Insulet Corporation announced that Team Type 1 won the 28th Annual Race Across America in record-breaking time using OmniPod Insulin Management System. The 3,000 mile transcontinental cycling competition started in Oceanside, CA and ended in Annapolis, MD. Team Type 1 stood first-place in the 8-person team category division. Team Type 1 members were put to the ultimate athletic test enduring extreme desert temperatures, wind, the threat of thunderstorms, and rough terrain, all while having to constantly manage their diabetes.
We are so proud that our team was able to break another Race Across America record and finish in first place, said Joe Eldridge, co-founder of Team Type 1. Our team’s mission is to show people with diabetes that they can accomplish anything if they work hard to control their disease. We hope our team’s performance inspires other people to manage their diabetes so they can achieve their own goals.
Phil Southerland and Joe Eldridge, a pair of avid cyclists with Type 1 diabetes created Team Type 1 in 2004. In 2006 and 2007, the pair captained Team Type 1 to back-to-back victories in the eight-person team division of the Race Across America (RAAM).
In 2009 race, six of the eight team members were able to compete vigorously and control their glucose levels with the OmniPod Insulin Management System: Jeff Bannink, Beaverton, Ore.; Alex Bowden, St. Charles, Mo.; Matt Brooks, Pickerington, Ohio; Lonny Knabe, Portland, Ore.; Bob Schrank, Gurnee, Ill.; Mark Suprenant, Milford, N.H.
The revolutionary technology of the OmniPod let us focus on competing, commented Mark Suprenant, one of the winning TT1 RAAM cyclists. OmniPod stood up to all the challenging conditions we faced from California to Maryland and enabled us to deliver our best performance ever.
The OmniPod System consists of two wireless components: the Pod and the Personal Diabetes Manager.
We congratulate Team Type 1 on yet another inspiring achievement, commented Duane DeSisto, President and Chief Executive Office of Insulet, manufacturer of the OmniPod System. These elite athletes embody our mission to make diabetes a smaller part of life.