Team Type 1: Winning for Everyone with Diabetes

Team Type 1 garnered not one, but two huge victories in winning the 8-Person Corporate Challenge division in the grueling 3,043-mile Race Across America (RAAM) cycling race. The first was in taking the 2006 race itself in their division, setting a new record in the 8-person Corporate Challenge team category with a total time of 5 days, 16 hours, and 4 minutes. The second victory was for all people with diabetes in helping show—under the most rigorous athletic conditions imaginable—the value of the FreeStyle Navigator system and continuous glucose monitoring.

“The FreeStyle Navigator system really helped us better manage our glucose levels both on the bike and off the bike,” says team co-founder Phil Southerland.

The race, which is equivalent to the Tour de France in distance but completed in a quarter of the time, required team members to balance their blood glucose levels during intense intervals of flat-out riding through punishing weather and terrain as well as during mandatory meal and rest periods.

“Having the FreeStyle Navigator system was truly amazing and highly beneficial,” says team member Steve Holmes. “As soon as my [racing] interval was done, a quick glance helped me determine where my levels were and, more importantly, thanks to the trending — where they were going. This data helped me determine the right amount of carbohydrate and/or insulin to be taken to recover from this effort and prepare for the next.”

“And during sleep periods, it was easy to quickly glance at the FreeStyle Navigator receiver when turning over or briefly waking. That simple piece of information keeps the mind at rest, allowing the body to do the same.”

Thanks to continuous glucose monitoring, even the well-conditioned athletes of Team Type 1 learned new lessons about their bodies and their diabetes—lessons they can bring back from RAAM to their busy family and professional lives.

“The FreeStyle Navigator system allowed me to manage my diabetes more efficiently,” Southerland says. “I learned things about my insulin and foods that will be valuable in my future years as a person with diabetes. It was one of the most useful tools I have ever seen—and I’ve had diabetes since I was seven months old.”

Each of the eight members of Team Type 1 have inspiring stories of taking control of their diabetes and transcending any limitations the disease might have put on their achievements.

“When I was diagnosed in 1998,” says the 35-year-old Holmes, “my doctors told me I would never ride a bike again, let alone race.” But a nurse encouraged him, telling him that it would take some time and that there was a device in development that would allow him to know his glucose levels at all times. “To be on the finish line in Atlantic City after winning the Race Across America was an amazing moment,” he says. “Not just because we had won, but because I was using that device I had heard about and it was everything I expected it to be, and it gave me the information I really needed. To be able to gauge where my levels were going, and how fast, was huge.”

Linda Demma, 30, the only woman member of Team Type 1, doesn’t consider herself an elite athlete, although her credentials show otherwise. “Training is a high priority for me, a way to help control my diabetes,” says the former member of the Junior National Rowing Team and age-group winner in the Great Floridian Ironman competition. “I fit my workouts in with married life and my full-time job. I have a very busy work schedule, often with fifty- to sixty-hour weeks and travel. Training helps me control my diabetes, which I’ve had since I was seventeen.”

She used the FreeStyle Navigator system for two weeks prior to RAAM as well as during the demanding ride. "I loved learning the patterns of how my body responds to exercise," she says, "and the way certain foods affect my glucose levels. The FreeStyle Navigator system stood up to us using it under such high-stress conditions. But it would be equally helpful in daily usage under everyday stresses, such as traveling, or dealing with all day business meetings and eating meals out."

“The FreeStyle Navigator system is a dream come true,” she adds. “I think it’s going to change the way people view diabetes.”

Read more about Team Type 1’s achievements.

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