Brian Novak

AGE: 42 Type 1 Diabetic since January 27, 2000 Stage 3 Colon Cancer Suvivor since January 9, 2009 Profession: Web Designer/Developer and Owner of Elevated Media Athlete: Runner, Cyclist, Snowboarder, Climber, Surfer, Wakeboarder, Scuba Diver As a type 1 diabetic and cancer survivor, it is my mission to inspire and encourage others to live healthy, active lifestyles despite living with chronic disease. I want to reach new limits and redefine what it means to be a person living with diabetes, cancer or other illnesses. I also want to help raise awareness about colon cancer in young adults.

Below are photos from some of my adventures. There are many more adventures to come!

Berthoud Pass near Winter Park, CO.

 

Hiking Indepence Pass near Aspen, CO in June!

My first 1/2 Marathon was Oct 17, 2010 in Denver. My second was one week later in Los Angeles. I ran my first full marathon in Denver on October 9, 2011. My second was a month later the NYC marathon with Team First Descents. It was amazing!

I finished LA in 1:49 with a smile! Personal Record in Chicago 1:38.

Two weeks after completing six months of chemotherapy, I was invited to join First Descents on a free kayaking clinic with other young adult cancer survivors. My FD nickname was 'Semi Colon' (because I had 18" of my colon removed!).

Five Boro Bike Tour with Team First Descents May 1, 2011. We raised $110,000 for First Descents.

Mountain Biking in Crested Butte

Wakeboarding in Michigan

First Descents Surf Camp - Santa Barbara

I love to travel the world and experience new places and cultures. My next big adventure is a trip around the world! Managing diabetes in a foreign country can be trickier than driving across a river in Costa Rica!

Backpacking across Corcovado National Park considered to be the most biologically intense place on Earth by National Geographic

Last summer, I became the first diabetic cancer survivor to climb one of the seven summits, Mount Kilimanjaro.

My blood sugar reading was 28 when I got to the crater....but I made to the summit!

I will be blogging about all of my upcoming adventures including the Chicago Rock n Roll 1/2 Marathon, Denver Rock n Roll Marathon, First Descents Surf Camp, my trip around the world (Denver to Argentina, Turkey, Greece, India, New Zealad, Thailand back to Denver!) and more! I hope to continue to redefine what it means to be a diabetic and to inspire others. Having the support of Dexcom and other sponsors will help me tremendously with this mission.

Thank you for your time and consideration!

Best regards,

Brian Novak

 

Links:

Tudiabetes - http://www.tudiabetes.org/forum/topics/fighting-colon-cancer-and
Daily Camera - http://www.dailycamera.com/ci_15554538?IADID=Search-www.dailycamera.com-www.dailycamera.com Team SemiColon - http://teamfd.firstdescents.org/2011/fd/teamsemicolon/

Elevated Media - http://5430media.com
Denver Egotist - http://www.thedenveregotist.com/members/brian5430