{"id":19332,"date":"2025-10-28T01:12:16","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T01:12:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/19332\/"},"modified":"2025-10-28T01:12:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T01:12:16","slug":"fueled-by-grit-josh-silvermans-road-to-the-nyc-marathon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/19332\/","title":{"rendered":"Fueled by Grit: Josh Silverman\u2019s Road to the NYC Marathon"},"content":{"rendered":"

Josh Silverman has always led an active lifestyle<\/a>\u2014from his early soccer days to weight training in college, and eventually making the shift to running. Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 15, he quickly learned how to balance his health with his passion for sports\u2014a challenge that shaped both his mindset and his independence.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Over the years, building community has become just as important to Josh as building endurance. Growing up in Arizona, he began volunteering with the local American Diabetes Association chapter, which eventually inspired him to help launch a camp for kids living with diabetes. All the while, he\u2019s continued pushing himself to prove that type 1 doesn\u2019t define or limit what\u2019s possible. We caught up with him as he takes on his next big challenge: training for the NYC Marathon as part of Beyond Type Run\u2019s 2025 marathon team.<\/a><\/p>\n

*Responses have been edited for brevity and clarity<\/p>\n

Why did you choose to run the NYC Marathon, and why with Beyond Type 1?<\/p>\n

I made a New Year\u2019s resolution to start running more, and I ran my first half marathon in Chicago in 2024. I ended up running four half marathons since then, and the next step was obvious: a full marathon. With my strong connection to the type 1 community, running the NYC Marathon with 55 other people with diabetes, raising money, and representing the progress our community is making felt like a natural next step.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s one thing about training that took you by surprise?<\/p>\n

There\u2019s definitely a time and gear commitment. If you\u2019re running four or five days a week, you need decent workout clothes to log all those miles\u2014and be ready for the extra laundry that comes with it. Shoes are another factor: they\u2019re consumable, and you can only put so many miles on a pair, which means going through multiple pairs in a year.<\/p>\n

What physical adjustments\u2014especially around food\u2014have you made while training?<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re pushing your body this hard, nutrition becomes everything. For me, it was about getting enough calories and revamping my diet to support marathon training. It was actually the first time I got the green light to eat carbs in serious quantities\u2014partly because, early on, I\u2019d wake up hungry in the middle of the night. I wasn\u2019t interested in sitting down to a massive pile of rice or pasta, so I focused on adding healthy fats which give your body extra calories without overdoing volume.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also this sweet spot I discovered: eating pasta or a balanced meal with protein and healthy fats would give me an initial energy bump, and overnight my blood glucose would stay flat because my body was recovering. It was a revelation\u2014I probably wouldn\u2019t have tried it before running. Typical meals for me include pasta with meat sauce and a side salad, or chicken tacos.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What is your go-to tech and how has it helped you train and run safely?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dexcom<\/a> was the first company to really do continuous glucose monitoring, and [their CGM is] a product I\u2019ve trusted from the start. For someone diagnosed today, having a Dexcom\u2014constantly tracking glucose levels every five minutes\u2014is a total game changer compared to the finger sticks we relied on in high school. It\u2019s like comparing a single photo a day to a full movie: the insights you get are irreplaceable. I use the Dexcom CGM<\/a> and it\u2019s what\u2019s got me nerding out on my own data\u2014paying closer attention to how food, sleep and training affect my blood sugar. Dexcom lets me interpret all of that with minimal effort, and that\u2019s why it\u2019s been so successful in my eyes.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s been the most rewarding or surprising part of this journey?<\/p>\n

Running 26.2 miles sounds huge\u2014like climbing Mount Everest\u2014and it can feel unattainable at first. But the truth is, any big goal can be broken down into smaller steps, and that\u2019s what makes it doable. With type 1, our sense of mortality is higher. We\u2019re constantly \u201cflying this plane,\u201d trying to keep blood sugar in range, knowing that if we miss a dose or go too low, the consequences can be serious. But I\u2019ve proven it\u2019s manageable. Running a marathon with type 1 doesn\u2019t ever stop being scary, but at some point you just tell the fear to sit down in the corner while you go do this big, crazy thing.<\/p>\n

One piece of advice you\u2019d pass along to another marathon runner with diabetes?<\/p>\n

For anyone with type 1 considering something as big as a marathon, it\u2019s important to know you\u2019re in the driver\u2019s seat. We can do anything, it just might take a few extra steps, and even some experimentation. Bonus advice\u2014you\u2019re never alone. A huge unlock for me was getting in touch and staying connected with a T1D community taking on the same challenge. There\u2019s real power in learning from each other\u2019s wins and challenges\u2014and getting support along the way.<\/p>\n

Josh isn\u2019t running this race alone. He\u2019s repping the Beyond Type Run squad, proving T1D doesn\u2019t set the pace. Want to back his journey? Check out his fundraising page!<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

This content was made possible by Dexcom, an active partner of Beyond Type 1. Beyond Type 1 maintains editorial control over its content.<\/p>\n