 of the required $5,000 in pledges set by Team Diabetes. With a few weeks to go, she is confident that she will make it, but more importantly raise awareness about the disease.
“I want to empower children living with diabetes to believe that anything is possible as long as they lead a healthy lifestyle and take responsibility for their condition.”
