Diane van Deren, one of the world's top runners, didn't start running until a seizure crippled her ability to form new memories. She has the psychological advantage of never knowing how far she has left to run.

Diane van Deren, one of the world's top runners, didn't start running until a seizure crippled her ability to form new memories. She has the psychological advantage of never knowing how far she has left to run.

Diane van Deren is what is called an “ultra runner.” She can run for days on end without sleep, covering hundreds of miles. She used to only run to help deal with epileptic seizures. Eventually, she had brain surgery to prevent the seizures entirely. The surgery removed a kiwi sized piece of her brain. 

Since her 1997 surgery, she has become one of the world’s greatest ultra runners- she’s competed in races measuring 100 miles or more. She even won the Yukon Arctic Ultra 300, a 430 mile trek in the freezing snow. 

Her surgery resulted in her brain having much difficulty making sense of the passage of time. As a result, she has no idea how long she’s been running, which proves to be a great advantage. You can read more about her here