Forrest Johnson is no stranger to endurance. An avid runner, he’s completed 56 marathons, including one in every U.S. state and three of the Abbott World Marathon Majors. But when his four-year-old daughter Mary Blair was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) in 2016, every step took on a new purpose—to run for Mary Blair and for everyone living with T1D.
It’s National Diabetes Awareness Month, and Forrest marked the occasion by embarking on a globe-spanning, 184-mile sprint with The Great World Race: seven marathons across seven continents in just seven days. He fundraised for breakthroughs with Breakthrough T1D My Run the whole way, too!
Things kicked off on Saturday, November 15, with a frozen runway dash in Wolf’s Fang, Antarctica, followed by contests in Cape Town for Africa, Perth for Australia, Abu Dhabi for Asia, Algarve for Europe, and Cartagena for South America before the North American finisher on Friday, November 21, at sunny South Beach in Miami.
Lisa Fishbone Wallack, Chair of Breakthrough T1D’s International Board of Directors, met Forrest at this year’s Chicago Marathon and is excited to cheer him on.
“Our community lifts one another up every day,” Wallack said. “Forrest’s intercontinental journey putting in the miles for T1D is an extraordinary example of the dedication and resilience of our community.”
Ready to race
This isn’t Breakthrough T1D’s first brush with intercontinental track-and-field (in 2019, Eric Tozer became one of the first people with T1D to complete the race) but Forrest carried the strength of his family and the hopes of countless others who dream of a world without T1D to all seven continents. And he says being a parent to a child with T1D is a lot like running a marathon—preparation is key but so is expecting the unexpected.
“Whether it’s a hot race or rain, an insulin pump malfunction or a stubborn low that won’t come up; you must be prepared for adversity, and you have to have the mindset that you will persevere,” Forrest said. “No matter what, quitting is not an option.”
Backcountry beginnings
When Mary Blair was diagnosed in 2016, Forrest was in the backcountry at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico.
“The camp sent a ranger to track our group down and told me I needed to call home immediately,” he said. “I was devastated. I remember standing on top of a rock at a high point trying to get a cell signal.”
“Mary Blair was a healthy, happy, perfect four-year-old and it was extremely frustrating that there was nothing I could do to fix it,” he added.
Almost a decade later, Forrest has some advice for parents navigating a recent diagnosis.
“Take a deep breath. It’s going to get better, but not tomorrow,” he said. “Life will eventually improve and there will be a new normal.”
Giving yourself grace
He also stresses the importance of “giving yourself grace” to process the emotions that naturally come as a part of learning your child is now living with T1D.
“It’s OK to be mad and it’s OK to be frustrated, for a while, but you have to turn the corner and channel the negative emotions for good,” Forrest said. “The children that live with T1D are resilient and tough. This resiliency and toughness can lead them to very successful paths. This is my hope for Mary Blair, and for all the children living with T1D.”
And that resiliency and grit is the fuel Forrest uses when running to push through “the wall” and keep moving forward.
“There are no days off with T1D and Mary Blair teaches me to show up every single day and every single mile,” Forrest said. “I apply this principal to running and take the mindset that I will persevere no matter what.”
Plus, Forrest says, momentum breeds confidence—and that helps you reach the finish line.
“This is exactly how I think about the great work Breakthrough T1D is doing,” he said. “Each step, each breakthrough is getting us closer and closer to our goal of a world without T1D. It’s not a question of if it will happen, but a question of when.”
