Björn diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes

After a solid 30 km training run three weeks ago, in preparation for the Highlander Mountain Marathon, Björn told his father that he had been unusually thirsty during the last 10-12 days. Björn’s father is a doctor and convinced him to visit the hospital to leave some samples. Björn was convinced nothing was wrong as he, besides the big thirst, was feeling good and strong. Unfortunately he was very wrong this time! The samples showed very high levels of blood sugar. Further investigations at the hospital showed that Björn has developed Type 1 Diabetes during the winter.

Presently Björn is adapting to this new situation, taking insulin injections several times a day. He is slowly getting back into training, but it will take a while to test and find the right balance of work, exercise, sugar intake and insulin doses. Obviously several of the races Bjorn had planned to compete in this spring have had to be put on hold, however Bjorn is very motived to try to return to the life (and form) he had a month ago!

 

Björn has decided to do his very best to return as a competitive athlete. There are some good examples of internationally successful XC-skiers and other endurance athletes with Type 1 Diabetes, and Björn will try to learn from their experience. Having Diabetes will not make it easier being an athlete, but Björn is motivated to see if he can fight for a third victory at Haglöfs Åre Extreme Challenge or a top-15 at Vasaloppet another year. The future will tell if this is possible or not, and Bjorn can look forward to the support of the rest of the team in whipping him back into shape!