Copd Athlete

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.

Well done Baton Pass team. Only 2.3 million steps to reach 80 millions steps for this year. We can do it 165,000 steps...
17/12/2025

Well done Baton Pass team. Only 2.3 million steps to reach 80 millions steps for this year. We can do it 165,000 steps per day! Go Team!🏃🏃‍♀️

Join the "COPD Baton Pass" group on StepUp, a fun step challenge app.
https://join.thestepupapp.com/GufL8X

15/12/2025

Its been a while since I’ve written an article. Thank you to Primary Care Respiratory magazine for the opportunity. Hope you enjoy it.

75 million steps is the equivalent to walking around the globe 1.5 times. Closing in on 80 million steps for 2025! Go Te...
08/12/2025

75 million steps is the equivalent to walking around the globe 1.5 times.
Closing in on 80 million steps for 2025!
Go Team!
Join the "COPD Baton Pass" group on StepUp, a fun step challenge app.
https://join.thestepupapp.com/GufL8X

Amazing effort by the COPD Baton Pass step challenge team. Can we hit 80 million steps by the end of the year? Let’s Go ...
30/11/2025

Amazing effort by the COPD Baton Pass step challenge team. Can we hit 80 million steps by the end of the year? Let’s Go team!

Join the "COPD Baton Pass" group on StepUp, a fun step challenge app.
https://join.thestepupapp.com/GufL8X

Fantastic to have so many patients take part in this years COPD Baton Pass event. If you’d like to be apart of the 202...
28/11/2025

Fantastic to have so many patients take part in this years COPD Baton Pass event. If you’d like to be apart of the 2026 event email me - russell@copdbatonpass.org

The final total of the Inogen step challenge 1,360,045 steps! Great effort team. Smashed our 1 million step goal! 👏👏👏👏
25/11/2025

The final total of the Inogen step challenge 1,360,045 steps! Great effort team. Smashed our 1 million step goal!
👏👏👏👏

23/11/2025

World COPD Day awareness!

COPD Baton Pass event is done for another year! Inogen Global step challenge was a huge success. Patients, families and ...
19/11/2025

COPD Baton Pass event is done for another year! Inogen Global step challenge was a huge success. Patients, families and friends achieved 1.2 million steps and counting! Smashing our target of 1 million steps. Can’t wait for nexts event.

COPD Baton Pass 2025 here I come 👏👏👏
18/11/2025

COPD Baton Pass 2025 here I come 👏👏👏

Is there something you’d like to know about pulmonary rehab or another related topic? Check out our program and join o...
17/11/2025

Is there something you’d like to know about pulmonary rehab or another related topic? Check out our program and join on the day for our Q&A sessions. You can also drop and questions in the comments below. Wednesday November 19!

COPD Baton Pass event program is now live. Join the global event on Wednesday November 19. Click on the link to see what...
16/11/2025

COPD Baton Pass event program is now live. Join the global event on Wednesday November 19. Click on the link to see what's happening in your country.

This event will be delivered with technical support provided by Southampton Solent University, and Sonar Events. Beginning in New Zealand, and passing the baton to Europe This link will be the first 8 hours of live the broadcast. Beginning in Europe, coming to the UK, with a few pitstops This link w...

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