Sep 18, 2017
On this episode, we talk with Australian marathon runner and plant-based nutrition coach, Amy McKinnon. Amy grew up in Sydney Australia and was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at a young age. What's interesting about Amy’s story, is that her parents didn’t try to slow her down in any way after her diagnosis.
What they focused on was how to empower Amy and give her massive support as she took on the ultimate responsibility for managing her diabetes as a child. What you’ll learn from this conversation, is that those experiences early in life seemed to serve as Amy’s guideposts as she started to take on larger challenges including running and solo travel adventures.
During this conversation, Amy guides us through her experiences living with diabetes in Australia, as well as a rebellious stage that negatively impacted her diabetes control. Ultimately, a move half way around the world to New York City served as an escape as well as a rebirth of sorts when she decided to craft a new life for herself that included healthier habits, a lifestyle of wellbeing, and a new-found passion for running. Amy’s move to New York City also solidified her commitment to a plant-based diet.
Amy describes how she launched her running career, and what kept her motivated to run longer distances and races over time. She also shares how she was able to successfully test her blood sugars while keeping her running pace during the New York Marathon, as well as other lessons learned while training and running races.
We finish up by covering a very interesting project where Amy ran 40 half marathon distance runs in a year’s time, most of those runs were completed while backpacking for six months through Central and South America. Amy then shares the lessons she learned along the way and the challenges of managing type 1 diabetes while on the road.
This is a conversation of independence, inner strength, mindset and living life to the fullest.