Joining the running group, Freddy’s Runners, is one of the best decisions I’ve made in the last few years. Not only did it help me out of a sad, lonely place, but it has helped me become stronger, more social and happier. I could not have done this without the help of a lot of people, including my family, coaches, new and old friends, like Ana. 

I have known Ana and her family for a long time and she was the one person I asked for help when I was interested in running again. She knew my whole story, but without doubting whether I could do it or not, she immediately got me in contact with her coach, and here I am a year and a half later, just getting back from my afternoon run.

She didn’t question my sudden interest in running or whether or not to recommend her coach, because she knew that’s just what I needed, just like she did when she found the group.

She had never been a runner, or even thought about running, when she happened to be in Chicago during the Chicago Marathon. As she saw the marathon through the window at a restaurant she couldn’t help but notice that the runners weren’t all tall, super fit, young athletes, like she thought they would be. The participants were regular people; they were  young, old, tall, short, skinny, heavier and they weren’t all running. 

This is not what she expected to see in a marathon and this stayed on her mind until she came back home. Here she saw an ad for the Divas Half Marathon in San Juan. Inspired by what she saw in Chicago, she quickly signed up and started training. When she realized she would need some help, she was recommended to Freddy’s Runners who helped her prepare for the half marathon. 

After successfully completing her first half marathon and saw that she could do something she never imagined, she quickly signed up for another half marathon. Eight years later, this unstoppable woman is still running; she returned to Chicago in 2021 and completed the same marathon she once saw from a window, the New York Marathon in 2022 and the Berlin Marathon in 2024, as well as countless other races. 

Thanks to running, she not only lost weight, but she started working out, taking better care of herself and her diabetes. For more than 20 years she has been living with Type 1 diabetes and now has an Insulin Pump and an MGG to help her. The Insulin Pump, or automatic digital Pancreas, automatically administers insulin. At the same time, the MGG is continuously measuring her glucose and sugar levels every minute.

These two are very valuable tools for everyone with diabetes, especially for an athlete. It saves you the time of having to draw blood to check your sugar levels or risking getting dizzy mid run. 

I wanted to share Ana’s story to show another unstoppable woman. She is also trying her hardest to win the battles life throws at her and being successful at it. At the same time using her own experience to help others with similar stories by sharing her experience through her Instagram page “Diaries of a Diabetic”, as a living example that you can still live a full life despite having diabetes. 

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Published by mariacristinasanfeliu

I’m an aspiring writer still looking for exactly what I want to write about, with a lot of creativity, imagination and desire to write. I studied Writing and Rhetoric at Syracuse University where I explored many different sides of writing through my classes and extracurricular activities in order to narrow my search for an identity as a writer. I have written for Citrus TV Noticias and La Voz magazine, both of which gave me the chance to explore different mediums in which to write in. Through Citrus TV Noticias I also gained experience in translating from English to Spanish and vice versa, which is also something that I would be interested in working on since I am fluent in both of these languages. I was also an intern at Syracuse University Press where I got hands on experience in what goes into actually editing and publishing a book. Through out the last four years I have faced a lot of challenges, which helped chape the person I am today. After being in a tragic car accident, being in comma, having a Traumatic Brain Injury, and being in therapy for over a year, I am a new me, willing to face challenges and knowing how to deal with them. I want to write about my accident and life after it to help others, show them it can be done and help in any way I can.

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