Tri State
It’s slow going for former star sprinter
Georgetown standout manages Diabetes, gets back to running
Christine Yurko
County United Way Intern
CUMBERLAND – With five years of managing Type I diabetes under his belt – and no running – former Georgetown University standout sprinter Jeff Reinhardt is living life in the slow lane.
And he couldn’t be happier.
Young, determined, dedicated and energized, Reinhardt has now been able to control his medical condition and is running again. Whereas long distance doesn’t come as easy or naturally for Reinhardt, he nonetheless enjoys the experience.
After a series of low-key events over the past few months, the Cumberland resident is tackling the Mountain Maryland Half Marathon presented by Life Fitness Management on Sunday, April 19, beginning in downtown Cumberland.
“Running is a passion,” said Reinhart, 29. “I tell myself don’t run with a watch one, don’t try to win.”
For Reinhardt, the half marathon event is an outlet to get involved with the community. It also reminds him of the popular Boilermaker 15K (9.3-mile) race in his hometown of Utica, N.Y. That race started small like the Mountain Maryland Marathon Festival – there are 254 registered runners with six week to go. The Utica race now hosts thousands of runners each June.
The local marathon festival, Reinhardt said, “reminds me of having that potential.”
Reinhardt’s standout running career started at Whitesboro High School in New York. There, he was two-time state champion for the 300-meter indoor and 400-meter hurdles on the outdoor track. He still holds school records in more than a half-dozen events. At Georgetown University, he shares the Hoyas’ team records in the 1600 relay in indoor and outdoor track. In the distance medley relay, Reinhardt and his teammates set the U.S. national record in the indoor distance medley relay (since broken) by winning the Penn Relay championship. He earned NCAA Division 1 First Team All-American honors in 1999 for his indoor track efforts.
The hardest challenge for Reinhardt with developing mature onset diabetes is keeping his sugar levels between 80 and 100. While first acquiring the hereditary disease through an illness his senior year in college, running was too much of a risk. He quit and, as the old saying goes, hung ‘em up.
Now, he’s able to manage it with the help of a special pump attached to his back called an Ommnipod and a strict diet. Running long distance is less risky. Reinhardt acquired diabetes with an onset of the flu. Since he father and grandfather have the same disease, Reinhardt wasn't scared about learning he had Type I diabetes.
“I wasn't scared since I had grown up know it is manageable and livable from seeing my dad and grandfather,” Reinhardt said.
He was able to finish his college running career but later had to put it to the side to focus on his career, family and, of course, managing his sugar levels. Since having the Ommnipod, regulating his insulin levels is almost science. The Ommnipod, attached to his back, contains insulin packets that inject insulin to regulate his blood levels and contains packets of insulin that need changed every three days. It is a much more convenient device than the pump which attached at the pants waistline. He checks his sugar levels about six times per day.
When he met his future wife, Dana, she did not know very much about Type 1 Diabetes. He told her the warning signs when his blood sugar is too high or too low that he will feel lethargic or a tingling sensation.
Since meeting, Jeff has educated Dana about the disease and warning signs about sugar levels fluctuating. Before he goes running he's sure to drink a glass of juice and when he comes back, Dana tries to have a Gatorade ready for him – just in case.
“The first time I was with him when he had an episode, his sugar got too low, we were dating and getting ready to play tennis,” Dana Reinhardt said. “I had to run back to the house and we first tried skittles but he couldn't chew them fast enough so I had to run back to the house and get some juice, which ended up working.”
During those times, Dana is confident and reassuring. When not around, she trusts Jeff to stay alert and keep his disease under control. While being concerned is natural, she’s enthusiastic about her husband running his first-ever half marathon.
“I think it’s great,” she said.
For sugar regulation, they continuously keep a supply of juice boxes throughout their house, available any time should his sugar get too low. He even carries the juice boxes in the car as well. He jokes about having all the juice boxes in his car.
“People ask me if I have a lot of kids when they see all the juice boxes in my car, and I say ‘no, they're for me actually,’” Reinhardt said.
For details on the Mountain Maryland Marathon Festival, visit www.mountainMDmarathon.org or e-mail run@mountainMDmarathon.org.
Georgetown standout manages Diabetes, gets back to running
Christine Yurko
County United Way Intern
CUMBERLAND – With five years of managing Type I diabetes under his belt – and no running – former Georgetown University standout sprinter Jeff Reinhardt is living life in the slow lane.
And he couldn’t be happier.
Young, determined, dedicated and energized, Reinhardt has now been able to control his medical condition and is running again. Whereas long distance doesn’t come as easy or naturally for Reinhardt, he nonetheless enjoys the experience.
After a series of low-key events over the past few months, the Cumberland resident is tackling the Mountain Maryland Half Marathon presented by Life Fitness Management on Sunday, April 19, beginning in downtown Cumberland.
“Running is a passion,” said Reinhart, 29. “I tell myself don’t run with a watch one, don’t try to win.”
For Reinhardt, the half marathon event is an outlet to get involved with the community. It also reminds him of the popular Boilermaker 15K (9.3-mile) race in his hometown of Utica, N.Y. That race started small like the Mountain Maryland Marathon Festival – there are 254 registered runners with six week to go. The Utica race now hosts thousands of runners each June.
The local marathon festival, Reinhardt said, “reminds me of having that potential.”
Reinhardt’s standout running career started at Whitesboro High School in New York. There, he was two-time state champion for the 300-meter indoor and 400-meter hurdles on the outdoor track. He still holds school records in more than a half-dozen events. At Georgetown University, he shares the Hoyas’ team records in the 1600 relay in indoor and outdoor track. In the distance medley relay, Reinhardt and his teammates set the U.S. national record in the indoor distance medley relay (since broken) by winning the Penn Relay championship. He earned NCAA Division 1 First Team All-American honors in 1999 for his indoor track efforts.
The hardest challenge for Reinhardt with developing mature onset diabetes is keeping his sugar levels between 80 and 100. While first acquiring the hereditary disease through an illness his senior year in college, running was too much of a risk. He quit and, as the old saying goes, hung ‘em up.
Now, he’s able to manage it with the help of a special pump attached to his back called an Ommnipod and a strict diet. Running long distance is less risky. Reinhardt acquired diabetes with an onset of the flu. Since he father and grandfather have the same disease, Reinhardt wasn't scared about learning he had Type I diabetes.
“I wasn't scared since I had grown up know it is manageable and livable from seeing my dad and grandfather,” Reinhardt said.
He was able to finish his college running career but later had to put it to the side to focus on his career, family and, of course, managing his sugar levels. Since having the Ommnipod, regulating his insulin levels is almost science. The Ommnipod, attached to his back, contains insulin packets that inject insulin to regulate his blood levels and contains packets of insulin that need changed every three days. It is a much more convenient device than the pump which attached at the pants waistline. He checks his sugar levels about six times per day.
When he met his future wife, Dana, she did not know very much about Type 1 Diabetes. He told her the warning signs when his blood sugar is too high or too low that he will feel lethargic or a tingling sensation.
Since meeting, Jeff has educated Dana about the disease and warning signs about sugar levels fluctuating. Before he goes running he's sure to drink a glass of juice and when he comes back, Dana tries to have a Gatorade ready for him – just in case.
“The first time I was with him when he had an episode, his sugar got too low, we were dating and getting ready to play tennis,” Dana Reinhardt said. “I had to run back to the house and we first tried skittles but he couldn't chew them fast enough so I had to run back to the house and get some juice, which ended up working.”
During those times, Dana is confident and reassuring. When not around, she trusts Jeff to stay alert and keep his disease under control. While being concerned is natural, she’s enthusiastic about her husband running his first-ever half marathon.
“I think it’s great,” she said.
For sugar regulation, they continuously keep a supply of juice boxes throughout their house, available any time should his sugar get too low. He even carries the juice boxes in the car as well. He jokes about having all the juice boxes in his car.
“People ask me if I have a lot of kids when they see all the juice boxes in my car, and I say ‘no, they're for me actually,’” Reinhardt said.
For details on the Mountain Maryland Marathon Festival, visit www.mountainMDmarathon.org or e-mail run@mountainMDmarathon.org.
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Jeff Reinhardt, 29, completes the New Year's Day Resolution Run at Country Club Mall in January. A former sprint champion, longer distances are easier for Reinhardt to manage his diabetes. He plans to run the Mountain Maryland Half Marathon on April 19.