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Growing up, running wasn’t one of my greatest passions. It was and still is being on stage and performing. But it was my sister and my love for chocolate that inspired me to start my running journey as an adult back in 2014. I got hooked on running through the Hot Chocolate Run, which is a five-kilometer race they do in the United States. There’s chocolate at the end, and you get a medal — now, what chocoholic wouldn’t go for that? Since then, I started training and adding more and more kilometers to my runs. I completed my first marathon at the 2018 Rock n Roll running series in my hometown of San Diego. While this was a proud accomplishment for me, it was also the time my life completely flipped upside down. The moment I started my diabetes journey. It was just before my 39th birthday and shortly after finishing my first marathon. I experienced some of the classic symptoms of exhaustion, excessive thirst, frequent urination, and weight loss. I knew something was off when I started training for the 2018 Melbourne Marathon and had the worst run in my life. It felt like the biggest drag trying to train for a five-kilometer training run. Everything else felt like a colossal effort, even trying to walk and get some sleep. I told my Mum about my symptoms, and she mentioned that we have history of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes in our family. I didn’t think of it much because at that time as I was living a healthy and active lifestyle. I also had this perceived conception that Type 1 diabetes diagnoses happen earlier in life. How wrong was I? My diagnosis story took an interesting turn when I tested negative to all known Type 1 diabetes antibodies. While it is an autoimmune disease, a small percentage of people test negative for known antibodies and are categorized as having idiopathic Type 1 diabetes. But after several months of testing and feeling in and out of limbo, I was officially diagnosed. I think just like anything else unexpected that life throws at you, you will be in complete shock, and I was. Everything was still and felt like I was underwater. Things were in slow motion until I finally cried. As cliché as it may sound, my Type 1 diabetes diagnosis completely transformed my life. The biggest challenge for me was incorporating my condition in everything that I do in life, work, and play. It probably took some more months until I was able to confidently say I have adjusted to living with it. But every day is a new adventure and an ongoing experiment. My work as an actor and a performing artist taught me different ways on how to manage my condition on and off-stage. I learned that the adrenaline and jitters I get before getting on stage causes a sharp spike in my glucose levels. I also learned how to navigate my food choices and timing what I eat appropriately with my insulin dosages. In addition to being self-aware with how I’m feeling physically and mentally, I ultimately got myself a Dexcom G6 Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM). This small, wearable device which tracks and shares my glucose levels to my smartphone, has transformed my relationship running with diabetes, giving me the confidence boost I needed. Having a CGM made running more accessible and helped me run my second marathon, and the first after my diagnosis, during the height of the pandemic. For my third marathon, I went back to San Diego for the 2021 Rock n Roll marathon. After four years, a series of life events, the pandemic and wayward timing, I ran in the heralded Melbourne Cricket Ground at the 2022 Melbourne Marathon, completing my fourth marathon and earning my long-anticipated bling. I went on to compete in my fifth marathon, the 2022 New York City Marathon, and crossed the finish line with the Beyond Type Run Team — an incredible group of nearly 50 people living with Type 1 diabetes. Diabetes is interesting, complex, and multifaceted. My initial diagnosis of idiopathic Type 1 diabetes predominately impacts people of color and is under-researched. Living with diabetes, I’m hoping to bring more awareness to this under-represented group of people and empower people like me that life can go on. As for my running, I’m looking forward to more marathons in the very near future. Running does not come easy to me. In my head I’m running like a gazelle, even though I only take little steps. But I’m still a runner!  Credit: Ashleyrose Gilham, Photographer Jasmine Gilham Meet Our Contributor — Ashleyrose Gilham Learn more about Ashleyrose and her latest adventures at Ashleyrose Gilham.
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