Preview Mode Links will not work in preview mode

Nov 20, 2017

This episode was recorded on World Diabetes Day, which is a day of global awareness launched by the International Diabetes Federation. I could not think of a more appropriate guest to interview that day than the one and only, Roddy Riddle. 

Roddy was a competitive cyclist for Scotland and competed in the Commonwealth Games. He was ultimately diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 40. Roddy then took that new reality and set out to inspire the world by competing in some of the toughest foot races around. 

In 2013, Roddy competed in the Marathon des Sables, which is a 250K race across the Sahara desert.

In 2016, he decided to go to the other extreme and competed in the 6633 Arctic Ultra, which is a 560K ultra marathon.

Unfortunately, Roddy was unable to complete that race, and he describes that in detail during our conversation, but he was determined to come back the following year and take care of unfinished business.

Earlier this year, Roddy not only completed the 6633 Arctic Ultra, he managed to finish the race in second place. He accomplished all of this while proving to the world that anything is possible with type 1 diabetes, or any other challenges we might face.

We dive in deep to talk about the challenges Roddy encountered during each race, how he maintained a positive mindset despite those challenges (including episodes of some insane hallucinations during the 6633 Arctic races), and what he’s hoping the world will gain from his story.

Roddy is one of those rare individuals who has been on my short list of people I was hoping to interview for the show. This is a special look into the mind of a tremendous athlete, but equally as important, a tremendous human being simply working hard to make a positive impact on the rest of the world.