Island runner pushing to qualify for Boston Marathon, despite diabetes diagnosis
Mike Hogan was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes last summer, which spurred his renewed health journey
After being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes last year, Islander Mike Hogan started to really prioritize his health.
Part of that includes preparing for the P.E.I. Marathon, with the goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon.
Having been an avid runner before, Hogan's renewed health journey started in July 2024, when he said he felt the worst he had ever felt in his life.
"I had lost a bunch of weight, I was sweating, I was having to get up to use the washroom four, five times at night," he said. "I was constantly thirsty. I really didn't know what was going on at all."
He soon discovered what the issue was, after accidentally injuring himself at work. His pinky finger was crushed by a heavy plate at work.
"I was like, 'I should have been able to lift that no problem, like what's going on with me?'" he said.
That's when he decided to go to the doctor.
After a blood test that morning, his doctor called him at home that evening. She told him he needed to go to the hospital because his blood sugar was "sky high."
Following more tests and waiting hours at the emergency room, he got his results at 5 a.m. — he had diabetes.
"I was totally sleep deprived and completely shocked at finding that out," he said. "Quickly over the next couple of weeks, they determined it was Type 1 diabetes that requires insulin."
Switching priorities
Hogan, 45, said his diagnosis made him switch his priorities, from being focused on business to health.
"I've been a business owner for 10 years and for a long time that has been like almost the complete focus in my life I would say, and I would say I just kind of did a 180 that Friday morning I found out I had diabetes and made a commitment to put my health first."
After the diagnosis, Hogan was told he needed to get 150 minutes of exercise a week so he decided to start running a few times a week, something he used to do.
He also started taking insulin, which can be challenging as a runner.
"What's different about exercising, is that when you exercise, you need carbs for fuelling that exercise, and then your insulin resistance, it's called, goes way down," he said.
"It's like your body is holding you back from exerting its full potential, so it's like you're stuck in the wrong gear of your car or something like that."
Now, Hogan has to make calculations before exercising.
"You want to have carbs for exercise and you want to take a little bit of insulin so that your body can process those carbs while you're exercising, but you don't want to take too much and you don't want to take too little."
He said it's even more challenging running long distances.
"I'm not only training my body to run the marathon, but I'm also like training my process for doing these calculations and figuring that out."
Persevering through the diagnosis
In October, a few months after his diagnosis, Hogan registered in the P.E.I. Marathon relay with a few co-workers.
He had run the marathon before, marking his best time in 2015, which he came close to this time around.
"I was probably four, five minutes off of that time, but it still felt like a win," he said.
That's when he decided to up his goal. He would run through the winter and try a half marathon next.
Having done a half marathon before, he knew it was possible, he said, but it would be more difficult as a diabetic.
He entered into the 2025 Bath Half Marathon, which is hosted in England every March.
Unexpected setback
But only a few days before the half marathon, he hit an unexpected setback.
"I got pickpocketed. My phone got stolen and so I basically lost access to having that real-time blood sugar data," he said.
Hogan wears a continuous glucose monitor on this arm that connects to his phone to monitor his blood sugar, which he uses while running.
He said losing his phone affected the way he had to approach the half marathon.
"During the run, I had to actually physically pause on the side to check my blood sugar and make sure that it was OK," he said.
"And it's so funny I had spent so many months training for the run and I had a particular time goal in mind, but I had to abandon that goal, and my new goal was just to try to complete it as best as I could, knowing I was going to have to pause and take some extra time."
He completed the half marathon, but didn't reach his goal, which he still aspires to hit.
While he was there, he also raised $800 Cad for Breakthrough T1D, an organization that funds diabetes research.
Hogan said now, about a year from when he felt the worse he had in his life, he feels like he has never been healthier.
"I do feel really proud of that and again of making that switch, like flipping that and making health my priority."
Looking forward, Hogan said he's going to do a full marathon on this Island this fall, something he hasn't done since 2018.
And this time, he has a big goal: a time of three hours and 10 minutes to qualify for the Boston Marathon.
"I don't think I'll achieve it this October, but my ultimate goal is to qualify for the Boston Marathon in the next year or two."
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With files from Steve Bruce
