From Jamie "Tu" You

I am Jamie, the Diabetic Runner. I’m a 33 year old Minnesota native, living in Northern California with my beautiful family of 4. I’m a research scientist/systems engineer for a major telecom, and an adventure seeker who sometimes borders on thrill seeker. I have a wonderfully supportive wife, a 3 year old daughter, and now a son, born this May. They all support me by adapting to my lifestyle, both as a diabetic and as a runner.

I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes on Oct. 1, 1991; my senior year in high school. My younger sister had been diagnosed 5 years earlier at that point, so I knew what diabetes was, but I would still say it was a considerable change for me. In fact if anything, already knowing what the disease was, and having adapted our eating habits to accomodate her, the fact that I was diagnosed seemed to be downplayed. Looking back, I felt like it was no big deal for everyone around me, but it WAS a big deal to me. But in the end, it is fantastic to have a sister going through the same thing, someone I can share my experiences with, and learn from through her experiences. She is a runner - and has been since the late ’80s. I always admired her tackling marathons, and running regularly, but never aspired to do the same until recently. Now I can say I’m in 3 of her clubs: 1) diabetes, 2) running, and 3) birthday club - WHAT? you ask… well, we also share a birthdate, just one year apart.

Funny how I started running, since my feeling on the sport was something like this: “Running, yeah I’ll run if it’s from the police, but even then, after 5 minutes I’ll just stop and pay the fine!” You can listen to my first podcast to hear about how I got started, but know this: Now that I’ve seen the light, I aim to make running a part of my life for as long as possible. Like many of you with families, the prospect of living a long time to see them grow is important for me. Additionally, I find running provides balance in life for me… a time to de-stress, and meditate. And believe me, with 2 young ones at home this time spent running in solitude is very valueable! Finally, I see how running and staying fit improve my diabetic control - which goes back to point #1, living a long healty life.

If I can do it, anyone can… and I encourage you to find life’s cure for whatever ails you… and then share it with us. It’s not so much that misery loves company, but rather that we can all feel a little inspired by others doing great things, and this helps motivate us all to keep going the distance.