The Crazy World of UltraMarathons: Dean Karnazes

Ultra-Runner Dean Karnazes has been on The Tonight Show, on the cover of Runner’s World, featured in Time Magazine, and on the New York Times Best Seller List-- just for starters. The San Francisco local has run to the ends of this country and back, and by 2015, will have run to the ends of this Earth.

Similar to anyone who does things that are extraordinary, there are a lot of myths surrounding Karnazes and about Ultra-Running in general.

Karnazes’ accomplishments are bountiful, to say the least. He has run over 199 miles without sleeping more than once, all for charity. He ran a marathon in Antarctica and completed 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days. He once signed up for the Napa Marathon and timed out the 100-mile run through the night to Napa Valley from his home, arriving within five minutes of the start. He, then, of course ran the marathon, as well.

How it started

Although Karnazes was an active child, a run-in with his high school cross country coach led him to hang up his running shoes. It wasn’t until his 30th birthday when all of the pent-up frustrations of his 9 to 5 job, losing his sister in a car accident, and being generally unfulfilled encouraged him to take off running in a tequila haze.
He didn’t stop for 30 miles.

“I just felt like there was no challenge in my life,” Karnazes told ATLX. “There was no struggle, and I felt bad. I used to recall struggling during running and how alive that made me feel.”

“I’m thinking, ‘Is this the way I want my life to go? Do I want to be a balding, paunchy middle-aged guy who is having affairs?’ And I said, ‘No, that’s not me. I’m not happy, and I don’t know why,’ but it just turned into: I need to run. I needed to be free and unencumbered and throw all of it away.”

Karnazes took off running into the night and 30 miles later realized his life had changed. Instead of focusing on the next big meeting at work, he started focusing on what the next big running challenge would be. His challenges started relatively reasonable, at least in the Ultra world, but have gained so much momentum he is now planning to run a marathon in every country in the world in one year.

Dispelling the Myths

To run that much, you would have to be crazy, right? He must do it for the publicity? His joints must be shredded, his knees shot to shit, his kids must be neglected, and the list goes on. Turns out, though, those notions couldn’t be further from the reality.

Myth One: He’s crazy

Based on our conversation, he actually seems more levelheaded than most. In fact, what better way to learn about yourself and evolve than by spending hours on end with nature? It’s quite the opposite of crazy, actually. What’s really crazy is that as a society we have become so sedentary that we think people who use their bodies for physical activity are the crazy ones.

“We were naturally born to move. Look at the human structure,” Karnazes said. “I think it’s repressive not to move, and you can certainly see the tolls taken on our society. Immobility is worse than mobility.”

One could argue that running 200 miles is not quite the same thing as simple mobility, but Karnazes loves to do it, and fortunately has been able to make a career of it. He challenges himself, runs through exotic places, connects with nature, sets goals, fails and succeeds.

Adventurous, yes.

Crazy, no.

Myth Two: His joints have to be trashed

For those of you using the age-old excuse that you don’t run because it’s too much stress on your joints, guess what…the jig is up. It’s time to find a new excuse. Karnazes knows the myths about what running can do to your body, but he isn’t buying them. “If I thought I was doing anything harmful to my body, anything that could result in permanent harm, then I wouldn’t do these things,” Karnazes said. “I’ve been sliced and diced and analyzed, and what I’ve heard over and over again is that I have the joints of a teenager.”

Karnazes does have exceptional biomechanics, but when people imply that he has some superhuman capability or physique, he tends to disagree. “I think anyone could do what I do. I think anyone could do 50 marathons in 50 days,” Karnazes said. “The one thing I do have is that I enjoy it. I love it, and I think anything you’re passionate about, you can excel at.”

Myth Three: He does it for the publicity

Karnazes was never looking for fame and fortune when he took off running on his 30th birthday. If he was, he was certainly searching in the wrong place. Before his book, “Ultra-Marathon. Confessions of an All Night Runner,” became a New York Times Best Seller, very few people even knew things like Badwater existed. Now that Karnazes has gained fame, he wants to spread the word to encourage people to get out and run, or exercise, or be outside; anything to change the societal trend of becoming obese and spending so much of our time in front of screens.

His mentality about his races does not consider what would get him the most media exposure. He simply focuses on what would inspire people to get out and move, as well as what would be a great adventure.

In Karnazes’ book, “50 Ultras in 50 Days” he states, “It’s not that I lack the motivation to find a bigger cause. It’s that I believe there is no bigger cause. Running is more than a good way to lose weight. It’s a cure for depression and a potential path to personal growth and self-fulfillment. It’s my recipe for making this world a more harmonious home to the human species.”

One place he will work for publicity is promoting his non-profit, Karno Kids. “I am the founder of and chief kid of my own foundation,” Karnazes said. “Our mission is to inspire and motivate kids to get outside and be more active.”

Myth Four: You can’t do what he does

One instance in which Karnazes is especially passionate is when people tell him that he is remarkable. He must be superhuman to do what he does. “I respectfully disagree,” Karnazes said. “Most people don’t do it or can’t do it because they are not passionate about it. There is just no shortcuts to do these things, you have to pay your dues. You have to train diligently and you have to sacrifice and a lot of people aren’t willing to pay that price, but I think if they were, then they would be able to do what I do.”

Yes, he does have good biomechanics, but so do a lot of people. There are plenty of ultra-runners who don’t have his genetics, and are competing against, and plenty of times beating him. People mistakenly believe that Karnazes has never failed, that he has finished every goal that he has set out to attain.
Wrong again.

“Yes, I have failed. Too many people are afraid to fail,” Karnazes said. “I always say, ‘fail boldly.’ Spectacular failures are great learning lessons. I’ve learned a lot more from my failures. So I always tell people to celebrate their failures, learn from it, and move on.”

Karnazes doesn’t have superpowers, he just loves what he does, has learned from his failures and is always looking for the next adventure.