ONTARIO, Ohio — At 10 years old, Joe Eldridge, a professional cyclist with Team Novo Nordisk, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Over the years, he has learned how to best manage his condition–and serve as an inspiration to others.
Saturday, Eldridge spoke to a crowd of people at Ontario High School as part of the D-Feet Diabetes 5K Walk/Run and 1 Mile Walk pre-race program.
Eldridge prefaced his speech saying, “Hopefully by hearing my story today it can prevent mistakes similar to the ones that I made growing up.”
A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Eldridge stayed active in his childhood. “As soon as school was out I would be outside,” he said. But he eventually preferred sitting inside and watching T.V. over playing outside with friends.
His parents took him to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with diabetes and given guidance on how to best manage his condition. When he returned home, he was able to enjoy living an active life again. However, in time he grew frustrated with his condition, questioning why he had to live with diabetes.
“When I was 13 years old, I had had enough of my diabetes, and I just told my dad, ‘I don’t want to deal with this.’ And he said something really important to me that I still remember: ‘Think back to when you were in the hospital…think about the other kids that were with you and what they were dealing with…some of those kids had things that they couldn’t control…diabetes is something that you can live a normal life with. You can do whatever you want as long as you check your blood sugar and do your insulin and eat the right way and exercise.'”
His father’s words lifted his spirit and motivated him to make the best of his condition.
Once he got to college, he fell in love with the bicycle, he said, and began competing in various races.
He started out by riding one hour at a time, but he wasn’t taking care of himself as well as he should have. “I was just living without really caring about my diabetes,” he said.
That changed, however, when he met fellow cyclist Phil Southerland, who now serves as the co-founder and CEO of Team Novo Nordisk.
Southerland, who also has diabetes, gave Eldridge advice and accountability.
Through their friendship, Eldridge learned, “If you can manage your diabetes, you can do a lot,” he said.
They participated in several races together, including “Race Across America.”
In 2006, they participated in the race with six other people who have diabetes.
“The way the race works is it’s 3,053 miles; it’s a non-stop race. We had a team of eight people broken up into two groups of four. One team would start with 200 miles, get in an RV, drive ahead 200 miles and then the other team goes, so it’s constantly a leap frog all the way across the country,” he explained.
They finished in second place, just three minutes behind the first place finishers.
Determined to win, they competed in the race again the following year.
“The year before, we lost by three minutes, and that next year, 2007, we won by three hours,” said Eldridge. “And eight people with diabetes set the world record for the fastest crossing of the country ever on a bicycle.”
Just how fast did they complete the race?
Eldridge said they finished in five days, 15 hours and 43 minutes.
As for future races, Eldridge said his team intends to participate in the Tour de France in 2021. “That’s the 100th anniversary of insulin and we think it’d be pretty cool that after 100 years, you see a team of athletes with a condition competing in the biggest race in the world while managing their diabetes,” he said.
Following his speech, an awards ceremony was held to recognize those who are a testament to all people with diabetes. Learning how to manage their health and adapting to the ever-changing technology of diabetes care can lead to a long and successful diabetes journey. Honorees were either presented with the 10-year Lilly Diabetes Journey Award or the D-Feet Diabetes Award.
Recipients of the 10-year Lilly Diabetes Journey Award include Tyler Blust-Saltz, Kaitlin (Katie) Conrad, Katelin Crisp, Alixandra (Alix) Fidler, C.J. Haldeman, Ashlee May, Logan McGowan, Benjamin (Ben) Murray, Lindsey Schroeder, Kayla B. Skaggs, Kaylin Spriesterbach, Lacey Steele, Kellie Tadijanac and Kelsey Thiel.
Recipients of the D-Feet Diabetes Award include Elyse Bishop, Daniel Cline, Robert Drake, Maci Hedeen, Isaac W. Hedrick, Storm Howard, Keyra A. M. Marten, Amber Mills, Makayla Mobley, Daniel (Danny) Murray, Luke C. Pennywitt, Tyler Porter, Eden Rine, Nicolas (Nick) Ruckman, Caleb Russell, Brittany A. Shannon, Skylan Stach, Kevin Scott Timmer and Blake Williams.
Sponsors for the evening’s event were OhioHealth, Novo Nordisk, Lilly Diabetes and the Ontario Event Center.
The fourth annual D-Feet Diabetes 5K Walk/Run and 1 Mile Walk will be held Sunday, April 26, at 2 p.m. Race day registration will begin at 12:30 p.m.
The event will be held at the track of Ontario High School, 467 Shelby-Ontario Road. Registration is $20, and proceeds benefit the OhioHealth MedCentral Diabetes Education Scholarship Fund.
