If you like to hear inspirational stories from athletes who have overcome tough challenges, then North Face Endurance Athlete Diane Van Deren of Sedalia has a story for you.
She'll share it at the ADT Marathon EXPO at 3 p.m. Sunday (Sept. 4) at the Antlers Hilton, 4 S. Cascade Avenue in Colorado Springs. And she plans to stick around afterward to shoot the breeze.
On Monday, she'll provide tips and advice to first-timers at the start of the half marathon. Come by and say hi!
Van Deren was diagnosed with epilepsy while she was pregnant with her third child. A strong and accomplished athlete and former professional tennis player, Diane continued to pursue her athletic passions, but after ten years of frightening and debilitating seizures she underwent radical brain surgery that removed part of her right temporal lobe.

 

She hasn’t had a seizure since, and has gone on to become a world-class endurance athlete. She not only competes in 100-mile trail runs, but also snowshoe races and was a contender in the Iditarod Trail Invitational in Alaska, where she pulled a sled packed with more than 40 pounds of gear (no canine help on this one) for 260 miles in below-freezing temperatures.

Diane feels it’s important to share her personal story with others and has spoken at many events. “I enjoy talking about how we all have obstacles in our lives,” she says. “Mine was epilepsy.” She is also a spokesperson for the Kiwanis Pediatric Trauma Institute at Children’s Hospital of Colorado, which educates children on wearing helmets to prevent brain injuries. She lives in Sedalia, Colorado, with her husband and three children.