Kristin McQueen of Naperville recently underwent her 10th brain surgery after being diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
Now she's using her competitive edge in endurance racing to raise money to fight cancer. McQueen has reached the finals in the Ironman Foundation's "Anything is Possible" contest.
The 34-year-old recently underwent her 10th brain surgery, her 15th surgery overall since being diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
Her coping mechanism is endurance racing.
To date, she has completed 17 marathons and 9 Ironmans, while raising more than $122,000 for the American Cancer Society.
"When I train for Ironman, it gives me a mental escape from everything," said McQueen.
McQueen's ultimate goal is to take part in the Super Bowl of Ironman: the Ironman World Championships in Kona.
Only available to athletes who qualify, the Ironman Foundation created this contest to allow a handful of committed athletes to join the field.
To join, each contestant provided a video explaining why he or she should be chosen and why he or she embodies the Ironman mantra: "anything is possible."
Now that she has reached the finals, her video along with a group of 15 is available for the public to vote until June 15th. Two winners from each round will be selected based entirely upon the votes they receive, with a final wild-card winner being selected by Ironman. The public can vote once daily.
McQueen has lived with cancer for close to ten years. Every moment is a struggle. And every day she is prepared to go to battle. McQueen needs your vote to participate in the toughest event in endurance sport.
To watch McQueen's video and vote for her, visit: http://bit.ly/VoteForKristin
