Running for Her Life

Comments (0) By Robin Edwards Thursday, Sep 22 2011

When pro tennis player Diane Van Deren was diagnosed with epilepsy, the only thing she found that helped stave off the seizures was running.

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Boulder Theater

2032 14th St.
Boulder, CO 80302

Category: Bars/Clubs

Region: Boulder

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“As I had an onset, a feeling of déjà vu that a seizure was about to erupt, what I would do is I’d throw my running shoes on and I’d run to the National Forest,” she says. “I was running from the fear of a seizure, and I never seized running.” After ten years of seizures, Van Deren underwent risky surgery to remove a small part of her brain, leaving her seizure-free, but also with a brain injury. Soon after, she began ultra-running.

Tonight, as part of the North Face Speaker series, Van Deren will take an audience through her journey from pro tennis player to mother to epilepsy sufferer to, finally, world-renowned ultra-runner.

Van Deren is also the founder of “Miles for a Mission,” a fundraiser for Craig Hospital, which helped her get through her seizures and the aftermath of her surgery. “As a pro-athlete, we can do so much more than win races and set course records,” she says.

Van Deren will tell her tale, “Back From the Edge,” at 7 p.m. tonight at the Boulder Theater, 2032 14th Street. Tickets are free if you sign up online, $8 for reserved seating, and $20 for reserved seating and a VIP reception. To purchase yours, visit http://thenorthface.inticketing.com/events/154552.
Mon., Sept. 26, 7 p.m., 2011