Under a sweltering sun and with sweat raining down her forehead, Jen Lidel had to push herself one final time – one final push for achieving victory in the RBC Decathlon.

With only the 800-meter run in front of her, after winning four events individually: the football toss (37 yards), dips (25 reps), 500-meter row (1:40.10) and bench press (48 reps) earlier in the day, Lidel motored on to a 03:10.04 finish, sealing her spot atop the leaderboard of the women's division. Lidel finished with 6,805 total points, 41 more than runner-up Stephanie Setyadi. It was Lidel's first time in the competition.

Lidel, a breast cancer survivor from St. Charles, was among 21 women competing in the decathlon on Sunday, with eight (including Lidel) representing themselves individually, and the remaining 13 competing on teams. The decathlon is exclusively for runners who work in the financial industry and benefits pediatric cancer treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

“I knew my performance in the 800-meter run would determine who would win. It was pretty nerve-racking ... [But] I knew I had done the preparation beforehand, and [I had] to do what I do and have fun,” Lidel said.

Lidel chose the 75-pound bench press as her “Marquee Event," which means each competitor sets a specific goal. In this case, Lidel pinpointed the number of reps (40) she would complete. A “Sliding Donation” then kicks in, where a dollar amount is tied to the goal. If the competitor meets her goal, then half the amount waged will go toward the total donation. If the goal is exceeded, the amount is received in full. In Lidel's case, an additional $750 was raised by virtue of her 48 reps, 17 more than the second-place finisher.

“It was an amazing event, just a great cause,” Lidel said. ”It's a good way for people to channel their abilities and raise money … I'm proud to be a part of it.”

In order to compete in the decathlon, each individual is required to pledge a minimum $3,000 donation. Lidel aspired to go above-and-beyond, and chose $5,000 as her goal. She ended up raising $6,348 by herself thanks to donations from co-workers in her TradeLink Securities office, family and social media. Out of 63 corporations involved in the event, TradeLink Securities ranked 21st in most amount fundraised. RBC Capital Markets was first with $428,610 raised.

This year, the decathlon raised about $1.5 million, up from $1.4 million in 2013.

In the days leading up to the decathlon, Lidel said she was nervous and not sleeping well, but when it came time to compete, with the encouragement from fellow competitors, Lidel delivered on her goal to win it all.

“We traveled to each event together and cheered each other on … we all bonded together,” she said.

Lidel plans to defend her title next year by maintaining her level of fitness and improve her 800-meter run time, as it was her most difficult event to complete, coming at the end of the day.

At the end of the decathlon, families and representatives from Memorial Sloan Kettering Center thanked the participants for their hard work and sacrifices. One anecdote in particular stuck with Lidel, as she recalls a doctor speaking on behalf of a family thanking everyone for helping their 13-year old live an additional year after doctors told them otherwise.

“I was challenged by reaching out to others, and get them to think about pediatric cancer research," Lidel said.