Moments after finishing the Colfax Marathon’s half marathon Sunday, blind runner Kerry Kuck had his blood sugar tested and found it to be higher than he expected.
“Too much Gatorade,” he quipped before getting an insulin shot.
Kuck lost his vision 25 years ago because of Type 1 diabetes.
“The diabetes is the hard part,” he said. “Running blind is easy.”
Kuck began running to help manage his illness and discovered a new passion.
“I saw a lot of other people at the state vocational rehab center with Type 1 diabetes,” said Kuck, 55. “They were going on dialysis, they were just flat-out dying, and it scared the heck out of me. So I got a guide dog to walk and get exercise. One day in the park, a jogger ran by me and I started running with my guide dog.
“That was three guide dogs ago.”
Last month Kuck finished the Boston Marathon in 4 hours, 24 minutes, 32 seconds, having his blood sugar tested twice during the race. Racing with guide runners Sunday, he finished in 1:51:09.
“The whole Denver community is very, very supportive of the disabled runner,” Kuck said. “Everybody’s got something good to say as they pass me. This is the best place to run in the country.”
