Ironman With Type 1 Diabetes Runs From Coast To Coast

MELBOURNE, FL — As ultra marathon runner Don Muchow comes up on the rare accomplishment of running from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, a classic movie scene played out in real life as he passed Walt Disney World.

Fans lined up outside the park and cheered as Muchow, a Texas resident, was escorted in, becoming the first person to run from the Disneyland theme park in California to Disney World, some 2,700 miles apart, according to a number of media reports.

Muchow said it was a nice surprise to see the fanfare reminiscent of the running scene in the 1994 film "Forrest Gump," but his journey was more about making it from coast to coast as an ultra marathon runner living with Type 1 diabetes.

"I hadn't actually thought about it that way," Muchow said in news broadcasts of the Disney connection, but did use the distinction he'd get as the first athlete to run from Disneyland to Disney World so as a motivator.

“It’s always been a dream of mine to run across the country,” he told WKMG.

It's a dream that comes true Wednesday, when he's set to arrive at the eastern coast in Melbourne, Florida, and one that had more than a few obstacles along the way.

The trek began in February 2020 in Newport Beach, California, according to the WKMG report. Muchow had to temporarily stop running a few times, once for the death of his father and then for a several-month span after the coronavirus pandemic began to cripple the country last March.

He said running past a Costco store in New Mexico that ran out of water and had lines out the door played a role in deciding to make a temporary stop.

The journey picked back up in September, and Muchow made it through eight states on the way: California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

He would run about 32 miles a day, taking a rest stop every 10 days, the WKMG report states.

For Muchow, it's another way to show what's possible for diabetic people.

"I'm just trying to ride that hope all the way to the shores," he told WESH.