Copd Athlete

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Copd Athlete

COPD diagnosis doesn't mean you become stationary. Exercise your way to a better life! Ironman x 3 World Marathon Majors finisher. Smoke , Stroke, Ironman Bloke !

My name is Russell Winwood, I was born in 1966 in Brisbane Australia. I’ve had a good life thus far but have had a few health issues along the way. I have decided to take to blogging to share my experiences with other people in the hope that it can help people with similar health issues. I was diagnosed with asthma when I was young, but managed to have an active childhood playing sports & doing what most kids do. In my late teens I started smoking socially, I’m not sure why as I knew it was bad for me but continue to be a social smoker until I was 36. Christmas Day 2002 I collapsed , too many years of not looking after myself had caught up with me in the form of a stroke. Time to change my habits , I gave up the cigarettes , started eating better, at the time of my stroke I was 88 kg about 15 kg over weight . My son had just started cycling & talked me into taking it up, best thing I ever did . The weight started coming off & I started feeling like a 36 year old should. A friend of mine suggested I should do a triathlon, & after a little hesitation because I wasn’t a great swimmer I agreed. So for the next 8yrs I raced into varying distances of triathlons from sprint to Half Ironman as well as a couple of ultra marathons. In 2011 after noticing my times were getting slower, exercise was getting harder & I was constantly short of breath I took myself off to the Doctors. Spirometer & lung function tests confirmed I had copd, surprisingly the scan showed that there was no damage to my lungs from smoking. My airways had become very narrow due to years of chest infections causing a build up of scar tissue. And so my Ironman journey begins , hopefully my blogs will give some insight on exercising with copd & respiratory disease in general.

07/10/2025

Pick your team and record your steps!
Baton Pass patient team
https://join.thestepupapp.com/GufL8X

Inogen Step Challenge
https://join.thestepupapp.com/NllY2S

02/10/2025

Which one will you choose?

24/09/2025

Great information here from Running On Air. If you need information on oxygen, go to the website in this post.

People who require supplemental oxygen prescribed by a doctor should only use FDA cleared portable oxygen concentrators {POCs) or other FDA cleared oxygen delivery devices. If you've done a search for POCs it's likely you started seeing ads for non-FDA cleared devices. They are tempting because they cost so much less then the FDA cleared POCs and claim high liter flow.
These devices are part of the reason to always check Running On Air's Portable Oxygen Concentrator Comparison Chart. If it's not on our chart or website, it's probably not a currently manufactured, FDA cleared POC. You'll find our POC webpage here: https://runningonair.net/pocs
Running On Air is hosting a webinar on Thursday, January 22 at 1pm ET titled "Portable Oxygen Concentrator (POC) Basics & How To Spot 'Noncentrators'". You can register at this link: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/6017585603899/WN_-UjKh1dXRBS16ARuoEMCnA

**October 2nd is World Oxygen Day**
In preparation of World Oxygen Day, this year Running On Air is starting off September sharing facts about the Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform (SOAR) Act, why it's needed, and why we need your help to get this passed.
You can learn more at: https://runningonair.net/soar-act
Liking and sharing these facts will help raise awareness.
Everybody needs oxygen. Some bodies need a little more.

23/09/2025

24 hours of the latest information on Pulmonary rehabilitation and exercise for . Scan the QR code to join the Global Step Challenge or continue on the COPD Baton Pass Challenge.

17/09/2025

Team Baton Pass Step Challenge. Click the link to join 👍

Track steps with friends & be more active together!

09/09/2025

Managing never takes a holiday! A treadmill on the river boat has kept me running!

03/09/2025

August step challenge results are in! Congratulations Baton Pass team. Daily average step count of 8067 is higher than our yearly average. We have something big planned for October and November challenges. Details to come👏👏👏

01/09/2025

How portable oxygen can improve you quality of life! ://youtu.be/NAoPJt647UU?si=Bb-VlK7JQI8q5OjP

A reaction to a very cool video by a person who despite having COPD and using extra oxygen, manages to keep exercising at a very high level. Very inspiring t...

25/08/2025

Week 3 results of the Baton Pass step challenge. Where into the last week team. Let’s bring it home 👏👏👏

22/08/2025

Thanks to the team at BluZone Health for inviting me on to share my story.

Podcast Episode · Cozy Lung Lounge Powered by BluZone Health · 20/08/2025 · 44m

18/08/2025

Week 2 of the Baton Pass August step challenge. Groups daily average step count is 8192. Welldone Team, still ahead of our year to date average. 👏👏👏

Join the "COPD Baton Pass" group on StepUp, a fun step challenge app.

Get the app & tap the link again to join:
https://join.thestepupapp.com/8pyK

11/08/2025

Week 1 results are in. Average steps for the group was 8208 👏👏👏
Keep it up team. 3 weeks to go. Remember our goal is to beat the groups average steps for this year to date which is 7712.

Join the "COPD Baton Pass" group on StepUp, a fun step challenge app.

Get the app & tap the link again to join:
https://join.thestepupapp.com/8pyK

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Brisbane, QLD

Website

http://copdathlete.com/

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