Diabetic finishes 113km Dubai run before time
Alex Fernandes | TNN | Updated: Feb 4, 2019, 13:56 IST
Harsh PandyaMUMBAI: A 30-year-old Malad man, who has had diabetes since he was eight, completed the 113km Half Ironman Race in Dubai on Friday, and how!
With an insulin pump and a blood sugar testing contraption strapped on, Harsh Pandya completed the three-sport race—swimming, cycling and running—42 minutes before the time limit.
“The race must be finished within 8 hours and 30 minutes. I finished it in 7 hours and 48 minutes,” Pandya told TOI on phone from Dubai. Besides facing sports-related difficulties, Pandya also had the task of keeping a close check on his sugar levels all along. That’s why a gadget was attached to his body to constantly display which way his blood sugar level was headed.
On top of that was the insulin pump to release the hormone into his body to maintain a balanced sugar level. He also had to eat the right stuff in the right quantity and at the right time. Thus, the event was a tight rope walk for Pandya.
“I’d say I did a fairly good job,” Pandya said later.
Dr V S Ajgaonkar, a diabetologist from the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, a support group with which Pandya has been associated, said the latter’s success highlights that diabetes, if well controlled, need not be an impediment in life. Not many young diabetics are known to participate in the Dubai event, said Pandya.
“My rank is not an enviable one, but I was determined to finish the race successfully. That’s because people often harbour many misconceptions about diabetes. I just wanted to demolish them.”
With an insulin pump and a blood sugar testing contraption strapped on, Harsh Pandya completed the three-sport race—swimming, cycling and running—42 minutes before the time limit.
“The race must be finished within 8 hours and 30 minutes. I finished it in 7 hours and 48 minutes,” Pandya told TOI on phone from Dubai. Besides facing sports-related difficulties, Pandya also had the task of keeping a close check on his sugar levels all along. That’s why a gadget was attached to his body to constantly display which way his blood sugar level was headed.
On top of that was the insulin pump to release the hormone into his body to maintain a balanced sugar level. He also had to eat the right stuff in the right quantity and at the right time. Thus, the event was a tight rope walk for Pandya.
“I’d say I did a fairly good job,” Pandya said later.
Dr V S Ajgaonkar, a diabetologist from the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, a support group with which Pandya has been associated, said the latter’s success highlights that diabetes, if well controlled, need not be an impediment in life. Not many young diabetics are known to participate in the Dubai event, said Pandya.
“My rank is not an enviable one, but I was determined to finish the race successfully. That’s because people often harbour many misconceptions about diabetes. I just wanted to demolish them.”
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