A diabetic mum-of-two is set to run the Principality Building Society Cardiff Half Marathon to prove to herself the condition can’t stop her.
Jane Warchal was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was just 15 and said that’s when her ‘life changed dramatically’.
The 40-year-old health visitor from Swansea said it means she has to be extremely careful about all aspects of her life to ensure her blood sugar levels don’t go to high or low.
She added: “It can put you in danger in your general day to day, so I always thought why on earth would I add in running when the condition is so difficult to manage?”
Jane first realised something was wrong when she started losing weight in her early teens.
She said: “I’d lost quite a bit of weight and wasn’t able to see the board in class anymore. I remember being in biology and we were covering diabetes and I started to think, is this what’s happening to me? We went to the GP and they did some tests and they discovered that’s what I had.”
While Jane now manages her diabetes with an insulin pump, when she was 15 it had to be managed with insulin pens and diet – which she said was very difficult.
She added: “If you’re doing things like sport you have to be very mindful of the impact it can have, or if you skip a snack it can make you hypoglycaemic.
“For non-diabetics, if they eat something that has carbohydrates or glucose in, their pancreas works it all out for them, but for me, I have to work out how many carbs are in my meals, snacks and drinks and put that into my insulin pump to figure out the dose.
“The pump is really clever and anticipates if my blood sugar levels are creeping up and will try and give me more insulin. But there are so many different factors that also affect blood sugar that the pump doesn’t know about – it could be adrenaline or cortisol from stress, even hormones in pregnancy.
“There is so much planning involved and there isn’t a day that goes by when I can’t think about it.”
Six years ago, Jane took up running with a friend, completing the couch to 5K programme. She then set her sights on completing a 10K but didn’t venture into further than running 9 miles as she didn’t think she could with her diabetes.
But after her husband Joe passed on an application to join the Principality Cardiff Half Marathon 100 Club – an initiative whereby race organisers Run 4 Wales gifts 100 free spaces into the event as a vehicle to improve health and wellbeing, Jane decided to apply to see what she could do.
She said: “For me, running isn’t as simple as putting your trainers on and getting out the door. It’s getting up two hours before the run to change my insulin settings, watching my blood sugar rise or fall on my insulin pump and trying to take on just the right amount of sugar to keep me balanced.
“Get it wrong and I have to stop and end up feeling deflated and probably a bit angry – or worse very ill indeed. But here’s the thing, the part where you get it right really does feel amazing.
“The last few months I’ve started running more, learning more, speaking to my dietician, my ultra running husband, my Fiercely Fit community and I’ve decided I want to try running the half marathon.”
Jane will be taking lots of jelly babies and glucose tablets with her for the race and will need to monitor her sugar levels every 10 minutes. Her husband Joe will also be taking part in the event as a 2.5 hour pacer.
She said: “I’ve never done anything like this before and the furthest I’ve gone is 9 miles. I’m scared that it could still go wrong, but I don’t want that to stop me trying.”
Matt Newman, Chief Executive at Run 4 Wales, added: “We’ve been putting on the 100 Club at the Principality Cardiff Half Marathon since 2015 which has encouraged so many more people to take up running who otherwise may not have participated.
“We’re very much looking forward to welcoming Jane to the Cardiff Half on Sunday 6 October and cheering her around the course as she looks to achieve her half marathon goal.”
The Principality Cardiff Half Marathon takes place on Sunday 6 October.
