At the 2012 Calgary Half Marathon an Okotoks mom and endurance athlete celebrated 30 years of not letting diabetes define her life.
Debbie Zelez, mother to twins Jake and Fiona, was diagnosed with Type I diabetes, the much more rare form of the disease, also termed juvenile diabetes, 30 years ago when she was 10.
She said management of the disease, characterized by a lack of insulin produced by the pancreas, is a constant battle.
“You have to be on it every day,” Zelez said. “In the summer the heat can sometimes cause you to have low blood sugar. In the winter if we’re out for long runs I’ve got to tuck my (insulin) pump in so it doesn’t freeze.”
Zelez completed the 21.1km race at the Calgary Half Marathon in a time of 2:27:53 on May 27.
Competing in endurance athletics as a diabetic has its share of challenges. In longer races Zelez uses an attachment to her insulin pump to track her blood sugar levels, called a continuous glucose monitor.
“For endurance events I would have that on me so that I can just look at my pump and it tells you the direction you’re going just so you can prepare for that,” she said.
Zelez was joined by four of her teammates from the Okotoks Masters Swim Club — Elena Aitken, Jennifer Collett, Chris Hider and Jacqueline Boisvert — on the 13-person Team Diabetes for the Calgary marathon. The group raised more than $8,000, but collected their funds individually.
Aitken penned a fiction novel, “Sugar Crash”, with proceeds of the book going towards diabetes research.
“It’s based on Deb’s story on when she was a kid and diagnosed,” said Aitken, an author from Okotoks. “Deb and I were on a two-hour run one day and she told me about an experience she had as a kid with diabetes and listening to her I thought it would make a really good story.”
Zelez received some news that hit close to home in her training for the Calgary half-marathon as she found out two children from Okotoks were diagnosed with diabetes.
“I found that really difficult,” she said. “It’s fine that I have it, I’ve had it for 30 years. It’s just my life, but it breaks my heart to see kids get it.
“And I think maybe we raised the $8,000 that’s going to bump them closer to that cure.”
Aitken said crossing the finish line in Calgary was a seminal moment for her friend.
“It was a really emotional race,” Aitken said. “Me, as Deb’s best friend and training partner, we crossed the finish line together.
“As her friend the diabetes doesn’t define her or stop her from doing all this stuff, but it’s still this really big deal. So 30 years of not letting diabetes get the best of her, it was just a big celebration.”
Zelez agreed.
“I have it and I live with it and it’s really important, but I don’t let it takeover,” she said.
Zelez said it meant the world to her to have the support and dedication of friends on Team Diabetes, some of whom were competing in their first half-marathon.
“They would say, ‘but you have to worry about what’s your blood sugar, what’s the temperature outside, how well hydrated am I, what time of day are we running.’” Zelez said of the concern her teammates showed for her. “I have a lot of other things I have to think about other than getting from point A to point B, but they were awesome.”
Zelez and Aitken share more than a fondness for long distance sports. The two live on the same block in Okotoks and are both mothers to twins. With Masters swim coach Todd Melton also living on the same street, joining the swim club four years ago was almost inevitable for the two.
“It’s really great cross-training for our running,” Zelez said of swimming with the Masters. “And it was Todd who said you should do a triathlon one day.”
She said the swim club has been accommodating to her individual needs.
“It’s a great club because if we come in some days and say we have a big run on the weekend, Emma (Masters coach Emma Hesterman) will kind of taper our workout to fit what’s coming up,” Zelez said. “They take into consideration all the other activities.”
There’s a long list of diabetic athletes who have gone on to international acclaim, including Olympic swimmer Gary Hall Jr. and hockey legend Bobby Clarke.
For Zelez, Canadian Olympic rower Chris Jarvis, the founder of the I Challenge Diabetes charity, is an inspirational figure.
“He wears a pump and is a real advocate for young adults, not letting it take over, being really active,” Zelez said of Jarvis. “He actually phoned me and thought it would be a great idea for us to go on a bike ride together, sadly we couldn’t make that happen.”
