Mikel Martiarena has been ELITE climber and José Joaquín Llanderas participates in long distance races.
Mikel and José Joaquín have at least three things in common.The two are Gipuzkoans, both have diabetes and the disease has not prevented them from practicing the sport they are passionate about.
Mikel Martiarena has come to compete in the elite of the climb, a modality that now practices as a hobby and that teaches in a climbing climbing in Irun since 2014. He debuted with the disease when he was only five years old.
"When you are so small, you don't realize and it is your parents who take care of you," says this 33 -year -old irundarra.As he became older, he realized that there were certain things he could not do, such as eating sweets in the park with friends, but affirms that “adapting and fighting a little more than those around you you see that the differences are notso many ».
Mikel has always been linked to sport.From the football that played in the courtyard of the school to the canoeing of bravas or the mountaineering to which he was fond of teenager.It was when he began with the climbs to the mountain when he discovered his true vocation, the climbing, which he practiced professionally until three years ago.Diabetes has never prevented him from climbing for rocks around the world, from the closest Ulía or Jaizkibel to the furthest he discovered during an expedition to India.
the data
A figure that remains lower than that of the rest of the state, where the prevalence is 13.8%.In some communities that figure is even greater, as in Andalusia, where it reaches 16.3%.
Mikel's is not the only example that a chronic disease does not have to be a barrier for those who suffer from it.The last Sunday was the Behobia number 19 for José Joaquín Londers, an edition that coincides with the years that this hernandarra had based in Lazkao when he received the diagnosis that he suffered from type 1 diabetes. «I was bad, I was very thirsty, and theAnalysis gave a very high blood glucose level, so I debuted and began to receive diabetological education, ”says José Joaquín, who is now 44 years old.Then he had to learn to measure the sugar level, to regulate food based on that number and to supply insulin.
"I met a group of diabetics in Behobia and we run around the world"
José Joaquín Llanderas, diabetic since he was 19 years old
"With 19 years they told me that I was not going to be able to dedicate myself seriously to the escalation"
Mikel Martiarena, diabetic since the age of 5
Until then he had always walked a bike and also started running, and acknowledges that when he debuted he was afraid that they would force him to leave those activities."Before I was worse seen by doctors, they recommended that you do not practice very demanding sports, but luckily my endocrine supported me from the beginning and with his advice I could continue," says José Joaquín.
A luck that also accompanied Mikel and allowed him to compete as a professional.«I had a laboratory that supported me and whose team opened my eyes and took me around the world.Adapting my routines to climbing was much easier having a doctor close, ”he admits.However, with 19 years a doctor came to tell him that he was not going to be able to practice climbing in a professional way, just like a hobby."And that gave me a lot of anger," he acknowledges.
The Irundarra learned to control in the days of expedition, in which he spent seven hours climbing and about six route on foot.«I wore a backpack with a meter and measured me before, during and after climbing.I also carried insulin and food in case they gave me low sugar, ”says Mikel, who nevertheless has never had any scare.«If you control and take care of yourself, it does not have to happennothing".His advice for all those who want to practice any sport above the amateur level is "that they are accompanied by a trusted doctor and never stop.""It can all give us hypoglycemia," says José Joaquín, "that's why it is very important to control."
Korrikalaris diabetic
The bug for long -distance races emerged for José Joaquin shortly before debuting in the disease.His diagnosis not only did not stop him, but he was a kind of departure gun for his career as Korrikalari.In addition to participating in the Boneborhuesos, a 200 -kilometer cycling test that takes about eight hours to complete, its legs accumulate numerous marathons and half marathons.Some races that for years have done with a group of friends, all diabetics.
They met during a Behobia.In the race, the Gipuzkoan Association of Diabetics has several positions so that diabetic corridors can measure their blood glucose level."I met some boys who were members of the Navarra Association and we became friends."A friendship that lasts after more than ten years and that has allowed them to undertake several adventures together, such as traveling to New York in 2012 to run the marathon, although the bad fortune wanted that year that the race had to be suspended by the passage of the passage ofHurricane Sandy.That of Paris, however, already tells among its achievements.
"We participate in many races and a very special link has been created, we understand each other very well and meet other people with diabetes helps you share experiences and learn from their tricks," says Hernani's.In the last Behobia, -which José Joaquín completed in 1 hour and 24 minutes -a total of 17 friends gathered.«I wear glucose pills, others prefer gels, and others carry a frog with a glucometer and insulin.Each one is managed as prefers, and the important thing is that we all cross the goal ».
For these two Gipuzkoans, sport is part of their lives."I have never stopped doing what I like for my illness, it has never been a limit," says Mikel."Sport causes you to know yourself better, for example I have much more regular glycemia levels thanks to the races," says José Joaquín, who says that "it is not diabetes who puts the limits, but oneself".
