Running Strong: Brooke Stewart’s Marathon Journey With Type 1 Diabetes

Deciding to run a marathon can be a lot for anyone to wrap their head around. For Brooke Stewart, a member of Beyond Type Run’s 2025 marathon team, it felt like a natural next step. 

Running Past Doubt

An active lifestyle has always been part of her routine, and activities like trail running, mountain biking and skiing have only intensified since her move to Colorado in 2021. Living with type 1 diabetes, a diagnosis she received at age nine, hasn’t slowed her down—but concern from others about her active lifestyle has followed her for years.

“I have been told by people and some providers that I shouldn’t exercise,” Brooke said. “I’ve always been scared to do endurance activities just because of what I’ve been told in the past.”

A Marathon Mindset

What sparked Brooke’s marathon mindset? COVID-19. Like many, the pandemic shut down gyms and pushed her outdoors—but it also deepened her connection to the diabetes community. From virtual webinars to outdoor gatherings, she found herself surrounded by positive reinforcement and success stories—including hearing Beyond Type 1’s Tiana Cooks speak at a Friends for Life conference.

“She shared her story about her running the marathon and honestly she’s a huge reason why I’m running it,” Brooke said. “I’ve done other races…a couple half marathons, some Ragnars, some triathlons. But a marathon is something that has always been on my bucket list.”

Balancing Snacks and Sensors

Being no stranger to high-level activity means Brooke is no stranger to finding the best ways to manage her blood sugar. So building her endurance goes hand-in-hand with building a fueling plan that caters to her T1D needs. 

One thing that works for her right before a run is eating something, like a banana and toast, that gets her into the 180 mg/dL range. Keeping gummies and other fast-acting glucose products on hand helps her when she’s dropping lower than expected, and—depending on the distance—carb loading is clutch five days from race time. 

When the math isn’t mathing on her food guess-timations, her diabetes tech is to the rescue. Brooke has been relying on Medtronic’s MiniMed™ ️ automated insulin pump systems from Medtronic Diabetes for ten years now. 

“I started on the MiniMed 630G system and now I’m on the MiniMed 780G system. It’s wonderful. It’s adjusting and giving me background insulin and auto corrections every 5 minutes without me even really recognizing and noticing it.”

In addition to keeping her blood sugar levels optimal during exercise, Brooke says her MiniMed 780g system shows her time in range (TIR)—while Medtronic’s data management software, called CareLink™ , provides insight on certain trends, including her sleep changes. 

Beyond the Finish Line

As a physical therapist, Brooke channels her own training and experiences into encouragement for her patients—reminding them they are not limited and they can live the life they choose with diabetes. She’s also motivating her IG followers with a simple message: If I can do it, you can too!

“There are a lot of things that diabetes can influence and we can have those up and down days. However, it doesn’t stop me from living the life I love. Overall, I feel just very thankful for the opportunity to run for the cause and show others they can also do hard things. Throughout all of this, I’ve recognized I’m a strong person to be able to manage this condition 24/7 and still safely do all the things that I love.”

This content was made possible by Medtronic Diabetes, an active partner of Beyond Type 1. Beyond Type 1 maintains editorial control over its content.