Hingham Man Running His 21st Boston Marathon

From Joslin Diabetes Center: 45-year-old Ryan Enright of Hingham is running his 21st consecutive Boston Marathon this year and as a member of Team Joslin, he’s raising money to support the Joslin Diabetes Center, a world-renowned diabetes care and research facility in Boston.

Ryan was diagnosed with a rare form of type 1 diabetes, known as latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA), at the age of 38 and credits the doctors and nurses at Joslin for showing him that he can still live a full life.

“I run for Joslin to say thank you for all they have done for me and to prove to others living with T1D that it doesn’t have to stop us from doing anything we want to do,” Ryan said. “Anything is possible if we just adapt and charge ahead.”

Ryan focuses on cross training to prepare for Boston Marathon each year and mixes up long runs with spinning, yoga, weight training and plenty of stretching. On race day, it’s important for him to keep his blood sugar stable throughout the 26.2-mile course, which he does by fueling up with carbs and protein and keeping plenty of snacks on hand. He also gets a little help from his Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) and insulin pump, which measures his blood sugar and allows him to administer insulin as necessary. The biggest boost of energy, however, comes from hearing his family and friends and the staff at Joslin cheering him on from the sidelines in Wellesley.

“I hope it inspires them to know that there is a team running in zero-degree weather day after day to raise money and awareness about the great work that they do and hopefully provide those extra funds to push beyond their boundaries like Team Joslin will do on April 16th,” Ryan said.

He has set a goal of raising $15,000 for the Joslin Diabetes Center’s High Hopes Fund. For more information and to donate to Ryan’s run, visit here.

Image courtesy of the Joslin Diabetes Center