When Sofie Schunk stepped on the start line of the 2023 California International Marathon (CIM), she thought there was a low chance she’d finish the race in Sacramento.
Mebs 5-Step Plan on Reaching Any Running Goal How a Runner With Type 1 Diabetes Qualified for the Published: Jan 30, 2024 3:18 PM EST was taking antibiotics to treat an infection around her glucose sensor on her arm. She felt sluggish after spending the last 10 days recovering and adjusting paces in training before the race on December 3. For the first 10 miles, Schunk considered dropping out. Her 2:43:36 personal best was over six minutes slower than the 2:37 standard she needed to compete at the 2024 How a Runner With Type 1 Diabetes Qualified for the Published: Jan 30, 2024 3:18 PM EST in February. But after months of trial and error in diabetes management and with the qualifying window closing two days later, Schunk decided to give herself one more shot.
“I can’t really tell you why [I kept going]," Schunk told Runner's World. “I think it was a lot of believing in all the work I had put in and being confident in my nutrition plan. I had the fuel on board to do it and a group of people trying to help.”
She didn’t need to take insulin during the race, but she was diligent about following an improved nutrition plan—taking a mix of UCAN gels, gummy bears, electrolyte capsules, and water—throughout the race. The plan and her bravado to keep going helped Schunk finish in 2:36:22.
“I still get chills thinking about [the CIM finish], and I don’t show emotion much but it was a wild, just quiet moment,” she said. “I really had to fight for it.”
For Schunk, the race is just the latest example of the 31-year-old engineer from Albuquerque, New Mexico, fighting for ways to manage Type 1 diabetes in pursuit of her athletic goals and helping others reach theirs.
Learning How to Compete as a Diabetic
Schunk played soccer and ran on the track and field team in high school. She was diagnosed during her sophomore year with the chronic condition in which the pancreas makes little to no insulin, a hormone the body uses to allow sugar (glucose) to enter cells to produce energy. Treatment includes managing the amount of sugar in the blood using insulin, diet, and lifestyle changes to prevent complications.
At the time she was diagnosed, Schunk said she had difficulty figuring out how to manage Type 1 as a runner, but soccer proved to be an easier adjustment. In college, she went on to play as a goalkeeper for Marquette University in Milwaukee.
“Playing a Division 1 college sport and having diabetes forced me to learn how to deal with two and three-a-days, and while it wasn’t endurance running, it taught me how to play in high level athletics with Type 1,” Schunk said.
The team's athletic trainer would monitor her glucose levels from the sidelines using a device with a receiver. Schunk also learned how to adjust her diet with different meals to help slow sugar absorption. For example, she learned how to dilute her Gatorade to avoid the drink’s high sugar content and create meals with the right ratio of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. The resources also helped Schunk learn how to advocate for herself.
“It taught me to be more vocal about it and find the right support groups and other athletes that had Type 1,” Schunk said.
At the encouragement of a faculty member who ran marathons and triathlons with Type 1, Schunk picked up running again in graduate school. In 2015, she ran 2:52:35 at the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon. She also became one of the founding members of the Courtesy of Sofie Schunk, an organization dedicated to educating those with diabetes about ways to manage the condition while working toward athletic goals. Today, Schunk continues to mentor and coach fellow distance runners living with Type 1.
Setting Big Goals
Over the years, Schunk has seen a steady progression in the marathon after taking a brief hiatus from the event. While living in San Diego, California, and working for Dexcom, a company that develops glucose monitoring systems, Schunk came within minutes of qualifying for the 2020 Published: Jan 30, 2024 3:18 PM EST by running a 2:49:07 at the 2019 CIM, just over four minutes slower than the previous standard. Shortly after the race, Schunk moved back to Albuquerque and started her current job at Sandia National Laboratories as a systems engineer.
Schunk said she felt burnt out on the marathon and pursued shorter distances while training with the Dukes Track Club. At the end of 2022, a bad breakup prompted her to throw herself into running in an effort to prioritize her mental health.
In January 2023, she drove to Phoenix by herself to race the Rock ’n’ Roll half marathon. Schunk said she was instructed by her coach at the time to approach the race as a fun reintroduction into competition, but it ended up changing the trajectory of her season. In the pouring rain, Schunk shocked herself with a personal best of 1:16, fourth in the elite field after a buildup that included more snow skiing than running.
A competitor who placed behind Schunk struck up a conversation about her running background and encouraged her to go after the Olympic Trials standard again. “Honestly, I didn’t think I was fast enough until that moment,” Schunk said. “It was [that race] that told me, you gotta go for it.”
Now coached by Jesse Armijo, Schunk targeted Grandma’s Marathon and the McKirdy Micro Marathon, but the races didn’t go as planned. A hip injury forced her to withdraw from Grandma’s and high blood sugar levels derailed the last six miles of her race at McKirdy. She missed the standard, but she still improved on her previous personal best by six minutes. That left CIM.
After McKirdy, Schunk changed her nutrition and insulin strategy. This time, she took insulin right before the start and carried it with her during the race, a comforting addition that helped her overcome self-doubt and ultimately turn around an off day.
After gaining valuable lessons in diabetes management from the fall races, Schunk said she feels excited about the possibility of another breakthrough at the Olympic Trials. Now armed with more experience, she’s ready to fight for a top 50 finish in Orlando. “If I can show up as healthy as possible, I think I have a lot more in me,” she said.
After spending many years managing Type 1 diabetes as an elite athlete, Schunk wants to help others living with the condition learn how to fuel properly. Here are four tips the marathoner recommends for training and racing.
1) Track everything
Diabetes varies for different people, but Schunk found it helpful to track her body’s reaction to High-Protein Snacks for Runners and hard workout days. Creating a specific nutrition plan for both scenarios can make a big difference, she said. For example, on easy days, she mixes in a lot more fats and proteins to prevent blood sugar spikes. She also carries a quick form of sugar, like gummy bears.
After tough workouts, she recommends replenishing your body with a protein shake or another form of protein to steady your blood sugar. For Schunk, her body has seen recent adrenaline spikes, so she started eating bigger meals (she enjoys Ezekiel bread with avocado or almond butter) with a reduced level of insulin two hours before her workouts. During the workout, she fuels the same way she would during a race effort.
“Whatever fueling strategy during a race works for you, stomach-wise, you can fuel with that knowing you have a little bit of insulin and spacing it out helps avoid the spikes, too,” she said.
2) Increase carbohydrate intake the week before a race
Instead of carbo-loading the night before a race, Schunk suggests increasing your carbohydrate intake and basal insulin levels by about 25 percent (for those How a Runner With Type 1 Diabetes Qualified for the Published: Jan 30, 2024 3:18 PM EST) for the entire week leading up to a competition. She’s also a big fan of eating a larger meal with a mix of fat and protein for lunch the day before a race.
“This helps absorb the carb increase and levels out the adrenaline spikes on race day morning,” Schunk said.
Before a race, Schunk also recommends runners keep their calories consistent and more focused around runs and recovery, especially when increasing carbohydrates as that’s when calories will be absorbed the most, she said.
She also recommends mixed glycemic meals at a higher frequency than three meals a day to avoid any highs and lows with crashes.
3) Try a larger meal with insulin on race day
It took some trial and error for Schunk to figure this out for herself, but eating a more substantial meal with insulin (decreased about half) two to three hours before a race helps her absorb gels and manage adrenaline spikes in the early miles. Her favorite prerace breakfast is avocado toast with a side of dark chocolate due to its ideal fat, protein, and carbohydrate ratio. She also drinks coffee with cream.
4) Practice a fueling strategy that works for you
Over the years, Schunk has learned that timing her insulin and fuel intake is critical for success on race day. Minutes before a race, she takes a small amount of insulin with a few Haribo gummy bears (they offer a few grams of protein). She also sips on an electrolyte and BCAA mix.
Now, she carries insulin with her in case of an emergency. She takes her first gel (half of a UCAN packet) around mile 2 and continues consuming a gel every 3-4 miles. She also drinks water with electrolytes and eats a snack of 4-5 gummy bears to keep up with the glucose burn. Around mile 15, she eats a gel with caffeine.
“Always carry extra. If you find yourself spiking, focus on water and electrolytes,” Schunk said. “If you find yourself going low, eat and know it will come back up. This is where I would take a drink with carb mix, which tends to spike me too quickly, but sometimes it’s needed.”
Taylor Dutch is a writer and editor living in Austin, Texas, and a former NCAA track athlete who specializes in fitness, wellness, and endurance sports coverage. Her work has appeared in Runner’s World, SELF, Bicycling, Outside, and Podium Runner.
