BIOGRAPHY
Phil Southerland is one of those people who makes defying the odds look easy.
Southerland was diagnosed with the flu when he was only seven months
old. But after he lost more than half his body weight, his mother,
Joanna, suspected he had contracted something more serious. Violently
ill and with perhaps only hours to live, Southerland was diagnosed with
Type 1 diabetes. His mother was told that he would likely lose his
eyesight by the time he was 20. But now, at age 27, he is reading,
riding and keeping his A1C under control with diet, exercise and his
insulin regimen.
A competitor since the age of 13, Southerland founded Team Type 1 in
2004 with Joe Eldridge after the two met while facing off in college
races. They shared a passion for cycling as well as the drive to live
well with diabetes and inspire people to exercise, eat right, and take
care of themselves.
Two years after it was founded, Team Type 1 won the first of two
corporate team division titles in the transcontinental Race Across
America (RAAM). The following year, Southerland and the squad did it
again, completing the more than 3,000-mile race in five days, 15 hours
and 43 minutes.
Southerland’s long-term goals include getting Team Type 1 a spot in
the Tour de France. He would also like to see a group health insurance
plan for people with diabetes “so we can all have the tools necessary to
lower the risk of complications.” And, if that’s not enough, he is also
thinking about going to law school. Compared with racing the Tour de
France, that should be a snap.
