In 1998, he developed type 1 diabetes at the age of 38 and struggled to manage his blood glucose due to hypoglycemic episodes. When he started regular exercise in 2007, his sports nutrition (sugar) exacerbated his glycemic control further. While preparing for an ironman distance triathlon, he discovered the ketogenic low carbohydrate diet that had been used for all persons with diabetes prior to the discovery of insulin in 1921. It was resurrected by Dr. Richard K. Bernstein and Dr. Runyan adopted his method of diabetes management. To Dr. Runyan’s surprise, his hypoglycemic episodes dramatically improved as did his glycemic control. He remains active with swimming, cycling, scuba diving, and more recently olympic weightlifting. He writes about his experiences to help educate others with diabetes in his blog, Ketogenic Diabetic Athlete.