‘Shock type 1 diabetes diagnosis won’t stop me running an ultra’

BBC Radio 1Xtra presenter Reece Parkinson started training for an ultra-marathon in 2020, but everything went wrong. So wrong that the film he made then was called How NOT to Run 55 Miles.

A problem with his knee and restrictions on his training due to Covid meant it was always going to be an enormous challenge, but a shock diagnosis of type 1 diabetes just days before he was due to run forced him to pull out and question whether he would ever be able to complete the challenge.

But six months later Reece has got back to training and – whilst still getting to grips with his condition – thinks he’s ready to take on his first ultra-marathon. He’s found a new race, a rugged and brutal 50-mile course around a military training area in a remote part of mid-Wales.

Reece wants to prove he can do it regardless of diabetes, but is it possible just months after being diagnosed with a life-changing condition?

Video by Jim Farthing, Matt Wareham, and Woody Morris.

Watch the full documentary, How to Run 50 Miles, on iPlayer.

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