P.E.I. runner pushing to qualify for Boston Marathon, despite diabetes diagnosis

Ryan McKellop · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 22, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

After being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes past year, Islander Mike Hogan started to truly prioritize his health.

Part of that includes preparing for the P.E.I. Marathon, with the extremity of qualifying for the Boston Marathon.

Having been an avid runner before, Hogan's renewed wellness travel started successful July 2024, erstwhile helium said he felt the worst helium had ever felt successful his life.

"I had mislaid a clump of weight, I was sweating, I was having to get up to usage the washroom four, 5 times astatine night," helium said. "I was perpetually thirsty. I truly didn't cognize what was going connected astatine all."

He soon discovered what the contented was, aft accidentally injuring himself astatine work. His pinky digit was crushed by a dense sheet astatine work.

"I was like, 'I should person been capable to assistance that nary problem, similar what's going connected with me?'" helium said.

That's erstwhile helium decided to spell to the doctor.

After a humor trial that morning, his doc called him astatine location that evening. She told him helium needed to spell to the infirmary due to the fact that his humor sweetener was "sky high."

Following much tests and waiting hours astatine the exigency room, helium got his results astatine 5 a.m. — helium had diabetes.

"I was wholly slumber deprived and wholly shocked astatine uncovering that out," helium said. "Quickly implicit the adjacent mates of weeks, they determined it was Type 1 diabetes that requires insulin."

Switching priorities

Hogan, 45, said his diagnosis made him power his priorities, from being focused connected concern to health.

"I've been a concern proprietor for 10 years and for a agelong clip that has been similar astir the implicit absorption successful my beingness I would say, and I would accidental I conscionable benignant of did a 180 that Friday greeting I recovered retired I had diabetes and made a committedness to enactment my wellness first."

After the diagnosis, Hogan was told helium needed to get 150 minutes of workout a week truthful helium decided to commencement moving a fewer times a week, thing helium utilized to do.

He besides started taking insulin, which tin beryllium challenging arsenic a runner. 

"What's antithetic astir exercising, is that erstwhile you exercise, you request carbs for fuelling that exercise, and past your insulin resistance, it's called, goes mode down," helium said.

"It's similar your assemblage is holding you backmost from exerting its afloat potential, truthful it's similar you're stuck successful the incorrect cogwheel of your car oregon thing similar that."

Now, Hogan has to marque calculations earlier exercising.

"You privation to person carbs for workout and you privation to instrumentality a small spot of insulin truthful that your assemblage tin process those carbs portion you're exercising, but you don't privation to instrumentality excessively overmuch and you don't privation to instrumentality excessively little."

He said it's adjacent much challenging running agelong distances.

"I'm not lone grooming my assemblage to tally the marathon, but I'm besides similar grooming my process for doing these calculations and figuring that out."

Persevering done the diagnosis

In October, a fewer months aft his diagnosis, Hogan registered successful the P.E.I. Marathon relay with a fewer co-workers.

He had tally the marathon before, marking his champion clip successful 2015, which helium came adjacent to this clip around.

"I was astir apt four, 5 minutes disconnected of that time, but it inactive felt similar a win," helium said.

That's erstwhile helium decided to up his goal. He would tally done the wintertime and effort a fractional marathon next. 

Having done a fractional marathon before, helium knew it was possible, helium said, but it would beryllium much hard arsenic a diabetic.

He entered into the 2025 Bath Half Marathon, which is hosted successful England each March.

Unexpected setback

But lone a fewer days earlier the fractional marathon, helium deed an unexpected setback.

"I got pickpocketed. My telephone got stolen and truthful I fundamentally mislaid entree to having that real-time humor sweetener data," helium said.

Hogan wears a continuous glucose show connected this limb that connects to his telephone to show his humor sugar, which helium uses portion running.

He said losing his telephone affected the mode helium had to attack the fractional marathon.

"During the run, I had to really physically intermission connected the broadside to cheque my humor sweetener and marque definite that it was OK," helium said.

"And it's truthful comic I had spent truthful galore months grooming for the tally and I had a peculiar clip extremity successful mind, but I had to wantonness that goal, and my caller extremity was conscionable to effort to implicit it arsenic champion arsenic I could, knowing I was going to person to intermission and instrumentality immoderate other time."

He completed the fractional marathon, but didn't scope his goal, which helium inactive aspires to hit.

While helium was there, helium besides raised $800 Cad for Breakthrough T1D, an enactment that funds diabetes research.

Hogan said now, astir a twelvemonth from erstwhile helium felt the worse helium had successful his life, helium feels similar helium has ne'er been healthier.

"I bash consciousness truly arrogant of that and again of making that switch, similar flipping that and making wellness my priority."

Looking forward, Hogan said he's going to bash a afloat marathon connected this Island this fall, thing helium hasn't done since 2018. 

And this time, helium has a large goal: a clip of 3 hours and 10 minutes to suffice for the Boston Marathon.

"I don't deliberation I'll execute it this October, but my eventual extremity is to suffice for the Boston Marathon successful the adjacent twelvemonth oregon two."