HypoActive

Whilst many people would see a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes as a hindrance, since being diagnosed nine years ago, Monique Hanley has smashed through any obstacles in her way by treating it as a challenge to be overcome.

A promising basketballer in her teenage years, Monique made the shift to cycling after her retirement in 2000, when a friend of hers (who also had type 1 diabetes) convinced her to buy a secondhand road-bike – “Harry” Gios – which she started riding with Warragul Cycling Club, in Gippsland.

During her time on exchange in Canada in 2002, cycling soon became much more than just a way of getting around, when Monique rode from one side of Canada to the other – over 7,800km in 66 days.

Monique’s next major ride was in 2003, when she followed Le Tour de France, solo, armed with little more than a tent, sleeping bag, diabetes supplies, and of course, the ever-trusty “Harry”. After her return to Australia, Monique’s enthusiasm and determination saw the formation of a group of diabetic cyclists (some of whom had never ridden road bikes before), who entered the 2004 Murray to Moyne Cycle Relay – the first team entirely made up of people with type 1 diabetes to take part in the event. With Monique as president (and inspiration) this group has evolved to become HypoActive (www.hypoactive.org) – a group of type 1 diabetics who have now completed five Murray to Moyne relays, and are now expanding their horizons to participate in other events – such as the MS MegaSwim, Run for the Kids, and Murray River Marathon – and have raised close to $15 000 for diabetes-related charities.

Despite devoting so much of her time to the growth of HypoActive, Monique’s own cycling career has flourished – with her making the transition from road to track in the past two years. In that time, she has quickly risen to be the current Victorian Champion in the Individual Pursuit and Points Score, as well as winning bronze in the Individual Pursuit at the National Track Championships, and helping Victoria to secure silver in the Points Score and Scratch races.

In June 2007, Monique also made a return to road racing, after being invited to be part of Team Type 1 (www.teamtype1.org) – a team of cyclists with type 1 diabetes – for the “World’s Toughest Bike Race”, the Race Across America (www.raceacrossamerica.com). As well as inspiring diabetics around the world by their determination to not let diabetes hold them back, Team Type 1 won their category, with the fastest overall time of 5 days, 15 hours, 43 minutes for the 4 900km trip from San Diego to Atlantic City.

As well as recently winning the Diabetes Exercise and Sport Association Athletic Achievement Award for her track successes, Monique was last seen back racing on the track, before her return home to Australia in September.