ABOUT ERIC
"Sports taught me invaluable lessons like commitment, teamwork, dedication, and how to win and lose with class.”
Eric made history, becoming the first person with type 1 diabetes (T1D) to complete the World Marathon Challenge, running 7 marathons on 7 continents in 7 consecutive days.
Eric Tozer is a diabetes ambassador who inspires the community through sports and utilizes his athletic accomplishments as a platform to be a role model in the diabetes community.
Eric was diagnosed with T1D in 2006, while traveling in Europe. He had the classic symptoms of diabetes including constant thirst, increased appetite, frequent urination, blurred vision, lethargy and weight loss. Eric had always lived a very active and healthy lifestyle, so the sudden 20-pound weight loss made him aware that something was seriously wrong. Upon returning home, a visit to his doctor revealed the devastating and life changing news of his diagnosis. Eric’s life was quickly turned upside down: checking his blood sugar levels up to 10 times a day, calculating carbohydrate intake and taking varying units of insulin shots with every meal.
But Eric wasn’t going to let diabetes control his life and decided to take charge. Soon after his diagnosis, he completed his first half Ironman and hasn’t stopped since. He co-founded non-profit organization, Diabetes Sports Project, comprised of hundreds of T1D athletes around the globe, demonstrating how through proper diet, exercise, a positive outlook and effective blood glucose management, dreams can be achieved.
Eric’s Athletic Accomplishments:
World Marathon Challenge 2019 (7 Marathons, on 7 Continents, in 7 Days / Average Marathon Time= 4:03:18)
Run Across America (3,000+ mile run across USA in 15 days with ten T1Ds)
140.6-mile Full Ironman distance triathlons
70.3-mile Half-Ironman distance triathlons
Olympic and Sprint distance triathlons
Multiple 26.2 mile Marathons
Multiple 13.1 mile Half-Marathons
NCAA Men's Soccer Final Four All-Tournament Team (2004)
World Marathon Challenge Documentary Trailer (2020)
NEWS & PRESS
NBC 7 San Diego
CBS 8: Zevely Zone
January 18, 2019
PARTNERS
Eric is honored to PARTNER WITH THESE INCREDIBLE COMPANIES & ORGANIZATIONS
DIABETES 101
What Is Diabetes?
Diabetes is the name given to disorders in which the body has trouble regulating its blood-glucose, or blood-sugar, levels. There are two major types of diabetes: type 1 and type 2.
Type 1 Diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes: Not the Same
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease in which a person’s pancreas stops producing insulin, a hormone that enables people to get energy from food. T1D usually strikes in childhood, adolescence, or young adulthood, and lasts a lifetime. Just to survive, people with T1D must take multiple injections of insulin daily or continually infuse insulin through a pump.
Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a metabolic disorder in which a person’s body still produces insulin but is unable to use it effectively. T2D is usually diagnosed in adulthood and does not always require insulin injections. However, increased obesity has led to a recent rise in cases of T2D in children and young adults.
Taking insulin does not cure any type of diabetes, nor does it prevent the possibility of the disease’s devastating effects: kidney failure, blindness, nerve damage, heart attack, stroke, and pregnancy complications
The Scale of Diabetes
• Nearly 26 million Americans have diabetes (8.3% of the population) 1
• Diagnosed: 18.8 million
• Undiagnosed: 7 million
• As many as three million Americans may have T1D 2
• Diabetes currently affects more than 371 million people worldwide and is expected to affect 552 million by 2030 3
• In the U.S., a new case of diabetes is diagnosed every 30 seconds; more than 1.9 million people are diagnosed each year 4
1 CDC: cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/factsheet11.htm
2 Type 1 Diabetes, 2010; Prime Group for JDRF, Mar. 2011
3 IDF: idf.org/diabetesatlas/5e/Update2012
4 NIDDK: diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/DM/PUBS/statistics/#fast
*Information courtesy of JDRF
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