Diane Van Deren is an American ultra-runner who won the Yukon Arctic Ultra 300 in 2009. Van Deren, 49, had a lobectomy in 1997. She competed in races of attrition measuring 100 miles or more. She was the first woman to complete the 430-mile Yukon Arctic Ultra 300. A former professional tennis player, she took up running to help stave off epileptic seizures, for which in 1997 she had a lobectomy. This surgery disrupted her ability to judge the passing of time, something which has helped her ultra-running

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