# orienteering, diabetes & pump



## Copepod (Mar 31, 2011)

Slightly surreal experience yesterday. RAF Honington invited local civilian orienteering club members to join their sprint race (this "sprint" in orienteering means 4.2km as the crow flies, so most runners cover at least 5km). While registering in a former nuclear control room (gun racks left reasurringly empty), a young man approached me, having read a couple of blog entries I'd written about mountain marathons etc - he had seen my name on local orienteering results list and then asked someone to point me out and had finally made an approach. He knew about my medical qualications and my partner's run times & age group. After whipping a plastic bag of jelly babies out of his pocket to show his diabetic credentials, and I showed him mine to demonstrate mine, he then continued to explain by lifting his top to reveal pump cannula and pointing to his pump attached to his back. We'll be discussing further issues of stopping insulin freezing in tubing during winter mountain marathons etc by email and at future races now we can recognise each other. 
The run was also surreal - East Anglia is so flat that hill top control sites are very rare, but of 20 controls in this course, 4 were described as hill top, "hills" being tops of bunkers; "buildings" were oddly shaped hangars, sentry boxes etc. Brilliant - even the rain was good to keep cool


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## bev (Mar 31, 2011)

Hi Copepod,

You never know, you might change your mind about pumps.Bev


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## Copepod (Apr 1, 2011)

And, more significantly, you've found the Sports section


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## Northerner (Apr 1, 2011)

Love the idea of the jelly babies 'secret handshake'  Hope you didn't feel stalked!


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## Copepod (Apr 1, 2011)

It did occur to me that looking from a small bump in a pocket could be a way of indentifiying jelly babies being carried by someone with diabetes. 

What woman wouldn't be honoured to be asked their guidance about mountain marathons from a man 20 years younger?  No stalking, but of course we both knew each others' orienteering agebands - although his M21 could mean he's nearly 35; after 35, bands go up in 5 year blocks, based on January before your birthday, not your actual birthdate - and can now check each others's results online.


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## bev (Apr 1, 2011)

Copepod said:


> And, more significantly, you've found the Sports section



Hi Copepod,

Yes - I realised why I couldnt find it - you have to be logged in to see the bottom section and I dont always log in.Bev


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## Copepod (Apr 1, 2011)

The young man pointed out that while fine tuning of blood sugar by pump was great for short orienteering races (for adults, typically 2 to 10km, usuallly around 5 - 7 km, taking less than 1hr on rough ground and needing navigation on the go, more effort than road races), there are potential disadvantages for 2 day / 1 night mountain marathons - having to carry extra weight of back up pen injecting kit would be a handicap. People who don't do mountain marathons may not appreciate that minimising weight is vital, when you're carrying tent, stove, food, sleeping bag, any clothing not being worn etc. Non essentials for 1 night camping aren't taken eg no toiletries, not even a cut down toothbrush; sheets of bubble wrap instead of a sleeping mat; no spare shoes, so replace wet socks with dry spares at overnight camp, then plastic bags on feet, then back into wet shoes etc.


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## Northerner (Apr 1, 2011)

bev said:


> Hi Copepod,
> 
> Yes - I realised why I couldnt find it - you have to be logged in to see the bottom section and I dont always log in.Bev



Do you? I'd better look into that! I'm always logged in.


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