Dean Karnazes – Ultra Marathon Man
Last modified: May 27, 2010The following synopsis is from
www.borders.com.au
Ultra Marathon Man: Confessions Of An All Night Runner
WHY DO YOU DO IT? HOW DO YOU DO IT? ARE YOU INSANE?Dean Karnazes is a world wide recognised endurance athlete who has pushed his body & mind to inconceivable limits. In this remarkable memoir, he recounts the personal events that led to him becoming an extraordinary athlete. The seeds of his exceptional abilities were seen early at the age of nine he rode his bike alone to his grandmother’s house over fifty miles away. As an adult, he’s taken part in a marathon across Death Valley, a 200 mile, 12 person relay race (which he ran solo, of course) and one of the biggest and most controversial challenges of all the first marathon ever run to the South Pole. In Ultra Marathon Man, Dean recounts all these races and other unbelievable achievements. He introduces us to the sometimes bizarre emotional and psychological make up of endurance runners, as well as the peculiar mores surrounding the subculture of ultra-endurance athleticism. This book is filled with fascinating characters and situations from the touching (how his running helped pull his family back together) to the absurd (organising to meet the pizza delivery man on the highway during his run!). Dean’s story will amaze, fascinate, and inspire even the most comfortable couch potatoes.
I rate Dean Karnazes as one of my top three favourite athletes. What I like about his story is that he didn’t come through a traditional path of being a star athlete and progressed through the ranks and become a professional. He was a good runner until he was 15 and then stopped when he didn’t agree with the coach. On his 30th Birthday he decided to run 30 miles and from there he was addicted.
Whether you like running or not this is an amazing story that will leave you saying ‘is that even possible?’ Although Dean runs extreme distances he is as impressed by the person who writes to him say he inspired them to run 2 miles for the first time in 10 years to the person who is doing their first marathon. He is very grounded and an example of a person who does what he loves which I admire.