Running with a Chronic Disease

Montrealer David Letky is planning his training runs and rest days. Toronto runner Marcel Plug is paying close attention to his fuel. Calgarian Danielle Redekop is mapping routes with porta-potties. They may look like regular runners doing regular running things, but for Letky, Plug and Redekop, who deal with autoimmune conditions, these “regular runner” considerations have elevated importance. Millions of Canadians are affected by autoimmune diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease, Type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. With some careful planning, runners with autoimmune conditions can not only continue running, but can reap many of the same benefits as other runners. Fuelling up It’s common advice to try different fuels, but this is especially important for Letky and Redekop, who live with Crohn’s and colitis, respectively. And Letky cautions that fuel might need…