It occurred to Mari that although many aspects of women’s training are identical to men’s, some are unique. She thought, “Wouldn’t it be great to create a team dedicated exclusively to women with diabetes and their needs and their approach to fitness?” Mari discussed the idea with Nancy Eastman, a fellow cyclist and triathlete with diabetes. And so, Mari and Nancy made history: They decided to create such a team and organization!
Mari and Nancy began by reaching out to the larger community of people with diabetes to gauge interest. One thing they did was contact their friend and supporter, Matt Corcoran, MD, founder of the Diabetes Training Camp (DTC) and an endocrinologist, and asked if he would spread the word to female alumni from DTC. The response was overwhelming. By July 2008, Nancy and Mari had heard from more than twenty women with diabetes, Type 1 and Type 2, who were ready to commit to train together for a half iron distance triathlon: a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and a 13.1 mile run, all to be completed in under eight hours.
Over the course of the next several months, these more than 20 women created the first team of Team WILD: Women Inspiring Life with Diabetes. All winter, these women from across the country and Canada, met on Sunday night conference calls to brainstorm, plan and begin training. By January 2009, Team WILD had a mission statement, a vision for growing beyond the 70.3 Triathlon team, a logo, a blog site, a dedicated race for which to train, three coaches, a sports nutritionist, an endocrinologist, 20 committed women with diabetes. We were official!