Thriveabetes 2016 Speaker, Gavin Griffiths, also known as the DiAthlete, comes to Dublin and Belfast on the 26/27 April as part of his challenge to take on 100 Extreme Challenges with Diabetes. He intends to run 25 marathons in one month. If successful in completing all 25 marathons he will have completed a total of 100 endurance challenges with type 1 diabetes in the 10 years!
Gavin lives was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 8 in 2000 and hopes that by doing this he will inspire others living with type 1 diabetes that they too can achieve their dreams but also to raise awareness in the wider public about the challenges living with type 1 diabetes.
He is also fundraising for T1International and The League of DiAthletes: a group of dedicated ambassadors living with type 1 from around the world who run educational workshops to support their local diabetes communities in low-income countries. People can donate to support these projects here.
Gavin plans to take on Dublin on Thursday 26th April and Belfast on Friday 27th April, more information about starting and finishing points, where he will welcome local T1D Heroes to run with Gavin’s Olympic Torch from the 2012 London Olympics, can be found on the DiAthlete’s Facebook Event page.
Gavin’s Previous Extreme Challenges with Diabetes include:
GBR 30/30 Challenge: running 30 mile routes every day for 30 days from John O’Groats to Land’s End in the UK;
the Manhattan Marathons: running 7 marathons in 7 days around Long Island, NY, for the type 1 charity Marjorie’s Fund;
mHealth Grand Tour: cycling 1500km in 9 days from Brussels to Geneva, including pedalling over a few Alp mountains;
World Diabetes Tour T1D Challenge 100km hike around an active volcanic mountain called Hekla in Iceland…
Even though Gavin takes on these crazy challenges, he feels it's important for people to know that while growing up with type 1 diabetes he wondered what this condition actually was, hated it for much of my childhood and in some regards feels he learned his lessons the hard way.
He says, “I’m not superhuman, but if there is a part of me which is, well, it stems from having the right attitude when it comes to living with type 1 diabetes.”
Gavin wrote a blog post for Thriveabetes in October 2016 where you can read more about his type 1 diabetes journey which you can read here. Don't forget to follow the 100 Extreme Challenges with Diabetes Adventure on Facebook.