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Edition #3 released April 2026
Welcome to ‘The Move’ for April. This month was BIG.
On 18 April I put my race preparation and training into practice and, using lessons from previous races, was able to set a big new personal best at Sydney’s Backyard Ultra - running longer and further than I’ve ever run before.
As part of my prep and to boost to my Mojo ahead of the race, I also met up with Roger Hanney to record another ‘Conversation’ on being Fitter for Having It. His music choices are epic, and as big as his extreme mountain runs and he has some great moves of his own to help him live with T1D!
April saw T1D personal bests elsewhere too. In the media were Lachie Kennedy for running the fastest 100m for an Australian sprinter on home soil, and British actor James Norton for running his first ever London marathon. James raised big money with over GBP 70,000 raised for Breakthrough T1D research.
All of this is inspiring for me and I also drew a lot from three Fitter for Having It ‘Moves’ that I’ve learned over the years.
April was BIG for me, I hope May is MIGHTY for you.
Read my Race Report on Sydney’s Backyard Ultra the race with no finish line where I ran with T1D through the day and night. It sheds light on why I find The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly endurance race experiences addictive, and what draws me back for more.
Watch my inspiring Conversation with Roger Hanney about taking endurance running and diabetes to extremes. Roger explains how this shapes his life and talks about ways to overcome the loss of spontaneity that adult onset T1D almost took away Available Soon, YouTube
Sprinter Lachie Kennedy broke 10-seconds in the 100m twice in April at the Australian Championships. Australia’s fastest man proves you can rise to the top in sport. His messages about living with T1D like “it forces you to be aware, to think about your body, to be disciplined. That helps on and off the track” fit neatly into the Fitter for Having It handbook.
Moves of the month
My race preparation peaked in April and as I started to taper for the race I reflected on the key Fitter for Having It moves that had helped me most in the lead up. These three moves stand out and I explain why below.
Move 1.1 | Set a big goal and tell someone
Audacious, specific, challenging goals create momentum to carry you through hard days with T1D. Goals keep you future-focused. And, if you tell someone, provide inspiration and accountability.
Big race insight:
After telling people I’d entered a race with no finish line, and my goal was to run further and longer than I had before, I was committed.
I set my stretch goal to run for 18 hours and a 120km as motivation to train in the lead up, and to keep going through breaking points during the race itself.
It worked. A distance I felt was ‘possible’ beforehand became ‘probable’ once I announced it, and I ended up nailing it.
A big, audacious, goal is empowering.
Move 2.4 | Keep T1D records
Record keeping is tedious. Downloading devices, logging what you eat and inject, tracking how your body responds is a grind. But it's also incredibly valuable. Once you identify a pattern, you can act on it.
Big race insight:
I kept records of training run distance, speed and duration, what I’d eaten, and my insulin, blood glucose and energy responses.
I tweaked things and tested adjustments which gave useful data to discuss with health professionals and other athletes with T1D like Roger.
It formed a T1D race plan that held up well for my first 100km. Even after my midnight tech failures I’m convinced it wasn’t the plan that failed; it was eating enough to implement it.
Move 4.2 | Do what you can when you can
Life is full. Preparing a training plan in advance works for some people, but it can also disincentivise you if things come up and you miss a few sessions. Instead, just do what you can , when you can.
Big race insight
I had a loose and structured training plan. I ran three times a week - one long and slow; one fast; and one resistance run.
Some times I ran more, sometimes I ran less but generally increasing distance covered in a week by 10-15%. I also sought to maximise time on my feet.
Other runners and my crew tried different things that worked for them. My key was getting as many steps in my legs as I could.
Whatever, whenever. It worked for me.
These three moves are taken from my Fitter for Having It approach. They are practical, simple steps I’ve used over 40 years to make T1D a bit smaller in my daily life, and easier to manage in extreme race conditions. They are not the only moves that helped me reach my goal in Sydney’s Backyard Ultra. Navigate to the moves page on the website for more.
In the next edition:
The next issue will include:
progress on my research interests
who I’m lining up for more Conversations and
plans for my next BIG run.
You can follow my progress by subscribing for more, or connecting to me on Linked In or via this website.