Texas Man Runs From Disneyland to Disney World to Elevate Consciousness for Diabetes

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Don Muchow was afraid of movement for years. As a Type 1 diabetic, he was nervous that his blood sugar would either be too high, which could cause long-term damage to the body, or that it would drop to dangerously low levels requiring immediate action.

But on April 7, the 59-year-old Texan reached a goal that had been achieved for years (and which he has been actively working towards for the past 14 months) – to run across the country while stopping at both Disneyland and Disney World .

His goal? To inspire diabetics like him that they too can do hard things.

“As a type 1 diabetic, I wanted to prove to myself that I could do things like that, and all diabetics too,” Muchow told Runner’s World. “It just takes a little extra work and planning to get ultras and runs like this on.”

Muchow was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1972, and it wasn’t until 2004 that he took up the courage to exercise regularly. Once he started running, it took time for him to come up with a routine for checking his blood sugar and ways to keep it under control while increasing his mileage on ultras. Through trial and error, he wanted to document what he had learned as a teaching point for diabetics interested in similar adventures.

“Even if a person was a little less afraid to do 3 miles or laps in the pool, it was a good run,” he said.

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Muchow thought of the idea of ​​running across the country in 2018 after a season of 100- and 200-mile races. At first, like many others, he hoped to follow Pete Kostelnick’s record-breaking route in 2016. Since he was based in Texas, he wanted to walk around his home state, so he planned a more southerly route from California to Florida – or as a friend put it, Disneyland to Disney World.

While running, Muchow had to watch his blood sugar closely, as he balanced high mileage, stress while running and a lot of food intake. His diet focused on protein and fat – he mainly ate hummus, yogurt, chicken salad, cheese spread, powdered milk and shakes, and avoided unnecessary carbohydrates.

“For anyone who is Type 1, I want you to know that there are thousands like me, but if you don’t know anyone you know that there is one person out there who is trying to figure this out right and look down on the below real and justified fear of controlling blood sugar during exercise, ”said Muchow.

He had planned to take about 100 days to cover more than 2,800 miles. Unfortunately, about a month into its run, which originally began in February 2020, the pandemic has ceased everything and it halted its run on March 22 because they could not be resupplied because the grocery stores were empty.

Courtesy of Don Munchow

After returning to Texas, it resumed running on September 24, but stopped again on October 18 when COVID-19 cases began to spike. On March 2nd of this year, Muchow, who is now vaccinated, started the last leg of his run.

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One thing that kept him motivated was his stay at Disney World. He didn’t intend to stay there long – he mostly wanted a picture and be on the way, then stayed two more days. But Disney Park staff read the news about his story and prepared a big surprise for Muchow when he reached the front gate.

“Some people shared my story on Run Disney’s Facebook page, and many of the members had friends who were occupied in the park,” Muchow said. “When we got to the gates of the magical kingdom, there was a guard who asked, ‘Are you the runner? ‘He took me into the house and there were maybe 300 performers cheering and applauding. They gave me a Disney mouse hat and took me to the top of my favorite ride, It’s a Small World. They treated us like kings. “

Unfortunately, Muchow couldn’t stay long as he still had 15 miles to go for the day before doing a 62 mile boost for the last two days, split between 37 and 25 miles.

Don Munchow

Courtesy of Don Munchow

Eventually he entered Melbourne, Florida, where Muchow was greeted with a police escort to the beach. More than a year after starting his journey, he finally dipped his toe in the Atlantic Ocean, finishing his run on April 7th at 2,845 miles. Finishing the run was also a way to honor his father, who died a year ago when he started his run.

“It was emotional and I was crying,” he said. “During my run, I carried a metal object, a token, with gears that my sister asked me to take to the Atlantic. Putting it there was a sense of relief to lift something off my shoulders and keep a promise. Given the exhaustion and buzz of Red Bull, it’s hard to describe. It was a unique moment. ”

His greatest hope is to continue to inspire other diabetics.

“My wife, [Leslie]and I’ve seen the backyard of America face to face and person to person and managed to get in touch with Type 1 people and unique stories from the ground up, ”Muchow said. “That, aside from the personal transformation of the run itself, was the most rewarding part.”

Don Munchow

Courtesy of Don Munchow


Gear & News Editor
Drew covers a variety of topics for Runner’s World and Bicycling. He specializes in writing and editing pieces of human interest, as well as health, wellness, equipment and fitness for the brand.

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