Anyone who was in attendance at the recent St. Patty's Day 5k, might have seen the skinny guy in a bright orange Boulder Running Company/Adidas singlet outclass the field to take first in just a hair over 15 minutes. Arguably one of the most competitive races featured in Colorado Springs, the race marked local elite runner Tommy Neal's first victory since receiving a Type 1 Diabetes diagnosis last winter, just weeks before his long-anticipated Olympic Marathon Trials race.

Yes, it would appear that Neal is back in business.

While St. Pat's may have been Neal's first victory actually recorded on any results list, it hardly does justice to the journey he's been on to get to that point. Training as part of the American Distance Project, Neal is currently aspiring to punch a ticket to this summer's Olympic Trials in the 10,000 meters under the guidance of coaches Scott Simmons and Renato Canova.

Neal  toed the line at the Olympic Marathon Trials in Houston last January in spite of his recent and unexpected diagnosis and the countless ups and downs that came with rebounding from the effects  he had endured pre-diagnosis, as well as the challenges he faced in learning to train and compete with a different physiology. With his training effected in such a way that competing at his potential at the Trials was impossible, in typical optimistic Tommy fashion, Neal gave it all he had on the day he had looked forward to for so long. While he did not finish,  he went back to Colorado and immediately set to work moving forward.

"After I got diagnosed, in my mind it didn't change anything," Neal explained. "I never thought about not running. I knew if I started to think I was different, I would limit myself based on that. Nothing changes, I just need to take care of myself differently and move on."

Quick on the rebound, Neal set back to work training after the Trials, learning to be at his running best despite fluctuating blood sugar levels. He made an enormous number of contacts in the world of diabetic athletes to better learn how they train and compete, one of whom was Missy Foy.

In 2000, Foy made history by being the first Type One diabetic to compete at the Olympic Marathon Trials. Since then, she has made a life out of helping athletes afflicted with the disease.

"There was nobody there to help me when I was racing the road circuit," Foy explained of her days competing as an elite with diabetes. "I promised that I would be there when someone else came along. It's taken me twelve years to keep that promise."

Having spent several days with Foy in North Carolina, Neal exponentially expanded his library of knowledge as he learned how to time his training and workouts around his blood sugar levels, as well as how different workouts effected him. On top of that, Foy put Neal in touch with Team Type One, an organization devoted to helping cyclists, triathletes and runners compete at a high level while managing diabetes as well as promoting diabetes awareness among the general community.

"One of the biggest goals for Team Type One is to give people the confidence to stay active when they have diabetes," Neal explained. "Exercise can be a scary thing when you're diabetic because your blood sugar drops so much."

Perhaps counter intuitively, running actually helps control blood sugar better than the insulin shots Neal occasionally has to take. Oftentimes, he'll run up to three times per day in an effort to maintain steady blood sugar levels, which allows him to consume a more adequate amount of carbohydrates. Frequently he will log over 20 miles per day.

"That's one big thing that has changed with training," said Neal, "I used to just split my runs into a couple a day, now I break them up into three and ride my bike to work to burn off  blood sugar."

With his contact with Team Type One, yet another victory has been scored for Neal as he very recently earned sponsorship with the group. Not only will his travel expenses to races be covered - an enormous bonus for any runner aspiring to get to the next level - but he will also be a featured speaker at a number of seminars around the country and will be provided with a substantial amount of gear. One piece of said gear will be the cutting-edge Dexcom Continuous Blood Glucose Monitoring System, which Neal can use to monitor his blood sugar constantly while on the fly. He will be one of only 20 in the world with such an invaluable piece of equipment.

"It's like a heart-rate monitor for blood sugar," Neal described. "I'm really excited about it, it'll give me constant feedback of where things are at. It's the most high-tech you can get right now."

With a vast support network behind him, Neal is focused on Eugene this summer. Sporting a Team Type One logo on his BRC/Adidas singlet, Neal will make his first attempt at a qualifier in the 10,000 at the April 19th Mt. Sac Relays in Walnut, Calif.