Ep. 566: Climbing the 50 U.S. Highpoints in 50 Days with Type 1 Diabetes - Michael Shelver & Patrick Mertes

Patrick and Michael have been living with Type 1 Diabetes for most of their lives. Feeling a bit isolated and hesitant as children to venture too far away from available insulin or glucose monitoring tools, they individually pursuit adventurous lives before coming together to show the world anything is possible with T1D through their latest adventure, Project 50-IN-50

They climbed the 50 highpoints of each U.S. state and finished in 49 days – making them the first people with Type 1 diabetes to complete this achievement and joining an elite group of fewer than five people to do so the fastest in the world.

Over the course of the 2019 summer, the team road-tripped over 17,000 miles to hike, run, climb and ski through 315 miles of trails. Patrick is the first person with T1D to successfully summit the highest peak in each of the 50 states. Michael experienced an emergency Life Flight off of Granite Peak in Montana and had to miss out on a handful of the peaks. Thankfully, he’s made a full recovery. After loads of tears and challenges along the way, Patrick and Michael persevered to complete their challenge.

Project 50-IN-50 is an initiative of The Diabetes Family Connection, a North Carolina based 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. In addition to achieving a new milestone in mountaineering, Michael and Patrick have grown local and global communities of people with diabetes inspired to get outside and enjoy the outdoors.

www.project50in50.org

Instagram: @project50in50

Facebook: @project50in50

www.thedfc.org

Their upcoming events: project50in50.org/speaking

Photo credit here

Athletic Brewing Company is a pioneer in craft non-alcoholic beer. They make great-tasting beer for the healthy, active, modern adult. Athletic uses certified all-organic grains and only 50-70 calories a can. With IPA, Golden Ale, stouts, and tons of seasonal style offerings. Save 15% by using ADVENTURE at athleticbrewing.com @athleticbrewing

ASP is also sponsored by CS Instant Coffee. CS Instant Coffee is 100% Arabica Instant Coffee. Their compostable packaging provides guilt-free convenience that is perfect for the trail, office, and fitness. Visit csinstant.coffee and use promo code 'Adventure' for 20% off at csinstant.coffee @c.s.coffee

If you're in need of some personalized advice before buying your gear, go to backpacktribe.com. You're not only able to purchase the gear you need on their website but talk with someone with the experience and know-how. They also offer gear bundles and free shipping. @backpacktribal

Support the Adventure Sports Podcast by giving as low as $1/month to our efforts to produce this show at patreon.com/AdventureSportsPodcast

Call and leave us a voicemail at 812-MAIL-POD or 812-624-5763 or send an email to info@adventuresportspodcast.com

Our Sponsors: * Check out Nathan and Sons: https://nathanandsons.com * Check out Outdoorsy and use my code ASP for a great deal: https://www.outdoorsy.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy