JERRY WILLIS

• Oklahoma City, OK
• Age: 35
• Diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at age 27

Jerry Willis is passionate—passionate about cycling, and passionate about helping others with diabetes manage their disease. “I just want to help because I found out the hard way.”

A former runner, Willis left the track behind after college and was living an unhealthy lifestyle. In his 20s, a daily diet of fast food helped him pack on an extra 50 pounds, and he was smoking regularly. Despite not feeling well, the diagnosis of diabetes surprised him; he was confused and angry, and felt too overwhelmed to proactively manage his disease. It wasn’t until the following year that Willis began taking his diagnosis seriously with the help of his new girlfriend, a nursing student.

Once he started educating himself about diabetes, he changed his lifestyle: he quit smoking, improved his diet, and began running again, eventually competing in half marathons. When a leg injury sidelined him, his brother recommended he take up cycling to stay active. Willis started racing only a year after he started riding, and today he can’t imagine his life without cycling. He hopes to turn pro in the near future, and to one day compete in the endurance event that Team Type 1 has set a record in three times, the Race Across America.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

• “My biggest achievement was going from a Category 5 to a Category 3 in one season”
• 1st, Post Oak Lodge Cyclocross (Tulsa, Oklahoma), 2009
• 2nd, Salty Cow Race Extravaganza Criterium (Oklahoma City, OK), 2009
• 5th, Salty Cow Race Extravaganza Road Race (Oklahoma City, OK), 2009
• 3rd, Grand Prix VeloTek Time Trial (Lawrence, Kansas), 2009
• 6th, Grand Prix VeloTek Stage Race (Lawrence, Kansas), 2009
• 6th, Tulsa Tough Criterium (Tulsa, Oklahoma), 2009