A night with Dean Karnazes and a review of his book
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I went to a talk by Dean Karnazes last night. As you may know, he is a famous ultra marathoner.
He talked for about 40 minutes and then had a 20 minute Q&A session. The event was billed as Dean Karnazes tips on running a marathon but he didn’t really give out all that many tips to tell the truth.
He started off talking about his appearance on Letterman and then showed us the clip. It was quite amusing but I think we all would rather that he spoke more rather than making us watch a video of him for 5 minutes of his 40 minute session.
He structured his talk around the questions people normally ask him:
- Why do you do it? - “Dunno. I just love it.”
- How do you avoid injuries? - “Dunno. I’m just lucky.”
- What do you eat? - “I’m on a seafood diet. I see food I eat it.”
He came across as a little insane but I guess you’d have to be to do what he does. But he loves it and that love of life and running comes across loud and clear.
Some of his more out there running accomplishments include:
- 350 miles in 80 hours and 44 minutes without stopping
- North Face Endurance 50: fifty marathons in fifty U.S. states in fifty consecutive days
- inaugural South Pole Marathon in running shoes
- 148 miles in 24 hours on a treadmill
- single-handedly completed the 199 mile Providian Saturn Relay six times
The thing that struck me the most about him is that he seemed a bit amazed that so many people would turn up to listen to him talk about running. There were about 800 odd people there. I’ve never seen so many fit looking folks in one room before. :) I felt a bit out of place - oddly enough my mental image of myself still reverts to the couch potato sometimes.
Someone asked him how fast he was and he casually quipped “I’m slow. I can only manage a 2:30 marathon.” He said that he’s too muscly to be a top marathoner. “I’m the same height as the world champion” he said, “but I’m 35 pounds heavier. And I have only 4.5% bodyfat. Those guys are skinny!” Damn straight they are.
All in all it was an hour or so well spent. I didn’t learn anything new but it only cost $10 and it was relatively entertaining. His website is here and he has a blog at Runners World as well.
On the other hand I really enjoyed reading his book. It’s not only the story of him completing 50 marathons in 50 days in 50 different states, it’s also a collection of hints and tips that he’s picked up along the way. Most of these tips are not dealt with exhaustively, but rather introduced in the stories about the people who ran the marathons with him. For example, he gets given a pizza during one marathon so that’s when the diet tips come out. I especially liked the stories about the people who ran the marathons with him. I think these were the strongest part of the book.
The book is organised by marathon (surprisingly enough) and like the whole 50/50 process is starts off full of enthusiasm and then dies down a bit around the middle and then comes roaring back at the end. I think he should have finished the book with the last marathon as his insane side came out a bit in the last chapter. Basically he decided to run home to San Francisco from New York City on a whim. This is straight after running 50 marathons in 50 days in 50 different states. He’s not quite like you and me.
Overall it’s an interesting read.
According to this week’s Phedippidations podcast you can get a free audio copy of the book from Audible.com. I haven’t tried this out but if you’d like to listen to his book it can’t hurt to give it a go.
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Thank you thank you thank you for introducing me to his book. I want to read his book on ultramarathons next.
Alexias last blog post..Rough day, some highs, some lows. Ideas?
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Glad to read you got to see him speak and get a “feel” for his character. He does seem a bit off kilter to me, also … but he is running way more thatn the average human!
No that I wouldn’t enjoy just being a “Forrest” and going to wherever my heart decided we wanted to go, but life seems to get in the way, and my family would be upset!
Spartan7s last blog post..Teamwork!
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even as a nonhardcore runner Id love the chance to hear him speak as well!
MizFits last blog post..The Weight of Fear (Or Good Reasons to Be A Big Fat Coward)
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I just read Ultramarathon Man this past weekend and liked it very much. I hope he comes to Toronto some day so that I can go hear him talk as well. I will definitely read 50/50 simetime in the future, probably when the library gets their copies into circulation.
Vavas last blog post..6km, Foot Doctors, and Ultramarathonman
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I’d prefer Ultramarathon Man than 50/50. However, there is one book I would strongly recommend you to read. It is quite entertaining. You will definitely get more laughs than either Ultramarathon Man or 50/50. It is called “My life on the run” by Bart Yasso. Terrific read !!!
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The TV program “Close-Up” interviewed Dean as well. Did you see that? It was quite funny they showed him with a pizza and he rolled it up like a kebab and ate the whole thing on the run. Crazy.
On your recommendation I think I’ll have to get the 50/50 book - it sounds like an interesting read.
Aarons last blog post..Weigh In - 12 October 2008
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This is an interesting post. Those ultra guys are crazy, that’s for sure! The book you referred to sounds good. The Leadville 100 foot race is in my state (Colorado) and this year it was terrible weather, even some snow. One hundred miles on trails in the high country. The lowest elevation point is 9,200′ and the highest is 12,600′. Very intense, to say the least. Lance Armstrong competed in the mountain bike portion of it this year and got 2nd. Same deal, one hundred miles, most of it on single track trails. Hard core for sure.
glutenfreeforgoods last blog post..Beans and greens (recipe included)
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