I just ran a half marathon with perfect blood sugars. I can't believe I'm saying that!
Five months ago, I wrote about preparing for my first half marathon with type 1 diabetes. My first one was the Bournemouth Half Marathon in October 2024 and I've just completed my second in Exeter where I live. I was so pleased to run it 7 minutes faster than last time and, more importantly, with blood sugar 100% in range throughout. Last time I ran a half marathon my blood sugars were a mess so this felt like a double win. You can see what I mean here:
I thought it would be useful to share what I did as I had such a positive BG experience this time around.
Running with type one diabetes: preparation
Good dinner (fish and chips) but no alcohol the night before
Temp target set 2 hours before run
Cup of tea but no breakfast on the morning of the run
15 minutes before the run started – ate a small snack
Starting BG stable and in range at 7.4
During the run
Drip fed 1 Maoam (7g carbs) every 10 minutes (no bolus)
Didn’t use energy gels
Insulin pump clipped to running belt for easy access
Checked BG on pump every 20ish minutes
CGM signal reliable throughout
Had finger pricking kit on me just in case
Had more carbs on me than I thought I’d need, just in case
After the run
Cancelled Temp target as soon as I got home
No post run spike in BGs
Closely monitored BGs for the rest of the day
Had snacks and reduced bolus at mealtimes to try to avoid hypos
Quick change of Simplera Sensor to minimise time without CGM and Smartguard
Next time
I'm aiming to keep getting faster
I will experiment with alternative carb sources (while Maoams worked, it was annoying to unwrap each one while running and afterwards my mouth and teeth felt horrible)
Why were my BGs a mess last time?
It was a later start time (11am) so I ate a small breakfast in the morning and this threw off my starting BGs (I under-bolused for breakfast and this meant my BG was rising when I started the run)
I didn’t fuel throughout the run as planned because I was worried about my BGs being high. I only took one gel
I had to cancel Smart guard so I could give myself small correction doses during the run (when in Smartguard it wanted to be much more aggressive)
The messy BGs were really distracting and made the run less enjoyable
So much of life with diabetes is about learning from the practical experience. I'm so glad I’ve got a positive template for running with type one diabetes that I can refer back to, but the biggest lesson I’ve taken from the latest run is DRIP FEED CARBS for the win!
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