Sandy Kenefick has lived with type 1 diabetes since she was a teenager and has managed it impeccably ever since. While she has just passed her 50th birthday, she has committed herself to being a dominant force against the disease. In the summer of 2003, she hiked the entire Chilkoot trail along the Yukon/Alaska border — a week in the wilderness with nothing but a backpack and extra vials of insulin. The year following, she trained and ran the full 2004 Vancouver Marathon in just over four hours. Since then, she runs constantly, filing away half-marathons, fun-runs and everything in between. This past summer, she hiked the length of the West Coast trail along the north of Vancouver Island. Another week in the wilderness with a backpack and a camera. She manages two successful businesses, raised a daughter, looks after two energetic dogs, eats healthy, smiles often, and is the kindest, most positive person I’ve every known. She also volunteers at any fundraiser for diabetes that presents itself. I often forget she does all of this while juggling the horrors of her disease. (She also makes a wicked butternut squash soup!)