By now, you’ve probably seen our notices that this year’s featured speaker for the Rock/Creek StumpJump 50k is The North Face athlete Diane Van Deren, part of The North Face Speaker Series. You’ve seen the blurb about who Diane Van Deren is, and a list of the races she’s won. How much, though, do you know about Diane Van Deren?
Her story is an incredible one. Diane suffered tremendously from epileptic seizures, and had a procedure where a piece of her brain the size of a plum (!) was removed. This had the intended effect — it cured her seizures — but not without a cost. After the surgery, Diane’s perception of time was irreparably altered, and her sense of direction impaired, both major challenges for an ultra-distance trail runner… How long have I been running for? Which trail is the right one? What part of the course am I on right now? Hearing her speak about these experiences will surely be rewarding and inspirational.
Diane will be speaking on Friday night, Sep 30, at 7PM, following the Carbo Dinner. The vendor fair and race packet pickup will take place from 12PM to 6PM at Coolidge Park (NOT the 2 North Shore Rock/Creek location, as in previous years). For StumpJump 50k race details, click here.
If you want to attend Diane’s speaking engagement, you must sign up here! This VIP event is free, but you have to sign up for general admission if you want in; reserving a seat for $8 guarantees you won’t be standing in the back of the tent, and it’s only $20 if you want to attend the VIP dinner. Fore more details, and see a video (a shorter, different video than the one below), visit https://www.rockcreek.com/diane-van-deren.rco now.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
There is a wonderful article about Diane over at Runner’s World that is absolutely worth the read: click here.
Here’s a great podcast with Diane, from Radiolab:
Want even more? Check out this excellent piece from ESPN:
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