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Onalaska Woman Competes in Iron Man
Overcoming the OddsThis weekend 18 competitors from the Bluff Busters Tri Club in La Crosse will travel to Madison for the 'Ironman Wisconsin' competition. Among them will be an Onalaska resident competing in her second iron man. She's a survivor in every way.One year ago Danniela Nichols participated in her first Ironman competition. But after 2.4 miles in the water, 112 miles on the bike and a marathon run, Danni's fight was just starting."When I went to sign up I knew something was wrong. I was gaining weight and couldn't swallow my food as much during the competition of Ironman last year. So I decided to go to the doctor and found out I had cancer," Nichols says.Thyroid cancer required surgery to remove Danni's thyroid and two lymph nodes. Then cam radiation therapy and orders from her doctor to rest for six months. Danni only made it three."It was very hard. I walked from block to block, maybe a mile, was on my bike at the most 10 minutes without getting dizzy or sick or being sore. So it was very hard. But you keep yourself you can do it and you'll get there," Nichols says. Helping Danni get there is a close knit group of family and friends, people who've stood by her through everything. But Danni biggest inspiration is her two boys, 16-year old Tyler and 7-year old Landon."I love to show the boys you can set goals and you need to accomplish them and I always tell them put your mind to it and you can accomplish anything.""I'm 100% confident I will finish Ironman this year and I will finish it in a better time than I did last year. Last year's time was 14:05 and this year I'm going to get it underneath that, absolutely, 100%," says Nichols.
