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.
