E33: Long-Distance Hiking with Type 1 Diabetes - Mike Joyce
Mike Joyce is a long distance backpacker, endurance runner, and adventure enthusiast living with Type 1 diabetes since February 2, 1996. He thru-hiked The Appalachian Trail (~2,200 miles) in 2019, The Pacific Northwest Trail (~1,200 miles) in 2020, has participated in a half dozen ultra marathons, and is planning to thru-hike The Continental Divide Trail (~3,100 miles) in 2021.
Not always an endurance athlete, in 2017 Mike was on his way to developing double diabetes as he continued to put on weight, developing insulin resistance. Through a drastic series of changes in management by way of diet, exercise, and diabetes care, he began shedding the extra weight and stopped using diabetes as an excuse.
Mike has been interviewed on various diabetes podcasts including Diabetes Daily Grind, Juicebox Podcast, and Diabetic Tim Podcast. He has also been interviewed regarding his Appalachian Trail thru-hike with diabetes on Asweetlife.org. He is actively involved with sharing his story with the local JDRF chapter.
