To most people, competing in an Ironman, which includes a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike race and a 26.2-mile run, is not even in the realm of possibility.

But to Andy Holder, the event was the ultimate challenge he set for himself soon after being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

Just a little over a year ago, Holder realized this dream and completed his first Ironman race in Lake Placid, N.Y. Now he’s building on that experience as he travels around the country participating in races and inspiring others at various gatherings, including a presentation at the USC School of Pharmacy on Sept. 7.

“I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when I was 36. I realized I couldn’t change that diagnosis, but I could change my attitude,” Holder told an audience of students, faculty and participants in the Diabetes Ten City Challenge. “I also looked at my two young sons and knew I did not want them to see their dad as diseased.”

Although Holder was always athletic, he had not been an endurance athlete, so his Ironman aspirations required a highly structured training regimen. In addition, his diabetes required constant measurement of blood glucose levels as well as insulin treatment.

“During training and on race days, I had to develop a very definite ritual to ready myself for the race,” Holder said. “I also had to learn (to) swim, which I didn’t know how to do before I began training for the Ironman.”

Holder, who participated in the Los Angeles Triathlon on Sept. 9, credited his health care team with making it possible for him to achieve his athletic goals.

Telling the audience how his pharmacist plays a central role in making his goals a reality, Holder encouraged the students to seize their roles as pharmacists, helping their patients to manage their diabetes and live without limits.

He also encouraged the Diabetes Ten City Challenge participants to not let the disease control their lives. The challenge is a national, employer-based self-management program that USC offers to employees and dependents covered by the university’s Network Medical Plan.

The program was supported by Good Neighbor Pharmacy/Diabetes Shoppe, Holder’s sponsors on his national tour.