Jacob Hunter

I'm Jacob Hunter, and I run for the track and cross country teams, and I'm also a Type 1 diabetic. For a lot of my childhood, my life
sort of revolved around sports. In the middle of one of my baseball games was when I realized I probably had something going on with diabetes. I checked my blood sugar. I think it was in the 300s. And then they drove me to the hospital, and then, I was officially diagnosed. That was really frustrating because sports just meant so much to me. I just didn't feel like my real self.

I'm happy to look back on it now and see how I've grown from that moment and didn't think of it as something that would hinder my ability to get back on my feet. People just assume diabetes equals unhealthy lifestyle. This is just not true. I always wake up, and check my blood sugar right away. Let's give it a check. It is 92. And then I usually have my morning practice, take insulin for all my meals My team has helped me out a lot. They don't ever look at me as like the guy with diabetes. They just look at me as their friend, very supportive group of guys.

The feeling after a good, long, hard fought race, putting in all those miles and seeing team success and individual success... There's just not a better feeling.