I believe it is good to see where we are in relation to where we were. Thanks Al! Glad you are around!!
Al Howie looks back at health problems and patterns
By Al Howie
Ultramarathon World
Victoria (UW) - A pattern emerges. I hope it continues! The latter half of recent decades has, for me, been 'Defeat a Disease a Decade Days.' Year parallels year with uncanny precision.
1985 - Early summer: lost 30 lbs, health haywire, engulfed in the nightmare death sentence of a malignant brain tumour.
1995 - Early summer: lost 30 lbs,health haywire, the 'pissing evil' strikes; type 1 diabetes was, until the discovery of insulin, a death sentence within two years.
1986 - Death penalty commuted to life sentence of healthy eating. Fighting back to life and health by rigidly adhering to the 'Macrobiotic diet', helped immensely by a liberal degree of providence being on my side. Attempted racing comeback too soon running only about 100kms in Ottawa 24 hour run.
1986 - Death penalty commuted to life sentence of insulin injections. Fighting back to life and health, this time via the more convential method, the only way to go for insulin dependent diabetics -- insulin therapy. Attempted racing comeback too soon running only about 100kms in the Victoria 24 hour run.
1987 - Back on track again; won Canadian 24 Hour Championship at the Ottawa 24 hour race after an exciting close encounter of the tight kind, narrowly edging Texas Titan Mark Dorion. 1997 - Back on track again; won Victoria 24 hour race. (Where were you Mark?)
1988 - Regained ultra-form; ran some quality marathons, set, since broken, record for the 880 mile British End to End and, while in the UK, covered 230kms at the Doncaster Plant Works 24 hour run.
1998 Regained ultra-form; won four out of four ultras entered at distances ranging from 50 miles to 72 hours.
1989 - Peak performance year culminating in establishing a World Record for 2,000kms and 1,300 miles while becoming the first person since the races conception to complete the distance within the tight 18 day time limit.
1999 - The future's not ours to see; but I hope to continue along parallel lines to the late 80s and become the first diabetic to finish the 1,300 miler while establishing new
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